Category Archives: Terminology

Performance of the bo accompanied by Kajadifū

Martial arts bōjutsu and traditional bō performing arts have a long history of co-existence and cross fertilization. Traditional bō performing arts entered martial arts dōjō, and martial arts kata enter traditional bō performing arts. The most visible differences are in … Continue reading

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NEW RELEASE: Bo – Techniques, Forms, and Partner Practices of Ancient Okinawan Fighting Traditions. Volume 1: Bo-odori.

Softcover edition: US | UK | DE | FR | ES | IT | NL | JP | AU | BR | CA | MX | SE | IN | PL Bo Techniques, Forms, and Partner Practices of Ancient Okinawan … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, kobudo, kumibo, Performing Arts, Postwar Okinawa Karate, Prewar Okinawa Karate, Publications, Terminology, The Technique of Okinawa Karate and Kobudo, Theories of Historical Karate in Comparative Perspective, Tsuken | Comments Off on NEW RELEASE: Bo – Techniques, Forms, and Partner Practices of Ancient Okinawan Fighting Traditions. Volume 1: Bo-odori.

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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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 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 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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Tsuken Sunakake and Tsuken Akan’chū

I published a number of articles related to the tradition of Tsuken before. Here is another piece I once copied in a Okinawan dōjō. The text is as follows. Tsuken Sunakake It is said that Master Tsuken was defeated during … Continue reading

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Reasonable expectations

Previously, I wrote about “The Four Outer Forms of Postures Discovered by Matsumura” as described and taught by the late Kinjō Hiroshi sensei. These Four Outer Forms are the result of Kinjō’s inductive reasoning and empirical argumentation. Obviously, in Okinawa … Continue reading

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Tsuken Akan’chū and the impossibility of a direct personal instruction by Tsuken Uēkata

In my previous article I shared the story of Tsuken Uēkata. At the end of that story, Tsuken Uēkata was interned in Kagoshima after his political intrigue was discovered. So, how, and when did he create Tsuken-bō, and how was … Continue reading

Posted in Bojutsu Kata Series, kobudo, Matayoshi Kobudo, Postwar Okinawa Karate, Prewar Okinawa Karate, Terminology, The Technique of Okinawa Karate and Kobudo, Theories of Historical Karate in Comparative Perspective, Tsuken | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Tsuken Akan’chū and the impossibility of a direct personal instruction by Tsuken Uēkata

How to wrap a sāji or headband

Ever wondered how to wrap a sāji or headband for eisa, or bo-odori etc.? I translated below description from el-okinawa.com.

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