Fighting with Traditional Weapons

Fighting with traditional weapons was part of the Federation's training events. For some, it was the highlight of the event. For others, including myself, it was great to watch. The session was only open to black belt students. We had the opportunity to gear up and work kobudo against an opponent. The gear was massive and was jokingly referred to as Robocop. There were several layers of padding...think a cross between hockey gear and sparring gear. Weapon fighting was optional and not surprisingly the same group would participate at each training.

Then one session, my class instructor forced...no, wait...I meant to say encouraged me to participate. It took fifteen minutes to put on the gear. The gloves made the weapons hard to hold and there was a full helmet. The weapons were padded and modified to reduce the chance of injury. A different class instructor helped design a suitable helmet. He was a member of the Society of Creative Anachronism, Inc (SCA) and had experience designing modified armor. SCA is an international organization whose members are dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts and skills of pre-17th-century Europe. Check out their web site FAQ page for more information.

It was time to choose a weapon. I picked up a bo and my opponent (my class instructor) had a bo. The match lasted only two minutes before exhaustion set in. The gear was heavy and the helmet made it hard to breathe.

I participated in this session one time over ten years ago. What did I learn from a two minute session of weapon kumite?

• I am slightly claustrophobic. When I put the full helmet on my head, I felt a moment of panic. I had to take a few breaths in order to calm down. The helmet was heavy and hot and it made it difficult to breathe. I should have known this before I put the helmet on. I do not even like to wear turtlenecks.


• Hands are a great target. I know this because during my two minute session, the other bo found a chink in my so called armor. The bo smashed down on my thumb and I actually saw stars. I could not bend my thumb for weeks. It was swollen and bruised. I never went to the doctor to have it check but I should have.


• Angles, angles angles.


• I held the bo in thirds with one hand palm up, the other palm down. This allowed me to use both ends of the bo fairly quickly. There was no time for hand changes as seen in our kata.
  
  
• The exchanges happened faster and at a closer range than I expected.
  
  
• Go for the disarm.

Certain lessons make a huge impact on your training. The difficulty is recognizing those lessons when they are happening. I did not realize it at the time, but this two minute session impacted my subsequent kobudo training. I am glad my class instructor encouraged me to participate because this session is no longer on the schedule.

Is there any particular session that made you look at your training differently? Did you know it at the time? Or did you realize it days, months or even years later?

Disclaimer: Do not mistake this blog as advice or instruction. This is a personal weblog. I am merely documenting my karate training experiences. The weapon fighting described in this post was performed under the supervision of an Internationally recognized kobudo instuctor with over thirty-five years of experience.

...And After

Back Yard

Front of Dojo

Street view

If you want to read about the beginning of the dojo you can check out this post and the before pictures.

The Before Pictures

In my previous post, I talk about the beginning of the dojo. I found some old pictures of the house/dojo before renovation. There is a large sign on top of the house roof that needed to be removed. It was bright yellow with the name of the restaurant.

Front of the dojo

Back of the dojo that leads out to a yard.

Front of the dojo. Take note of the "come in we are open" sign on the door. The debris in front of the dojo is the tin roof that had to be removed and replaced.

Inside the dojo. Don't you just love the carpet? :) We had to rip down the drop ceiling to make room to practice kobudo. You can still see part of the dance floor near the back.

The Beginning of the Dojo

I am a student of the Federation Honbu and an instructor at my husband’s dojo.

Some have argued that my husband’s dojo is mine too because it is attached to our home (what is yours is mine philosophy). There have been times due to his injury/surgery/work schedule that I have managed the dojo. I have taught my fair share of classes, helped run three tournaments and guided students towards black belt.

However, I maintain that the dojo truly is his. It was his dream.

