I studied Wado Ryu Karate when I was younger, and I still remember the katas,but I never learned any traditional Okinawan weapons. Will these lessons work along side the Wado Ryu style?
@kustomhead My sensei, Shihan Bolz, first made sho dan in Wado Ryu before switching to Uechi Ryu and then learning kobudo - Wado Ryu is good for learning a good zenkutsudachi, which is the primary stance for bo, so I think you should do fine!
@pablohthegreat This is derived from forms by Matayoshi Shinko Sensei and Kinjo Takashi Sensei but ours is called International Okinawan Kobudo Association. We concentrate solely on weapons, hence the name of the association is not related to any empty-hand technique.
I have trained ...bo, sho, yo, fighting since I was 6 years old. I have never ever used other version than the original and simple versions of these sticks. If you do the grip wrong you loose the weapon and this is why it is essential to learn how to hold them correctly. - Many of the Katas been made easier and I don't like this direction because the original forms hold keys to certain aspects in battle and skills.
@acriked Yes, original is best because it is closest to the "life-or-death" combat uses in Okinawa. There are some later versions of some katas that only slightly changed, but then you have to ask "Why?"
Greetings, I am training Matayoshi Kobudo in the states and just beginning to learn this kata. This looks very close to how we train it - certainly close enough to be quite helpful. (Right now I'm just trying to learn the sequence better, so this is great.) Thanks!
@theUnlimited1 It may be slightly different, because Matayoshi sensei changed some katas late in his life, and Shihan learn this in its original form, well before those changes.
This is real Kobudo, with a real bo, performed by a real master. For those of you who don't have a clue, do you notice that he doesn't use a metal or toothpick, unlike so many of you fake-ass Kobudoka? It is a standard rokushakubo. Why is it that we never see anyone do flashy twirling and hands-free bullshit with one of these? Hmmmm....Answer that one.
@budokichigai because we don't want to lose our weapon! I also have a clip of Shihan hitting a student's bo as he tries to switch grips and *not* have it knocked out of his hands.
@TheKnightwing1 It is called a rokushaku bo because it is a six foot bo. Roku = six and a shaku is a measure slightly smaller than a foot. The term is used to differentiate between other lengths of bo such as a ku shaku bo or a nine foot bo or a yon shaku bo or four foot bo.
@jtread66 You can especially see it at the end when he holds the strike point briefly - this is called kime ("kee-meh"), and is something I try very hard to get (but still don't really have...)
Hanshi Hempev, you have been an inspiration and model for many. I have as a young (53) sensai referred to your work as a model for my students. You due the tradition justice in all its forms, well done! (bows with the utmost respect).
@meabare As long as his dojo doesn't teach it a different way! There are slight variations between schools, but, of course, I am biased enough to think this is the best version to learn!
@inulovr I assume you mean *me*! The man in the video is one of my sensei (actually, my sensei's sensei) - I'm not even out of the "kyu" rankings in either karate or kobudo, which are separate arts in our dojo.
@hempev A very nice response. I get asked that question a lot, the presumption being a person of my age (more than 1/2 C) and studying for more than a year or two should be some advanced dan rank. Maybe that happens in some schools but not the one I'm in. I'm also not out of the kyu ranks and am just starting Bo, Jo, Tonfa, Sai and Nunchaku. It's nice to see some other schools are teaching weapons in the kyu ranks.
@hempev I thought you wrote earlier that you were also a kyu rank in karate. Some schools won't allow karate kyu ranks to study weapons. And some don't teach weapons at all, or maybe teach one or two at most. I find that unfortunate. The school I'm in teaches weapons in a separate class as part of karate/taekwondo, allows students about 4th kyu rank and above. For tai chi chuan, it starts withing a couple of classes and is fully integrated in the classes.
@jalind1 I do both, but they are separate ryu - I am the only student of both in our dojo right now. Our dojo only has 3 classes a week, so both ryu do the warm-ups together, then we separate for technical training. The karate class does not learn any weapons, no matter the level.
My sensei, Shihan Bolz, only teaches Okinawa ryu, despite having trained in wado ryu first. Since both the Japanese and Korean versions are derived from the Okinawan, she chooses to stay close to their origins.
@hempev Excellent! Appears to be a good school! My sensei, Amy Benevento, teaches an original style, Jo-Kwon-Chi that is a blend of Shotokan, Taekwondo and Tai Chi Chuan, using tae-guk and heian katas. It includes 5 traditional weapons that Jo-Kwon-Chi students may start in the intermediate kyu ranks. They can't advance without it. She also teaches Tai Chi Chuan separately, forms, dalu, push-hands and the jian (chien). She treats it as a martial art and teaches the applications.
You need to be mindful that the Japanese language has no spelling. Also that this is a very widely practiced kata from Okinawa. As the demonstrator was trained in Okinawa, it seems he has a certain primal authenticity in his teachings. Mr. Kim was Chinese and, having met him, I don't remember an accent so he likely was an American.
@watts18269 Not sure what you are getting at and, yes, Americans have accents, southern, northern, midwestern, strange, funny, understandable, not understandable and foreign to other nationalities. Mr Kim did not have a Chinese accent, he spoke English with a slight north western accent. He actually could have been Korean but did not have a Korean accent either. Hope I answered your question that had no accent.
Sorry, I can't give you an answer - I am not very experienced in martial arts, so I can only reply with what I have learned from Shihan Nishiuchi and Shihan Bolz. They are some of the most exacting sensei you will ever find, so I choose their knowledge over *anyone's*.
A word written in romaji means very little when there are so many words that, in kanji or kana, are pronounced exactly the same - a quick search of "fuku" came up with: cloth wrapper, disobey, hanging scroll, belly, blessing...
I don't have to be sure of the name - Shihan Nishiuchi has known this kata for longer than you've been alive, so I trust his knowledge implicitly. If others call it by another name, that's fine, but Shushi no Kon is what Kinjo Takashi Sensei calls it, and he was Shihan's sensei in Naha (still teaches there).
This is a well-known kata, done in many schools of kobudo, many with their own versions.
