Author Archives: Andreas Quast

A Revival of Kongo no Kon

It was just one or two weeks ago that Mr. X asked if I knew something about a certain bō-kata, or made a movie about it etc. I immediately knew what was going on and had a guess which dōjō … Continue reading

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Soeishi no Kon – Fusion-Edition.

The following excerpt from by Tawada Shinjun (1973) was translated by Motobu Naoki Sensei. Soeishi no Kon […] was handed down by the Soeishi family who held the post of the martial arts instructor of the king of Ryūkyū. It … Continue reading

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Traditional Okinawan Performing Arts: Lion Dance

Kabira, Ishigaki City. The lion “wakes up” at the start of the practice for the festival for requests and expressions of thanks to the gods (Keigan Festival) held in the 8th month of the lunisolar calendar. This lion dance is … Continue reading

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Ancient Martial Arts of the Ryukyu Islands – Mekata-bo

The video at the end is a remake taken from an Okinawan Mēkata-bō. In particular, this Mēkata-bō was designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Asset on June 27, 1990. Mēkata-bō is the opening dance for purification on stage or at festivals, … Continue reading

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Taketomi’s “Arm Stick” – Ancient Jūjutsu-like techniques embodied in a harvest dance

One of the performing arts of Taketomi Town is the “Arm stick” (udibō), a dance that includes the use of arms and forearms like a bō, i.e., a weapon. It is performed by women of Nakasuji hamlet. The performing arts … Continue reading

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The Right Staff

Manuscript Cod.Ms.3227a of around 1390 is the first book that documented Johannes Liechtenauer’s fencing theory. Folio 78r contains the possibly oldest extant written instruction on “fencing with the staff.” [78r] Fencing with the staff Anyone aspiring to learn fencing with … Continue reading

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The discovery of a photo of Zhou Zhihe as described in “Recent Contacts of Martial Arts Between Fuzhou And Okinawa” (1988)

Note: The following is is from a 1988 paper that recorded the early exchange between Okinawa and Fuzhou. Recent Contacts of Martial Arts Between Fuzhou And Okinawa (1988) To promote the friendship and cultural exchanges between China and Japan, the … Continue reading

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The creation of sai choreographies – Hints on example of Yāka no Sai

I have previously noted about Yakā no Sai, explaining the meaning of the word yāka and so forth. In the meantime, I stumbled upon the oldest reference I could find so far explaining the meaning of yāka (guardian) as a … Continue reading

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Is Zakimi bōjutsu the original Tsuken-bō?

In a similar line of thought as in the previous article, I continue the search for hints to the spread and characteristics of Tsuken-bō. This time it is about Zakimi bōjutsu, sometimes simply called Zakimi-bō as handed down in Zakimi … Continue reading

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Is Namihira-bō the original Tsuken-bō?

As part of my ongoing research into village staff fencing (mura-bō), I stumbled upon this this performance, which took place in Hawaii. I posted about it on Facebook in January 2104. Back then, the following information came to light. It is … Continue reading

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