Tag Archives: Taira Shinken

Kongō no Kata (formerly known as Shūshi no Kon)

I wrote about Kongō no Kon recently, which was created by Taira Shinken based on elements taken from Sueyoshi no Kon, Sesoko no Kon, and Soeishi no Kon. Then Mr. Y, one of the inquirers, asked about another kata called Kongō he had … Continue reading

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When was Kanegawa no Tinbē created?

Yesterday, David Hansen of Isshin-ryū posted a good question on Facebook. It is as follows. This photo shows Shinken Sensei to be holding more of a machete than short spear.  What year did this lineage change to short spear and … Continue reading

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How “Tsuken Hanta-gwā no Kon” became “Urasoe no Kon”

Urasoe no Kon is a kata name that first appeared in the postwar era. That is, none of the kata lists presented by Miki (1930) and Taira (1938) included the name Urasoe no Kon, nor does it appear elsewhere. While … Continue reading

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Taira Shinken 1964 also copied designs from Yun Heui-byeong 1948

In the last article, I notified that Taira Shinken copied important parts of text from Yun’s research published in 1948. Besides text, Taira also copied designs from Yun. Here I would like to particularly point out the makiwara design. The … Continue reading

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Shushi no Kon (old-style) 3 – Nejiru

This is about Shushi no Kon (old-style) as I have described here in text and illustration as well as in video here. In his 1930 description, which is the earliest description of a Bō kata, Miki uses the term nejiru on … Continue reading

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Jigen no Sai

I would like to let you guys know about Jesse’s latest project, the Kobudo tutorial website at www.kobudomastery.com​ Since I am a passionate Kobudo practitioner myself, I was thrilled when I learned from a friend that Jesse has started this … Continue reading

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Soeishi no Kon – by Takamura Seiko, 1980

In June of 2020, Lara Chamberlain uploaded a bo-kata video from the archives of Fred Christian sensei. Neither the performer nor the kata were known or could be identified. However, from some of the signature techniques I thought right away … Continue reading

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The inheritance of Kobudo is “destiny.” There is no end to research [Dojo Tour 3]

Translation of an article from Okinawa Times, April 17, 2017. “Kobudō is my life. I have been pursuing it all my life, but research is endless.” Nakamoto Masahiro (79), who was selected as the only intangible cultural property holder in … Continue reading

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Sasumata-Verteidigung (Sasumata-uke 刺叉受)

Hier eine weitere Technik aus Mabunis Buch von 1938 mit einem wirklich interessanten kleinen Detail. Die hier gezeigte Technik trägt bei Mabuni die Bezeichnung “Sasumata-Verteidigung” (Sasumata-uke 刺叉受). Was hat es damit auf sich? Die Sasumata (Dornengabel) war eine Stangenwaffe feudaler … Continue reading

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Schöpfendes Aufhalten von der Außenseite (Soto Sukui-dome 外掬い止め) und umgekehrter Wurf (gyaku-nage 逆投げ)

Hier eine weitere Technik aus Mabunis Buch von 1938. Sie ähnelt dieser Technik. Mabuni (links) tritt mit dem rechten Fuß. Taira (rechts) fängt den Tritt mit einer von außen nach innen schöpfenden Bewegung seiner linken Hand. Taira (rechts) geht mit … Continue reading

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