Tuesday, January 15, 2013

A Big Stick for Martial Artists


Karate students at the Arizona Hombu and members of Seiyo Shorin-Ryu find a large arsenal of martial arts weapons available to them. Not only do we train in most of the traditional Okinawan kobudo (martial arts weapons), but we also trained with a variety of modern garden and fishing implements - such as weed diggers, hoes, rakes, hammers, hooks, hatchets, etc.
Using hanbo for self-defense at the Arizona School of
traditional karate in Mesa.

Our karate students are studying two martial arts weapons during kobudo classes for our Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa and Phoenix students. They are focusing on the sai, a distinct weapon from Okinawa, and hanbo, a martial arts weapon often associated with jujutsu. Last year, most of our karate students certified in tonfa and kuwa after months of training in the kata and applications of these two martial arts weapons. Later in 2013, we plan to focus on other kobudo weapons including nunchuku and bo.

But for now, our Arizona Martial arts students are learning to use a nifty martial arts weapon known as the hanbo. This 3-foot baton or stick, can be carried anywhere and other martial arts weapons can be adapted to the same techniques including tsune (cane or walking stick), kibo (expandable law enforcement baton), kobuton (short stick), nitanbo (two sticks), tonfa (side handle baton), and even manrikigusari (chain) and hojo (rope) Our Arizona karate students learn how to interchange all of these martial arts weapons with lectures and demonstrations by the Grandmaster of Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai, Soke Hausel


Ryan restrains Justin during hanbo-karate classes in Mesa