Thursday evenings in many Traditional Martial Arts schools, in the world, as well as in the Phoenix Valley of Arizona, classes focus on kobudo (古武道) or martial arts weapons.
A variety of weapons arts are taught to students of Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai (西洋少林流空手道) including bojutsu (棒術) where students learn the art of the bo (棒), known to many in North America as the staff. In the koryu (古流) schools of Okinawa, Japan, and North America, the staff is taught as a weapon rather than a twirling tool as is taught in most modern martial arts schools.
Traditional martial artists learn kihon (基本) (basics) of the bo, kata (形) (forms) of the bo, bunkai (分解) (applications) of bo kata, and kumite (組手) (sparring) with the bo including ippon (one-step), sanbon (three-step), kiso (structured) and juyu (free sparring ) kumite. By doing so, these students become adapt in the bo as a weapon - exactly what it was intended for when not used as a farming implement.
In 2011-12, several students in the kobudo class at the Seiyo Shorin-Ryu Hombu became experts in tonfa and were certified in the weapons. They are currently working on sai with periodic review of bo, nunchaku, hanbo, kama, kuwa and manrikigusari.
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| Sensei Borea of Japanese samurai lineage trains with bo at the Hombu in Mesa, Arizona |