I wasn't replying to you, but the guy who asked if "fuku no kon" was the first bo kata. It stood to reason that he meant "fukYu no kon" (notice the "Y") as "fukyu" roughly translates out as "fundamentals". You can see this in a pair of Okinawan karate kata known as "kukyugata" ichi and ni. These were created back in the 40's by Shoshin Nagamine Sensei.
And just to make things clear, "shushin no kon" was the first bo kata I ever learned.
I just started my kobudo class (although I've taken karate for more than a year) and this video helped me a lot! The Bo staff is awkward at first, and Shushi no Kon is reeeeally long compared to the open-handed katas. XD
Karate doesn't have weapons, it's only empty hands. Kubudo is the martial arts with weapons, but doesn't have three sectioned(or sectional) staff, that is Kung Fu.
i fix it for you.
And in fact many styles teach many kinds weapons, including Karate. If you speak from experience then perhaps the school that you go to doesn't teach weapons. And my understanding is that three sectional staff did come from Kung Fu but is not limited to Kung Fu alone.
Okinawan karate schools were empty hands, and weapons were taught in kobudo schools, but sensei learn more than their own techniques over their decades in martial arts. Japanese karate has only been around since the 1920's, created for physical fitness, so there is deviation from pure combat for the difference in purpose (and tastes of the Japanese themselves); this then deviated into tae kwon do when Koreans learned karate from occupying Japanese. Weapons are a latter-day addition to either.
In my opinion, katas are fights with imaginary opponents. That's why I consider this kata as too smooth... really too smooth. But I have to admit that this sensei can handle his bo very precisely.
Many karate schools added weapons in the 20th century, but traditionally they are a separate discipline. If you think this kata is "too smooth", you wouldn't like any other kata he demonstrates, whether kobudo, karate or iaido, because he is always very smooth and precise - this is why he is entitled to be a Shihan.
It obviously isn't Tae Kwon Do, and if it isn't Karate, then please tell me what is it, I'm very interested in other styles now that I've gotten my black belt in Tae Kwon Do.
Kobudo, if you didn't see it mentioned elsewhere in the comments or the sidebar.
People who mention having a black belt usually refer to having sho dan, which is where many people stop, but is the "beginning black belt", according to Shihan. He had a 10th dan sensei in TKD taking one-on-one lessons and the sensei said Shihan "opened his eyes to budo" after 30 years of teaching.
I'm not particularly familiar with the terms you used, but i assume you mean 1st degree black belt when you say sho dan. which is correct i just tested recently in fact(and believe me, i could never stop TDK, it's part of my life now.) . thanks for the name of the style . I'll ask my instructor about it, maybe even find a school near me that teaches it, but not likely.
I realise this is prolly a dumb question before I ask but can someone who like my name says, doesn't know crap about crap, use these vids as a replacement for any kind of formal training. At least until I can find a martial arts school close enough to attend?
You may learn something, but they don't show the finer points of what he is doing, only about a tenth of what you need for each move. It's someplace to start, though - the problem is, left to their own devices, students pick up a lot of bad habits that a sensei would correct immediately.
a very late rply, but i can sympathise ruefully with that, in addition to my karate and the small amounts of weapons i am being eased into , being a hobby time researcher of all different styles of weapons and empty hand techniques. ive piced up alot of contradictory ideas, like the conceptual movements in chinese jian and dao sword, and shinese staff, as well as tai chi-chuan and wing chun empty hand moves, this dabbling in my spare time during holidays, id say hasnt done me as well as id like
@elgostine Shihan Bolz (Shihan Nishiuchi's student and my sensei) often reminds us that, even with widely different moves, at their basis, all *good* martial arts work similarly: proper stance, solid lower body, flexible upper body, relaxation (not tension) to create power, and beneath it all, proper breathing.
yes ill agree breatjhing has noted to be a problem, i still despite two years of training in empty hand karate, i still have a tendency to hold breath in when punching the pad (my shihans style (SMAA) is a fusion of karate and taekrwon do plus techniques added with the specific intent for it to be readily usable on the street level, (therefor adding strikes like elbows, hooks and uppercut punches.
Maybe because fusion sells better - classical Okinawan karate is rarely available - our dojo is the only one I know of in our area, and since Shihan only teaches 3 classes a week, it is not there as the sole income of the sensei!
also along with kata, sparing and some combinations, a significant part of the curriculum is how to counter the sort of attacks youd likely see in the pub, on the street etc. btwi have no idea how much the TKD is included, i have a feeling its not much. so i suppose 'fusion' isnt the best word for it
it IS however still heavily based on okinawan-shotokan karate, he apparently makes trips, a few times a year to okinawa for instruction and other matters
You sure can, provided that you use a little good sense and get some tips from knowledgeable people. Start with the footwork to develop balance, and bear in mind when striking to keep your arms relaxed and let the force start from a sudden contraction of the abdomen which forcefully STRAIGHTENS your arms (don't swing with just arm strength alone). This is a pretty good instructional video.
One thing Shihan doesn't mention is that most of the power of a bo strike comes from the hips, *not* the arms or shoulders (but he has never made a point of concentrating on the abdomen, since we only relax it for the brief time we inhale) - we are taught "jo kyo, ge jitsu" (upper relaxed, lower taut), but the hips part is hard for a lot of people to learn without someone pointing out as they are doing a move.
I've never seen shushi no kon sho, done this way. My sensei teaches this kata to those interested, but in our dojo we mostly do shotokan karate. Sensei has won national championships doing the dai version, so it must be recognizable, but it looks so different from how sensei does it. Our dojo is in perry florida.
Shihan has never shown any desire for competition. He does teach in several countries, so he doesn't seem to need an award to be well-known. Also, this is kobudo, not karate, and is taught separately - dohai who are in either discipline do warmups together, but split up when technique is taught and practiced.
Have to agree with you there - I've been trying to get this kata right for the past couple years, and while I learned the order early on, the form is much harder than it looks, and the breathing rhythm is years away for me!
I don't know this form of Sushi no Kon. I have learned another form a lot shorter. When I have a chance, I will upload a video of me performing the Shushi no Kon kata I have learned.
