The origin of Ryūbi no Kon is Shiromatsu no Kon, an older kata handed down in the Matsubayashi-ryū since the 1950s. Its origin further back is unknown, but it is possible that it included older concepts and techniques. It was performed in a rather stiff, basic and unrefined fashion so that progressive martial artists said, “The kata doesn’t work.” Therefore, they developed a yamannized version of it, with more flow and several technical adaptions. To distinguish the two versions, the old one was then named Shiromatsu no Kon Ichi, and the yamannized version was named Shiromatsu no Kon Ni. To further distinguish it, and probably including further updates, it was renamed to Ryūbi no Kon in the RBKD, probably in the 1980s or 90s.
In the description below I had to adapt terminology. This is because, so far in the descriptions of Chōun no Kon of Yamanni-ryū, all front strikes where coherently the same within the respective groups, so I just termed that front strike a Shōmen-uchi, which worked just fine. In this Ryūbi no Kon, however, there are standard front strikes as well as a straight overhead strike, and a straight overhead strike that turns into a tsuki. Therefore, I termed the standard front strike as Kesa-uchi, because it is a slanted strike, and termed the straight overhead strike as Shōmen-uchi, and the straight overhead strike that turns into a thrust as Shōmen-uchi-zuki.
The video is a distorted version of Oshiro Toshihiro’s once published DVD on Yamanni-ryu kata. I used this because I couldn’t locate the original version anymore.
There is an interesting hint to the name of the kata. The original name, Shiromatsu, simply meant “White Pine.” The reformed name, Ryūbi, on the other hand is the Japanaese reading of Liu Bei, military commander from the late Later Han period to the “Era of Three Kingdoms,” and founder and first emperor of the state of Shu Han (221-261) in southern China. Liu Bei appears as a central character in the Ming Dynasty novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.”
Liu Bei was the brother in arms of “Tiger Generals” Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. This topic would provide enough content for a PhD thesis, but it should be sufficient to say here that the three are described as sworn brothers in arms who served as role models for others as well. The “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” tells about an oath by other sworn brothers in reference to the three heroes:
“I remember Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. Although they have different surnames, they work together as brothers to rescue the poor and help the people in danger; they report to the superiors of the state and help the common people; they do not demand to be born in the same year, the same month and the same day, but they only want to die in the same year, the same month and the same day. Heaven and earth should learn from their spirit.”
Considering the above, if we consider for a moment that Liu Bei might have served as the namesake of Ryūbi no Kon, where and who are the other two sworn brothers? I guess you can come up with a solution yourself.
Description of the Kata
I. Stand in Soto-hachiji-dachi, with both arms hang down naturally at the sides of your body, and the bō in the right hand, with the front tip at about the center line of the body, pointing downward at about 30°.
II. Pull your left foot to your right foot, into Musubi-dachi.
III. Bow to the front. While bowing, the bō remains exactly in the previous position and doesn’t move.
IV. Announce the name of the kata: “Ryūbi no Kon!”
V. Bring your left hand over toward your right hip and grab the bō from below with your left hand. From there, rotate the bō clockwise, take your left hand with the bō to your right shoulder, let go the left hand and place it opened on your right outside thigh. The right arm hangs down naturally, holding the bō vertically, and leaned against the right armpit/shoulder.
VI. Yōi 1. Raise the right hand with the bō vertically up to a position between your right pelvis and right lower rib. At the same time, synchronously, raise your left open hand up in a large clockwise circular motion from the outer side of your right thigh up and over to the left side of your head to again reach the position with the left forearm horizontally in front of your forehead, and grab the bō at the right side of your head.
VII. Yōi 2. Step back with your right foot, assuming a left forward-bent stance (Zenkutsu-dachi). Hold the left tip of the bō to the front, slightly ascending a few degrees, and the rear of the bō placed at your right upper arm close to the shoulder.
Front Lane 1
1. Burst forward with the right foot, with a Kesa-uchi, into a right Shiko-dachi, and immediately pull back the front tip to assume kamae.
2. Shuffle back your right foot and immediately burst forward with your left foot, into a left Shiko-dachi, with Gedan-uke, and immediately follow-through with a Gedan-nuki while sliding forward with both feet in Shiko-dachi.
3. Shuffle back your left foot and immediately burst forward with your right foot, into a left Shiko-dachi, with a Kesa-uchi, into a right Shiko-dachi, and immediately pull back the front tip to assume kamae.
Rear Lane 1
4. Place your right foot a little to the left, and rotate 180° counterclockwise, pull your left foot towards your right foot, in a 45° Musubi-dachi. Raise the bō above your head, tilted about 30° to the front, and 45° to the side, in an upper-level posture.