I was a green belt when my husband decided he wanted his own dojo. It was early in my training so I had absolutely no idea what this would entail. After securing the proper permissions from our instructor, he set out to start a dojo. He searched for a location and found what he considered the perfect site. The property was an old inn, restaurant and saloon. In its earliest days, it served as a stagecoach stop. We traced its origin back to 1790. It is a two-story log home with an attachment built in the 1950’s. The attachment originally served as a restaurant dining room and local bands played on the small stage.

We purchased the property in 1994. It was a mess…more accurately…a disaster. It was abandoned several years after the restaurant closed. The bathroom's plumbing was ripped out and all that remained were holes in the floor. My husband saw the potential. I saw a lot of work and expense. There was only one room in the house that was decent…the bar room. There is a commercial size bar room as part of the house. It is complete with the back bar, beer taps and soda guns, cold storage room and upright piano. Note: We never got the bar taps and soda guns working.

Every aspect of this building needed work...plumbing, electric, heat, siding and roof. Since it was an old inn, the rooms upstairs were small. Walls had to be taken down, rooms restructured and a few closets were added. The horsehair plaster was falling down and drywall needed to replace it. There was a tin roof on top of old wooden shakes. The roof had to be removed and then replaced. Floors and carpeting need to be installed. A complete kitchen needed to be designed. The trouble with old homes…nothing is level. We also discovered that furniture would not fit in the small stairwell to the second floor. A window that led onto the extension (dojo) was made bigger and was the only way we could bring furniture to the second floor.

He spent nine months (full time) fixing up the house/dojo while we tried to sell our original home. I was working full time and I spent my nights and weekends at the new property. It was exhausting yet rewarding. The renovation of this house/dojo consumed every moment of our lives. I would never undertake a project of this magnitude again. We had help and could not have done it without the support of our family and friends.

The dojo opened in June 1995. I hate to admit it but it was ugly. It is a good thing that people make a dojo not the building. The vinyl siding on the addition still needed to be replaced. (When the dojo was a bar, the previous owner sprayed the entire outside of the addition with sound-proofing material due to neighborhood complaints. We found out that they used to bring sand in the dining room to have beach parties. From the stories we heard, it was a wild place.) The ceiling was unfinished and the carpet was bar room red. Despite the condition of the dojo, the students came. The first two students were from the neighborhood. They would walk up the street in their karate uniforms. My husband taught all the classes because I was busy preparing for Shodan (1996).

Check back soon: I will continue this post by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of a home dojo.

Square Not Round

We are fast approaching Lent. On Tuesday, we will celebrate Fasnacht Day. They are donuts served with molasses, butter, powdered sugar or plain. This tradition is celebrated in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

During the past week, I have not been to the gym, karate or racquetball. I did not make Tai Chi class either. My time has been spent taking care of a sick daughter and helping her catch up on two days of school work. I haven't been feeling so good this week either. The lack of physical activity has caused my right knee to ache.

I was reading Rick Matz's Cook Ding's Kitchen and he issued a Lenten Challenge. The challenge reads:

"The challenge is this: from Ash Wednesday (Feb 25) until Easter (April 11 or April 19th for the Eastern Orthodox Church), train every day, without fail, no excuses. Simple enough said.

It doesn't have to be martial arts training either. Whatever it is that you need to really rededicate yourself to: studying, practicing an instrument, walking, watching what you eat; anything - do it every day, without fail."

I am going to give this challenge a try. Enjoy your Fasnacht on Tuesday and be ready to train Wednesday.

And remember...a wise Pennsylvania German once told me "Real Fasnacht's are square not round".

How do you celebrate Shrove Tuesday?

9 Going On 16

My nine year old daughter going to the Girl Scout's Father/Daughter dance.

Da Saam Sing

It must be tournament season because the dojo is getting tournament invitations in the mail every day. Tomorrow, there is a local tournament and the proceeds help support St. Judes Children's Hospital. Several students from the dojo want to attend.

The divisional breakdowns include weapons, forms, fighting and Da Saam Sing. I have never seen a Da Saam Sing competition.

Here is a video explaining Da Saam Sing and a demonstration.