There is a shorter version (sho) and longer version (dai) taught by most schools - I don't know any other version besides than this one, but I'm sure Shihan knows many. The best way to know how any kata works is to see its bunkai.
This is a gr8 instructional video. I just learned this kata shortly b4 becoming a Brown Belt. Ousr Style (Seibukan Sukunaihayashi-Ryu) teaches it slightly different but the essence of the kata is definitely seen here.
Interesting that this is part of Seibukan over there, since it has been my understanding that the only bo kata in Seibukan is Tokumine no kun. We learn this kata in Jinbukan kobudo, but not in Seibukan
One of my subscribers commented on another shushi no kon clip recently, and the clip's poster thought it was *me* making the comment. You won't see the exchange - he apologized for his mistake and I removed all of it. He wasn't a martial artist and the clip was of his father - I watched it out of curiosity, and even I could see a lot of flaws.
Remember: budo spirit includes knowing both your own and others' limitations...even if it's your father!
Actually, sho and dai can have several meanings. One can be the lesser (sho) and the major (dai). In the case of kata, consider Kanku dai and Kanku sho. Kanku dai is required by the JKA but sho is not. In this case, dai means the ordinal or practiced kata. In the case of SKI, Gojusho ho sho and Gojushi ho dai are reversed from the JKA designation. So, it appears it has to do with preference within the system and may not be absolute at all. Is anything absolute in bugei?
Actually, if you watch the other weapons kata, you will note each has kiai for the first strike forward, the first strike toward the back (if there is one that direction) and the final offensive move. The other strikes are not suppose to have a kiai, at least of the ones I have seen.
Are you sure? i know for sure that in exams, the kata is Bo Dai Ichi no Kata, wich means Long form of the first Bo kata, so i'd point at Shushi no Kon Dai.
Well we are very strict here on both our schools, we train under Sensei Daniel Coelho, who trained under the Matayoshi family kobudo style himself, wich also teaches us the art of Shitoryu Karate Do (7th dan - renshi degree) so we have to know stuff up to competition levels even since we start as white belts (8th kyu) =)
of course knowing the kiai on the katas is specifically mandatory, if we fail the spot the performance of the kata, in a exam, can drop up to 50% =P
i meant knowing that the kiais were different. very few schools teach people to differentiate between "hai!" "kai!" "suh!" and so on.... and explosive vs internal
*technically* we're not strictly matayoshi kobudo. we're yamashita-matayoshi kobudo. the head of our style, sensei tadashi yamashita, 9th dan kobudo, trained with the younger matayoshi (much to the chagrin of sensei nakazato at the time). so we have kihons, complexes, and other moves that are with weapons, but not strictly matayoshi
but as for "other schools"... there IS another matayoshi kobudo school in minneapolis, but their requirements for black belt are so lax it's appalling. their 1st black is our green (white, [sometimes yellow], green, brown, brown, brown, black)! so "other schools" might do some things differemtly. this is always true, regardless of style.
oh i see i see, we are strictly matayoshi kobudo here, (i'm in portugal) =)
and although i know the different types and uses of kiai in specific actions as in attack, defence, explosiveness or softness and strengthening to some extent, we are not thaught that until further graduations.
You know more about that than I do! I do know he founded his own organization, the IOKA, separate from that of his sensei, Kinjo Takashi, as well as any of the associations that originated around Matayoshi Shinpo. Being a beginner, it's all just politics to me, though!
Excellent instructional video on this classic Okinawan weapon. My complements to sensei! I will use it as a reference tool. Joe Llanos of M*POWER Martial Arts Poughkeepsie NY
It may be sushi "ish a fud", but Shushi is the name of the man who created it. My sensei thought it was funny that people would think this was "sushi snow cone" until someone visiting Hawaii saw this very food for sale!
i'm kobudo student from venezuela, by okinawa kobudo international asosiation. my school shunji sudo karate in venezuela, by the shijan shunji sudo. i like kobudo this martial arts is very good for your spiritual helt. your videos helped to me very mucho arigatou!!
Thanks heaps. Your video's are great because i do shotocan karate and we do same boe katas. But it's really hard to learn at the dojo cause you always have new people comming cause weaponds is an extra class. So we only do first half and only for like 5mins. Now i have got it. I will be watching your videos. 5 starts :>
This is a purely Okinawan, and shushi no kon is practiced by all schools of kobudo. Stances like zen kutsu dachi and neko achi dachi, among the others in this kata, are the mainstay of Okinawan martial arts (both kobudo and karate). I'm sure Shihan's sensei, Kinjo Takashi, would confirm this if you happen by Naha City.
That's right - the association Matayoshi Shinpo created had serious infighting later in his life, and it got worse after he died. Kinjo Sensei was one of many who left, for various reasons.
this is always the way, which is unfortunate :( some styles dictate that kata and training remain EXACTLY as it did under the head of the style when he was alive; but maybe someone learned it / understood it slightly different than someone else... and maybe someone found that one particular method actually causes more injuries to students so they need to have it changed juuuust a little bit. and that's when it all begins :(
The 6-step move is the first half of a group called in-yo dosa (in-yo is Japanese for Yin-Yang) and is repeated throughout the kata (there is a second set of 6 moves that would be the "yo" that is not part of this). There are many specifics we get in class that are not included in the video because it would get very long to cover all the finer points!
FYI - the name of this kata, shushi no kon, translates to Shushi's Staff (Shushi is the name of the man it is named for, kon in this use is staff, like the word bo). I have no idea who this man was - if anyone else knows more particulars, please let me know.
Shihan Nishiuchi learned this kata from Matayoshi Shinpo, whose father Matayoshi Shinko, introduced kobudo to the Emperor about the same time as another Okinawan, Funakoshi Ginchin, did the same for karate.
i mean no disrespect but are these the only videos for the series? i want to learn this badly but my father wont allow me to get a trainer so I'm trying to learn from your videos. If there's others, would i be so rude enough as to ask for more? thank you verry much!
Awesome!