5. Burst forward with the right foot, with a Kesa-uchi, into a right Zenkutsu-dachi.
6. Change hands and burst forward with the left foot, with a Shōmen-uchi straight from above, into a right Zenkutsu-dachi.
7. Change hands and burst forward with the right foot, with a Shōmen-uchi-zuki straight from above, into a right Zenkutsu-dachi, and immediately assume kamae in Shiko-dachi.
Side Lane 1
8. Rotate 90° counterclockwise, to your left, pull your left foot towards your right foot, in Musubi-dachi. Take the right hand to your right side of your body and the left to the right side of your head, and assume the posture described at the end of number VI. Yōi 1, with the bō held vertically.
9. Place your right foot forward, in a right forward shiko-dachi, and push the bō forward into a slanted vertical defensive posture (tate-kamae). Next, perform the following combination: Right front strike (kesa-uchi), upward swing (furi-age-uchi), downward swing (furi-sage-uchi), front strike (kesa-uchi) with integrated tsuki, and assume kamae in Shiko-dachi.
10. With the bō as it is, pull back the right foot and stand up in a sideways parallel stance (Heiko-dachi).
11. Step the left foot forward into a crossing stance (kōsa-dachi) and simultaneously pull back the bō with your left hand.
12. Burst forward with your right foot, in a right forward Shiko-dachi, thrust to the front, and immediately assume kamae in Shiko-dachi.
Side Lane 2
13. Rotate 180° clockwise, to your rear, and while changing the grip on the bō, pull back your left foot towards your right foot, in Musubi-dachi, and take the bō back to hold it about vertically at the right rear.
14. Place your left foot forward, in a right left shiko-dachi, and push the bō forward into a slanted vertical defensive posture (tate-kamae). Next, perform the same combination as in number 10, but on the left side: Left front strike (kesa-uchi), upward swing (furi-age-uchi), downward swing (furi-sage-uchi), front strike (kesa-uchi) with integrated tsuki, and assume kamae in Shiko-dachi.
15. Perform the same combination as in number 10, but on the left side: With the bō as it is, pull back your left foot and stand up in a sideways parallel stance (Heiko-dachi).
16. Perform the same combination as in number 11, but on the left side: Step the right foot forward into a crossing stance (kōsa-dachi) and simultaneously pull back the bō with your right hand.
17. Perform the same combination as in number 12, but on the left side: Burst forward with your left foot, in a left forward Shiko-dachi, thrust to the front, and immediately assume kamae in Shiko-dachi.
Front Lane 2
18. Perform the same combination as in number 8: Rotate 90° clockwise, to your right, and while changing the grip on the bō, pull your right foot towards your left foot, in Musubi-dachi, and take the bō back to hold it about vertically at the left rear.
19. Perform the same combination as in number 9: Place your right foot forward, in a right forward shiko-dachi, and push the bō forward into a slanted vertical defensive posture (tate-kamae). Next, perform the following combination: Right front strike (kesa-uchi), upward swing (furi-age-uchi), downward swing (furi-sage-uchi), front strike (kesa-uchi) with integrated tsuki, and assume kamae in Shiko-dachi.
20. Swing the bō in a full 360° clockwise around overhead with a gyaku-uchi, ending at the right side of the body, with the bō pointing about 30° downward, and with it, change the position of the feet in a dynamic jump to take the right foot back, and the left foot front, in a forward-bent stance (zenkutsu).
21. Immediately pull up the right foot towards the left foot, into a cross-legged stance (kōsa-dachi), and sing the front end of the bō clockwise around and upwards at the right side of your body, to assume a upper-level floating deflection posture (jōdan nagashi-uke) with the front tip of the bō pointing to the front.
22. Burst forward with your right foot, in a right forward shiko-dachi, and perform the following combination: Right front strike (kesa-uchi), upward swing (furi-age-uchi), downward swing (furi-sage-uchi), front strike (kesa-uchi) with integrated tsuki, and assume kamae in Shiko-dachi.
Finish
I. In a flow of movement, pull back your right foot to your left foot, in Musubi-dachi, and lead the bō almost vertically from your left rear to your right front, to assume the initial posture of the kata (as described at the end of number VI. Yōi 1), with the right hand holding the bō vertically at a position between your right pelvis and right lower rib, and your left at about the right side of your head.
II. Rotate the front (right) tip of the bō counterclockwise, take your right hand down at your right side, and your left hand under the armpit.
III. Let go the left hand, and let both arms hang down naturally at the sides of your body.
IV. Bow to the front.
V. Step your left foot out to the left, into Soto-hachiji-dachi.
© 2024, Andreas Quast. All rights reserved.