Kobudo

[Tom O'Brien]

I am training for a comp on 11/15 in the 'old man's' div of kobudo. I am doing bo dai ichi no kon. It's a fundamental bo kata that I enjoy & I have had some success with it in competition. I like the bo because it helps develop upper body strength, flexibility, grip strength & cardio.
What weapons do you guys like & why?

Thanks,
Tom

[mejiro]

Hi Tom
I,ve trained in nunchaku, bo and sai in the past and am currently practicing Bo. It is probably also my favourite weapon out of the three, as I find it easily relates to Karate stances/techniques and is good for conditioning. Nunchaku would be my next on the list as its a very dynamic weapon due to the connecting cord. I hope to return to Nunchaku training next year, we have regular kobudo classes at our club, but as they,re on a Sunday and I train Karate on a Saturday its sometimes hard to make it, and still fit in family time.
I have a Bo grading in December and have to perform Taekyoku Shodan No Bo, a Bo kata created by my Sensei as a "Shotokan" type Bo Kata. I,ve never taken part in any weapons competitions but was part of a "demo" many years ago.
Sai has to be the most challenging of the weapons I,ve tried,quite fiddly,especially the "flicking" out from the palm techniques, but I haven,t given up the Idea of returning to give it another go.

[Tom O'Brien]

Lee,

I have 'fiddled' with the sai too, uneffectively me thinks. I would like to have another go also. Nunchacku are now illegal in New York because of their abuse but i do love to work with them. New ones are just harder to get. Give me a bo anytime.

Thanks,
Tom

[bob63]

I like the tonfa as again a lot of the blocks strikes and spinning techniques are extensions of shotokan.

[james luke]

with you on the tonfa Bob and not a big fan of the nunchaku either, an impractical weapon but have to admit it looks good. I prefer escrima sticks, bo and jo. I always carry a kobutan too but maybe I am just too focused on practicality?

[Tom O'Brien]

Escrima sticks are great. I hold the rank of Likha Tatlo (something like a brown belt) in Arnis, given to me by Prof. Remy Presas. Arnis, Escrima & Kali are fairly similiar Filipino arts that can compliment many other arts. Sooo much fun . Full contact stick fighting can get pretty crazy.

Thanks,
Tom