MrDarkwolfmen 1 week ago
nice to see real bujitsu for a change.
renzoko1 1 month ago
@renzoko1 Bujutsu (common misspelling), but thanks no matter what.
hempev 1 month ago
I studied Wado Ryu Karate when I was younger, and I still remember the katas,but I never learned any traditional Okinawan weapons. Will these lessons work along side the Wado Ryu style?
kustomhead 1 month ago
@kustomhead My sensei, Shihan Bolz, first made sho dan in Wado Ryu before switching to Uechi Ryu and then learning kobudo - Wado Ryu is good for learning a good zenkutsudachi, which is the primary stance for bo, so I think you should do fine!
hempev 1 month ago
Is that shihan nishiuchi???
dark75dark 1 month ago
@dark75dark Yes, but circa 1992.
hempev 1 month ago
this is quite different from the version i do. what style is this? i do partly goju and partly shito ryu kobudo.
pablohthegreat 2 months ago
@pablohthegreat This is derived from forms by Matayoshi Shinko Sensei and Kinjo Takashi Sensei but ours is called International Okinawan Kobudo Association. We concentrate solely on weapons, hence the name of the association is not related to any empty-hand technique.
hempev 2 months ago
@hempev arigatou gozaimashita
pablohthegreat 2 months ago
Very good instructions...Thank You Sir!
flores6ixthdan 2 months ago
I have trained ...bo, sho, yo, fighting since I was 6 years old. I have never ever used other version than the original and simple versions of these sticks. If you do the grip wrong you loose the weapon and this is why it is essential to learn how to hold them correctly. - Many of the Katas been made easier and I don't like this direction because the original forms hold keys to certain aspects in battle and skills.
acriked 4 months ago
@acriked Yes, original is best because it is closest to the "life-or-death" combat uses in Okinawa. There are some later versions of some katas that only slightly changed, but then you have to ask "Why?"
hempev 4 months ago
Greetings, I am training Matayoshi Kobudo in the states and just beginning to learn this kata. This looks very close to how we train it - certainly close enough to be quite helpful. (Right now I'm just trying to learn the sequence better, so this is great.) Thanks!
theUnlimited1 5 months ago
@theUnlimited1 It may be slightly different, because Matayoshi sensei changed some katas late in his life, and Shihan learn this in its original form, well before those changes.
hempev 5 months ago
@hempev Thank you for your reply - noted and appreciated! Cheers.
theUnlimited1 5 months ago
This is real Kobudo, with a real bo, performed by a real master. For those of you who don't have a clue, do you notice that he doesn't use a metal or toothpick, unlike so many of you fake-ass Kobudoka? It is a standard rokushakubo. Why is it that we never see anyone do flashy twirling and hands-free bullshit with one of these? Hmmmm....Answer that one.
budokichigai 7 months ago 5
@budokichigai because we don't want to lose our weapon! I also have a clip of Shihan hitting a student's bo as he tries to switch grips and *not* have it knocked out of his hands.
hempev 7 months ago
Why roku? This isn't a Bo roku
TheKnightwing1 8 months ago
@TheKnightwing1 Full name of the weapon is roku-shaku-bo, but most people just use bo.
hempev 8 months ago
@TheKnightwing1 It is called a rokushaku bo because it is a six foot bo. Roku = six and a shaku is a measure slightly smaller than a foot. The term is used to differentiate between other lengths of bo such as a ku shaku bo or a nine foot bo or a yon shaku bo or four foot bo.
koryubugei 7 months ago
Osu, thank you for sharing this video, very instructional and easy to follow. Osu.
gc33 8 months ago
@hempev I'd probably be content with bo alone. Although nunchuku scare me silly, maybe they're a good place to start.
psychedashell 10 months ago
bo its my signature weapon
DareAxel 11 months ago
this is just plain awesome :D
LarsLeenders 11 months ago
Is this Ryuku Kobujutsu? I used to do this kata and I notice several differences. Is this the mainland version?
MikeSkullman 1 year ago
@MikeSkullman No, it is IOKA, founded by Shihan Nishiuchi.
hempev 1 year ago
@hempev this seems very close to shotokan
Malkaking 10 months ago
@Malkaking Kobudo existed for centuries, shotokan was created in the 1920's - even Funakoshi sensei would know the difference.
hempev 10 months ago
@hempev :P thanks for clearing this up i learnt somthing new
Malkaking 10 months ago
Nice focus of energy
jtread66 1 year ago
@jtread66 You can especially see it at the end when he holds the strike point briefly - this is called kime ("kee-meh"), and is something I try very hard to get (but still don't really have...)
hempev 1 year ago
This is the cleanest and id say the best demostration of this form I have seen
staffy9 1 year ago
Hanshi Hempev, you have been an inspiration and model for many. I have as a young (53) sensai referred to your work as a model for my students. You due the tradition justice in all its forms, well done! (bows with the utmost respect).
dariusdragon 1 year ago
q fea esa kata
christianfigueroa89 1 year ago
Wonderfully done video!!!
Shows technique clearly and the explanations are exceptionally clear.
Great job packing all this in a 10min vid!!!
THANK YOU!!!
:)
Leonid3s 1 year ago
Perfection!
comsoft 1 year ago
My son is learning bo ich kata, this is a great demonstration. I have sent it to him on FB for him to use.
meabare 1 year ago
@meabare As long as his dojo doesn't teach it a different way! There are slight variations between schools, but, of course, I am biased enough to think this is the best version to learn!
hempev 1 year ago
what level of black belt are you? I just started learning karate and I am having lots of fun
inulovr 1 year ago
@inulovr I assume you mean *me*! The man in the video is one of my sensei (actually, my sensei's sensei) - I'm not even out of the "kyu" rankings in either karate or kobudo, which are separate arts in our dojo.
hempev 1 year ago
@hempev ooooh haha I see! well you will get there someday im sure :) what level of black belt is your "sensei's sensei"?
inulovr 1 year ago
@inulovr It never gets brought up, but I would guess roku dan
hempev 1 year ago
@hempev A very nice response. I get asked that question a lot, the presumption being a person of my age (more than 1/2 C) and studying for more than a year or two should be some advanced dan rank. Maybe that happens in some schools but not the one I'm in. I'm also not out of the kyu ranks and am just starting Bo, Jo, Tonfa, Sai and Nunchaku. It's nice to see some other schools are teaching weapons in the kyu ranks.
jalind1 1 year ago
@jalind1 This is a kobudo class, so we *only* use weapons, not punches or kicks.
hempev 1 year ago
@hempev I thought you wrote earlier that you were also a kyu rank in karate. Some schools won't allow karate kyu ranks to study weapons. And some don't teach weapons at all, or maybe teach one or two at most. I find that unfortunate. The school I'm in teaches weapons in a separate class as part of karate/taekwondo, allows students about 4th kyu rank and above. For tai chi chuan, it starts withing a couple of classes and is fully integrated in the classes.
jalind1 1 year ago
@jalind1 I do both, but they are separate ryu - I am the only student of both in our dojo right now. Our dojo only has 3 classes a week, so both ryu do the warm-ups together, then we separate for technical training. The karate class does not learn any weapons, no matter the level.
