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Bojutsu accuracy

In our class tonight we were studying some exciting bojutsu ideas. A common concern with dynamic bojutsu is accuracy.

How to be accurate in a free exchange with a moving and competitive target?

An answer can be found in the most basic ideas of how we use our bodies for any activity. When you reach for a cup on a table, do you miss? How about when you are walking by? How is your accuracy when you brush an insect or leaf off a friend's shoulder? Do you miss and then get hit by his unexpected counter?

These things and more we do daily and rarely make a mistake. We move the frame of our bodies naturally and accuracy is a natural result.

In the Bujinkan, one way we explore this natural movement is with sanshin no kata. We connect to the ground through our legs and knees, transfer this up through the frame of our spine and body structure, then connect it all at the end of a fist or strike. It is natural. Like walking. When done naturally accuracy results.

In bojutsu, or with any weapon really, if you connect the frame of your body to the weapon, it moves naturally with you. With a basic understanding of the weapon's dimensions and physics (discovered by holding it and swinging it) you can be accurate.

If you connect a 6 foot Bo to your sanshin you can hit a candle flame on a table 6 feet away. If you don't know sanshin find a qualified Bujinkan teacher to show you. Try it. You may surprise yourself.

But keep a fire extinguisher nearby!


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  1. FU5K4November 9, 2009 at 9:12 PM

    From Soke's book Advanced Stick Fighting:
    "Thrusting the bo into the mist is in truth thrusting one's heart and mind and this is one method of koku-void training. In order to obtain the correct type of thrust, practice by driving a 5 sun nail into a wooden pillar, thrusting at the head of the nail with the bo. At first, the nail will often fly out, but this is to be expected. Once you have mastered this technique using just the stick and arms, the next step is to strike and pull back with the entire body. When doing this, do not hold the stick with strength, instead allow the stick to dance in the space. Rather than striking out and pulling back, let it float. Your body should also assume a lightness as if floating while maintaining balance."

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