Kobudo (weaponry)
Master Kim
The shorinji-ryu system of Karate includes weapons training and this was something Sensei Kim had made a part of his teachings. He felt that the weapons were an intricate part of martial arts training as it brought an element of reality to the training.
Hand to hand combat is something most people can handle, but when a weapon is introduced, the confrontation presents a completely different scenario. Just imagine yourself being faced with an attacker who is wielding a knife. The fear of getting cut or stabbed is much more frightening than getting hit with a punch.
Some of the weapons which are part of the shorinji-ryu system include the Bo, Jo, Tonbo, Tonfa, Sai, Kama, Nunchaku, Oar, Teisho and Knife. Sensei Richard Kim has written a Kobudo (weapons) book series on the weapons of Matsu Higa, Chatan Yara and Hama Higa.
To learn the weapons, you must be at least 14 years old and have reached the rank of Green belt. The chief instructor of Jikaku-do school of martial arts, Sensei Williamson, took first place in Kobudo (weapons) at the 2001 Zen Bei Butoku-Kai Internationals in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Sensei Williamson