My sensei, Shihan Bolz, only teaches Okinawa ryu, despite having trained in wado ryu first. Since both the Japanese and Korean versions are derived from the Okinawan, she chooses to stay close to their origins.
hempev 1 year ago
@hempev Excellent! Appears to be a good school! My sensei, Amy Benevento, teaches an original style, Jo-Kwon-Chi that is a blend of Shotokan, Taekwondo and Tai Chi Chuan, using tae-guk and heian katas. It includes 5 traditional weapons that Jo-Kwon-Chi students may start in the intermediate kyu ranks. They can't advance without it. She also teaches Tai Chi Chuan separately, forms, dalu, push-hands and the jian (chien). She treats it as a martial art and teaches the applications.
jalind1 1 year ago
is this okinawan style?
rick1450 1 year ago
@rick1450 Yes, it is. Specifically, our ryu is International Okinawan Kobudo Association.
hempev 1 year ago
@hempev Thank You,I would like to try and learn this, and needed to know exactly what it is.Greetings from R.I.,Kuntao Jiu Jitsu& Tombo Kai
rick1450 1 year ago
@rick1450 Thanks - I don't know any of the other techniques you mentioned, but good luck in all of them!
hempev 1 year ago
@hempev R.I is my state,Kuntao Jiu Jitsu is my system, Tombo Kai is my dojo.(bow)
rick1450 1 year ago
good job and thank you im going to teach this to my students
johnhelmes 1 year ago
You need to be mindful that the Japanese language has no spelling. Also that this is a very widely practiced kata from Okinawa. As the demonstrator was trained in Okinawa, it seems he has a certain primal authenticity in his teachings. Mr. Kim was Chinese and, having met him, I don't remember an accent so he likely was an American.
IEKUKATAKA 2 years ago
@IEKUKATAKA What, because Americans don't have accents?
watts18269 1 year ago
@watts18269 Not sure what you are getting at and, yes, Americans have accents, southern, northern, midwestern, strange, funny, understandable, not understandable and foreign to other nationalities. Mr Kim did not have a Chinese accent, he spoke English with a slight north western accent. He actually could have been Korean but did not have a Korean accent either. Hope I answered your question that had no accent.
IEKUKATAKA 1 year ago
listen to that gi pop! I don't want to be on the business end of that staff!
fredxmertz 2 years ago
Is this Matayoshi Kobudo?
MKonig89 2 years ago
Matayoshi Shinpo was one of Shihan's sensei.
hempev 2 years ago
very nice
Theninja80291 2 years ago
Nice kobudo kata :)
gonxuelas 2 years ago
Correct me if im wrong but Isnt Fuku No Kon the first kata for the bo?
narutofreaktenten 2 years ago
You're wrong. Do a Google search for "Fuku No Kon" and you will find nothing; change that to "Shushi No Kon" and you'll find thousands of entries.
hempev 2 years ago
Thats why i was confused. I did search Fuku but nothing came up. Then, if I may ask, why is fuku taught as a Kata in most places?
narutofreaktenten 2 years ago
Sorry, I can't give you an answer - I am not very experienced in martial arts, so I can only reply with what I have learned from Shihan Nishiuchi and Shihan Bolz. They are some of the most exacting sensei you will ever find, so I choose their knowledge over *anyone's*.
A word written in romaji means very little when there are so many words that, in kanji or kana, are pronounced exactly the same - a quick search of "fuku" came up with: cloth wrapper, disobey, hanging scroll, belly, blessing...
hempev 2 years ago
Are you sure it's not "fukyu no kon"?
If so it sounds like a learning kata that was originally taught to kids and contained within it a lot of the basic strikes and blocks.
It's not really an Okinawan kata at least it's not one from any school I've ever known.
tokyoskippy 2 years ago
I don't have to be sure of the name - Shihan Nishiuchi has known this kata for longer than you've been alive, so I trust his knowledge implicitly. If others call it by another name, that's fine, but Shushi no Kon is what Kinjo Takashi Sensei calls it, and he was Shihan's sensei in Naha (still teaches there).
This is a well-known kata, done in many schools of kobudo, many with their own versions.
hempev 2 years ago
I wasn't replying to you, but the guy who asked if "fuku no kon" was the first bo kata. It stood to reason that he meant "fukYu no kon" (notice the "Y") as "fukyu" roughly translates out as "fundamentals". You can see this in a pair of Okinawan karate kata known as "kukyugata" ichi and ni. These were created back in the 40's by Shoshin Nagamine Sensei.
And just to make things clear, "shushin no kon" was the first bo kata I ever learned.
tokyoskippy 2 years ago
Sensei, your videos are excellent. Your style is very powerful like Karate should be.
Thank you.
TheBrazilianFighter 2 years ago
This is kobudo, not karate - Shihan is very exact in definitions.
hempev 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Does anyone know where can I find the bunkai?
ericj516 2 years ago
It is another of my clips, just look through my listings.
hempev 2 years ago
I just started my kobudo class (although I've taken karate for more than a year) and this video helped me a lot! The Bo staff is awkward at first, and Shushi no Kon is reeeeally long compared to the open-handed katas. XD
YautjaElder14 2 years ago
Karate doesn't have weapons, it's only empty hands. Kubudo is the martial arts with weapons, but doesn't have three sectioned(or sectional) staff, that is Kung Fu.
i fix it for you.
