Kobudō
Kobudō (literally: "old martial way") is a weapon-based mêlée fighting system, which was developed in tandem with karate on Okinawa.
After being conquered by the Japanese, the Okinawans were forbidden to possess or carry weapons. Karate training allowed the body itself to be transformed into a weapon -- but this only mitigated this problem. The solution came from by discovering martial applications for tools and other household items. Since much of karate and kobudō overlap, the two arts are taught at the same time. As such, all Goshin-Jutsu Karateka are required to cross-train in kobudō by studying kata for the bō, sai, nunchaku, tonfa, and kama. Additional opportunities exist for black belts to train with other weapons (e.g. tanbō, eku, jō, and Chinese ring daggers) in their leisure.
The Goshin-Jutsu Karatedō Yudanshakai does not issue kobudō rankings. Instead, a basic kobudō course-of-study is integrated into our standard karate curriculum; one must become good at kobudō to become good at karate, and vice-versa. There are several reasons for this:
- Weapons magnify your mistakes. If you do not drive with the power of your legs, maintain perfect stances, or focus your techniques (via extending the [[Ki#Unbendable_Arm|Unbendable Arm]) through weapon), then none of these weapons will work. They will perform “wet noodle” blocks which will offer no defense, and thus, no opportunity to counterattack. Likewise, the length of the weapon amplifies your subtle biomechanics flaws, revealing the minor differences between love-taps and bone-shattering strikes. Weapons will force you to acknowledge where you are using muscle to compensate for technique.
- Weapons training is prerequisite for confronting armed opponents. By learning how to use weapons, you will also learn how weapons can be used against you.
- Weapons training builds a proper mindset. Weapons training have a special and tangible way of developing the warrior mentality, since you can’t kind of bludgeon someone with a large pole.
