A STICK IS NOT A BLADE No matter how many times I tell you that it is a steak, bologna is bologna. The same holds true when it comes to stick arts vs blade arts. It is very common to hear “yes we are a blade art” but then we see the art trained with sticks. I personally fell into this trap not knowing any better as a young martial artist. On a cursory glance the concept makes sense. When you look at it a little deeper however things do not hold up so well. The difference was driven home for me a few years back when I began working with my friend and training partner Mr. Guy Djinn. One fine morning we had planned to start working on Japanese sword together. I grabbed my favorite 36-inch wooden cane and showed up for class. My cane quickly disappeared and in its place a wooden bokken. Why? Because the bokken simulated the sword, more specifically it’s edge. As the lessons progressed it bec...
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Showing posts from December, 2021