And in fact many styles teach many kinds weapons, including Karate. If you speak from experience then perhaps the school that you go to doesn't teach weapons. And my understanding is that three sectional staff did come from Kung Fu but is not limited to Kung Fu alone.
brokenshadow202 2 years ago
Okinawan karate schools were empty hands, and weapons were taught in kobudo schools, but sensei learn more than their own techniques over their decades in martial arts. Japanese karate has only been around since the 1920's, created for physical fitness, so there is deviation from pure combat for the difference in purpose (and tastes of the Japanese themselves); this then deviated into tae kwon do when Koreans learned karate from occupying Japanese. Weapons are a latter-day addition to either.
hempev 2 years ago
many karate styles have weapons katas.
In my opinion, katas are fights with imaginary opponents. That's why I consider this kata as too smooth... really too smooth. But I have to admit that this sensei can handle his bo very precisely.
trendkill29 2 years ago
Many karate schools added weapons in the 20th century, but traditionally they are a separate discipline. If you think this kata is "too smooth", you wouldn't like any other kata he demonstrates, whether kobudo, karate or iaido, because he is always very smooth and precise - this is why he is entitled to be a Shihan.
hempev 2 years ago
Excellent! Thank you! Bow.
deltaguru 2 years ago
In your style of karate do learn how to use the three sectional staff because if you do can you put some videoes on it thanks.
TIGER2605 2 years ago
No, we don't, and this is not karate.
hempev 2 years ago
It obviously isn't Tae Kwon Do, and if it isn't Karate, then please tell me what is it, I'm very interested in other styles now that I've gotten my black belt in Tae Kwon Do.
brokenshadow202 2 years ago
Kobudo, if you didn't see it mentioned elsewhere in the comments or the sidebar.
People who mention having a black belt usually refer to having sho dan, which is where many people stop, but is the "beginning black belt", according to Shihan. He had a 10th dan sensei in TKD taking one-on-one lessons and the sensei said Shihan "opened his eyes to budo" after 30 years of teaching.
Gambatte, kudasai!
hempev 2 years ago
I'm not particularly familiar with the terms you used, but i assume you mean 1st degree black belt when you say sho dan. which is correct i just tested recently in fact(and believe me, i could never stop TDK, it's part of my life now.) . thanks for the name of the style . I'll ask my instructor about it, maybe even find a school near me that teaches it, but not likely.
brokenshadow202 2 years ago
Excelent video and demonstation guid
fatdragon1194 2 years ago
Domo arigato
bujindojo 2 years ago
great video. Dai sempei Tony ,Os
tonysrhensley 2 years ago
Thanks! If you go by the rules of romaji, it's "ossu" (long s, silent u), but I knew what you meant!
hempev 2 years ago
I realise this is prolly a dumb question before I ask but can someone who like my name says, doesn't know crap about crap, use these vids as a replacement for any kind of formal training. At least until I can find a martial arts school close enough to attend?
idunnocrapaboutcrap 2 years ago
You may learn something, but they don't show the finer points of what he is doing, only about a tenth of what you need for each move. It's someplace to start, though - the problem is, left to their own devices, students pick up a lot of bad habits that a sensei would correct immediately.
hempev 2 years ago
Well, a place to start's all I need for now. Thanks for the info.
idunnocrapaboutcrap 2 years ago
a very late rply, but i can sympathise ruefully with that, in addition to my karate and the small amounts of weapons i am being eased into , being a hobby time researcher of all different styles of weapons and empty hand techniques. ive piced up alot of contradictory ideas, like the conceptual movements in chinese jian and dao sword, and shinese staff, as well as tai chi-chuan and wing chun empty hand moves, this dabbling in my spare time during holidays, id say hasnt done me as well as id like
elgostine 2 years ago
@elgostine Shihan Bolz (Shihan Nishiuchi's student and my sensei) often reminds us that, even with widely different moves, at their basis, all *good* martial arts work similarly: proper stance, solid lower body, flexible upper body, relaxation (not tension) to create power, and beneath it all, proper breathing.
hempev 2 years ago
yes ill agree breatjhing has noted to be a problem, i still despite two years of training in empty hand karate, i still have a tendency to hold breath in when punching the pad (my shihans style (SMAA) is a fusion of karate and taekrwon do plus techniques added with the specific intent for it to be readily usable on the street level, (therefor adding strikes like elbows, hooks and uppercut punches.
elgostine 2 years ago
Real karate (that is Okinawan karate) has all of the elements you have named and more and was expressly for the street. Why adulterate it?
IEKUKATAKA 2 years ago
Maybe because fusion sells better - classical Okinawan karate is rarely available - our dojo is the only one I know of in our area, and since Shihan only teaches 3 classes a week, it is not there as the sole income of the sensei!
hempev 2 years ago
you mean, boxing guards and strikes?
also along with kata, sparing and some combinations, a significant part of the curriculum is how to counter the sort of attacks youd likely see in the pub, on the street etc. btwi have no idea how much the TKD is included, i have a feeling its not much. so i suppose 'fusion' isnt the best word for it
it IS however still heavily based on okinawan-shotokan karate, he apparently makes trips, a few times a year to okinawa for instruction and other matters
elgostine 2 years ago
You sure can, provided that you use a little good sense and get some tips from knowledgeable people. Start with the footwork to develop balance, and bear in mind when striking to keep your arms relaxed and let the force start from a sudden contraction of the abdomen which forcefully STRAIGHTENS your arms (don't swing with just arm strength alone). This is a pretty good instructional video.
varanid8 2 years ago
One thing Shihan doesn't mention is that most of the power of a bo strike comes from the hips, *not* the arms or shoulders (but he has never made a point of concentrating on the abdomen, since we only relax it for the brief time we inhale) - we are taught "jo kyo, ge jitsu" (upper relaxed, lower taut), but the hips part is hard for a lot of people to learn without someone pointing out as they are doing a move.
hempev 2 years ago
These videos are great I use them in teaching to my students. That you for posting them, Master Robert Peterson
seireikai 2 years ago
Are you shihan manager or something?
