A couple weeks back there was a major karate and kobudo gathering in Okinawa. Over 5000 participants from around the world gathered inside the Okinawa Prefecture’s Gym. There were so many demos that 6 or 8 rings were running simultaneously.
I didn’t make it down for the fun, but several dojo mates and seniors did. By chance, I had an open Wednesday night so I visited the Morishita dojo where I have practiced a few times and have always been made to feel extremely welcome.
Though I missed out on the big event in Okinawa, it worked somewhat to my advantage because most of the people from Tokyo had not yet returned. That meant only four people for kobudo practice and more individual attention from the teacher.
He asked each of us to focus on whichever was our weakest weapon for that night’s practice. Oh, so many to choose from when they all need work. I opted for sai, since I will need to perform tsukin shita haku no sai (chikin shita haku no sai) for my next rank exam. And because I have not been able to nail the down block / rising block combo which is done about 552 times in the kata and that has caused some concern out in Tama where I usually practice.
The extra scrutiny from the teacher was well worth it and my kata or form has been completely rebuilt. Now to grind in the changes through about ten thousand reps before the test…
(photo of a number of bo staves strapped onto a bicycle for easy transportation around Tokyo)
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