Elpapi454 2 years ago
He manages himself quite fine, thank you - I am the person with enough time to edit and post his old training tapes.
hempev 2 years ago
Great answer! Respect
timdilbeck 2 years ago
I've never seen shushi no kon sho, done this way. My sensei teaches this kata to those interested, but in our dojo we mostly do shotokan karate. Sensei has won national championships doing the dai version, so it must be recognizable, but it looks so different from how sensei does it. Our dojo is in perry florida.
SeaGhost144 2 years ago
Shihan has never shown any desire for competition. He does teach in several countries, so he doesn't seem to need an award to be well-known. Also, this is kobudo, not karate, and is taught separately - dohai who are in either discipline do warmups together, but split up when technique is taught and practiced.
hempev 2 years ago
Normal speed, lethal! When were these videos filmed and how old is Shihan now?
woodleopard 2 years ago
They were made in 1992, and Shihan is now in his mid to late 60's. Other than less hair with more gray, he looks the same.
hempev 2 years ago
It is martial artists like this that have changed my preconception of what old age has to offer. Thanks for sharing.
woodleopard 2 years ago
hes a tank
DJRedro 2 years ago
Actually, he's not very big...
hempev 2 years ago
haha wow
DJRedro 2 years ago
Thank Sensei Everything you teach is so traditional.. and authentic Thank You for sharing your knowledge..
larcrosby 2 years ago
I am sure Shihan would appreciate your thanks!
hempev 2 years ago
I like this sensei , he is great,He just knows how to use that bo (kon) He makes it look esay but we all know it is not.Thanks for the post
ryukuykenpo74 2 years ago
Have to agree with you there - I've been trying to get this kata right for the past couple years, and while I learned the order early on, the form is much harder than it looks, and the breathing rhythm is years away for me!
hempev 2 years ago
I don't know this form of Sushi no Kon. I have learned another form a lot shorter. When I have a chance, I will upload a video of me performing the Shushi no Kon kata I have learned.
drkahara 2 years ago
There is a shorter version (sho) and longer version (dai) taught by most schools - I don't know any other version besides than this one, but I'm sure Shihan knows many. The best way to know how any kata works is to see its bunkai.
hempev 2 years ago
ok so why did i not think i would find this here when i was trainin for this pattern?...great video...
AdidasLove34 3 years ago
Can you tell me who the instructor is so I can look for a DVD?
wavemanmav 3 years ago
Shihan Nishiuchi - the link is to the right
hempev 3 years ago
This is a gr8 instructional video. I just learned this kata shortly b4 becoming a Brown Belt. Ousr Style (Seibukan Sukunaihayashi-Ryu) teaches it slightly different but the essence of the kata is definitely seen here.
Abdurazz 3 years ago
Interesting that this is part of Seibukan over there, since it has been my understanding that the only bo kata in Seibukan is Tokumine no kun. We learn this kata in Jinbukan kobudo, but not in Seibukan
sakusuhorumu 3 years ago
One of my subscribers commented on another shushi no kon clip recently, and the clip's poster thought it was *me* making the comment. You won't see the exchange - he apologized for his mistake and I removed all of it. He wasn't a martial artist and the clip was of his father - I watched it out of curiosity, and even I could see a lot of flaws.
Remember: budo spirit includes knowing both your own and others' limitations...even if it's your father!
hempev 3 years ago
Actually, sho and dai can have several meanings. One can be the lesser (sho) and the major (dai). In the case of kata, consider Kanku dai and Kanku sho. Kanku dai is required by the JKA but sho is not. In this case, dai means the ordinal or practiced kata. In the case of SKI, Gojusho ho sho and Gojushi ho dai are reversed from the JKA designation. So, it appears it has to do with preference within the system and may not be absolute at all. Is anything absolute in bugei?
IEKUKATAKA 3 years ago
He does'nt waste his kiai with to many kiai's
Good ~Wasa
popeye4u1967 3 years ago
Actually, if you watch the other weapons kata, you will note each has kiai for the first strike forward, the first strike toward the back (if there is one that direction) and the final offensive move. The other strikes are not suppose to have a kiai, at least of the ones I have seen.
hempev 3 years ago
Hormally, as in karate, each kata has 2 distinctive kiai, at specific moments.
Those kiai are mandatory.
Some kata may have more than 2, though i don't know of any.
The same applies to Okinawa Kobudo.
dark0ne2067 3 years ago
Is this 'Shushi no kon SHO'? Or 'Shushi no kon DAI'?
lorioco 3 years ago
Couldn't tell you - Shihan mentioned this in the past, but never made it a big enough issue to get into my thick skull.
hempev 3 years ago
this is sho
glamiss 3 years ago
Are you sure? i know for sure that in exams, the kata is Bo Dai Ichi no Kata, wich means Long form of the first Bo kata, so i'd point at Shushi no Kon Dai.
dark0ne2067 3 years ago
well, here the order (and every school could be slightly different) is sueshi (shushi here on youtube), sakugawa, choun, tchiken
kata (like passai) are (can be) labelled with sho and dai, dai being the latter of the two.
your naming convention is correct: hojo undo dai ichi, dai ni, dai san; sai no kata dai ichi; etc etc.
BUT... there is a kata later labelled as sueshi no kun dai, which is waaay above where i'm at.
good catch with that differentiation of kiais! not many people notice that.
glamiss 3 years ago
Well we are very strict here on both our schools, we train under Sensei Daniel Coelho, who trained under the Matayoshi family kobudo style himself, wich also teaches us the art of Shitoryu Karate Do (7th dan - renshi degree) so we have to know stuff up to competition levels even since we start as white belts (8th kyu) =)
of course knowing the kiai on the katas is specifically mandatory, if we fail the spot the performance of the kata, in a exam, can drop up to 50% =P
dark0ne2067 3 years ago
i meant knowing that the kiais were different. very few schools teach people to differentiate between "hai!" "kai!" "suh!" and so on.... and explosive vs internal
*technically* we're not strictly matayoshi kobudo. we're yamashita-matayoshi kobudo. the head of our style, sensei tadashi yamashita, 9th dan kobudo, trained with the younger matayoshi (much to the chagrin of sensei nakazato at the time). so we have kihons, complexes, and other moves that are with weapons, but not strictly matayoshi
glamiss 3 years ago
but as for "other schools"... there IS another matayoshi kobudo school in minneapolis, but their requirements for black belt are so lax it's appalling. their 1st black is our green (white, [sometimes yellow], green, brown, brown, brown, black)! so "other schools" might do some things differemtly. this is always true, regardless of style.
glamiss 3 years ago
oh i see i see, we are strictly matayoshi kobudo here, (i'm in portugal) =)
and although i know the different types and uses of kiai in specific actions as in attack, defence, explosiveness or softness and strengthening to some extent, we are not thaught that until further graduations.
dark0ne2067 3 years ago
I think that this wonderful Shihan should have become branch chief Kobujustu instead of Inoue ...
the50s60s70s 3 years ago
You know more about that than I do! I do know he founded his own organization, the IOKA, separate from that of his sensei, Kinjo Takashi, as well as any of the associations that originated around Matayoshi Shinpo. Being a beginner, it's all just politics to me, though!
hempev 3 years ago
Excellent instructional video on this classic Okinawan weapon. My complements to sensei! I will use it as a reference tool. Joe Llanos of M*POWER Martial Arts Poughkeepsie NY
Llanos413 4 years ago 2
muy basico tu tecnica
maquinafull81 4 years ago
lol the name sounds funny 4 me cuz
sushi ish a fud lol!
josedelfin07 4 years ago
It may be sushi "ish a fud", but Shushi is the name of the man who created it. My sensei thought it was funny that people would think this was "sushi snow cone" until someone visiting Hawaii saw this very food for sale!
hempev 4 years ago
Do itashimashite!
hempev 4 years ago
i'm kobudo student from venezuela, by okinawa kobudo international asosiation. my school shunji sudo karate in venezuela, by the shijan shunji sudo. i like kobudo this martial arts is very good for your spiritual helt. your videos helped to me very mucho arigatou!!
ni1no3skate13 4 years ago
Thanks heaps. Your video's are great because i do shotocan karate and we do same boe katas. But it's really hard to learn at the dojo cause you always have new people comming cause weaponds is an extra class. So we only do first half and only for like 5mins. Now i have got it. I will be watching your videos. 5 starts :>
flumesoft 4 years ago
Is this a Japanese art? It doesn't look Okinawan. His stances and posture are not based on Okinawan Principles.
tongsau 4 years ago
This is a purely Okinawan, and shushi no kon is practiced by all schools of kobudo. Stances like zen kutsu dachi and neko achi dachi, among the others in this kata, are the mainstay of Okinawan martial arts (both kobudo and karate). I'm sure Shihan's sensei, Kinjo Takashi, would confirm this if you happen by Naha City.
hempev 4 years ago
Purely okinawan, i can do shushi no kon too, i´m from shito-ryu karate-do
DeepThroatGT 4 years ago
I think you'll find that Kinjo Takashi is no longer a part of Matayoshi Kobudo. Last time I trained with him he had started his own kobudo style.
sba2kdotcom 4 years ago
That's right - the association Matayoshi Shinpo created had serious infighting later in his life, and it got worse after he died. Kinjo Sensei was one of many who left, for various reasons.
hempev 4 years ago
this is always the way, which is unfortunate :( some styles dictate that kata and training remain EXACTLY as it did under the head of the style when he was alive; but maybe someone learned it / understood it slightly different than someone else... and maybe someone found that one particular method actually causes more injuries to students so they need to have it changed juuuust a little bit. and that's when it all begins :(
glamiss 3 years ago
is all of that just one kata thats hard. i got the 3 count stuff but after that i get lost. I just keep watching it until i get it
coozer 4 years ago
The 6-step move is the first half of a group called in-yo dosa (in-yo is Japanese for Yin-Yang) and is repeated throughout the kata (there is a second set of 6 moves that would be the "yo" that is not part of this). There are many specifics we get in class that are not included in the video because it would get very long to cover all the finer points!
hempev 4 years ago
Very nice tutorial for Bo Staff.
Thankyou for this
HChickNZ 4 years ago
Best martial arts teacher I have ever seen in my life.
aelyxir 4 years ago 2
Very nice clear instruction. No excessive clutter of information.
Totemicwolf 4 years ago
wow
foxtons6 4 years ago
FYI - the name of this kata, shushi no kon, translates to Shushi's Staff (Shushi is the name of the man it is named for, kon in this use is staff, like the word bo). I have no idea who this man was - if anyone else knows more particulars, please let me know.
Shihan Nishiuchi learned this kata from Matayoshi Shinpo, whose father Matayoshi Shinko, introduced kobudo to the Emperor about the same time as another Okinawan, Funakoshi Ginchin, did the same for karate.
hempev 4 years ago
Incredible teaching!
aelyxir 4 years ago
A very informative tutorial. Thank you very much for posting it.
ykarpov 4 years ago
i mean no disrespect but are these the only videos for the series? i want to learn this badly but my father wont allow me to get a trainer so I'm trying to learn from your videos. If there's others, would i be so rude enough as to ask for more? thank you verry much!
lawrencealcantara620 4 years ago
If you watch all my clips, you will see just about all his kobudo videos.
hempev 4 years ago
Impressed with these Kobudo clips.. Who's this Sensei? I can see him from matayoshi Kobudo..
aiko4321 4 years ago
This is Nishiuchi Mikio Saiko Shihan - the training videos are 15 years old, and this particular kata is shorter than the "dai" version.
hempev 4 years ago
Hempev, This is Shushi No Kun DAI , isnt it?? SHO version is shorter.. am i correct??
aiko4321 4 years ago
I think this is the sho version, because the dai versions I have seen are longer than this, but I am no expert.
hempev 4 years ago
I hv learnt Sho version in earlier style.. I think this is Dai version :)
aiko4321 4 years ago
my chest heart just from lookin at it the first 2 minutes!
nltcraze 4 years ago
...it´s beautiful to look such a traditional stile from a real master.
Do you know somebody in Germany who teachs this stile?
BlackSmurfPunk 4 years ago
karate tring
amsns 4 years ago
Very helpful ++
jackkrauser92 4 years ago