Since the doctrinal knowledge passes through the language can be interesting semantic an introduction at the end kobudo: literally means "the way of ancient weapons", or, with a slightly modified meaning of bu, "the old warrior." The difference between the two versions is, at least in large part, apparently.
Now, the logic seems fairly recent origin of the name, because the word "old" refers to something of the remote past, but the warrior of the past martial art that was practiced contemporary, not old. In other words, if practical in the nineteenth century of an art XII, I can define "old", but if practical in the twelfth century art twelfth century, the name is the most contemporary. There is a further complication: many scholars have noted a historical hiatus between the suffix do and jutsu, giving the first modern martial arts and the second version of their old, traditional or more. The door-to perfect the difference is all respect, as historical contingency behind the practice varies widely. It says that the ju jutsu has been transformed into judo, aiki jutsu in aikido, ken jutsu in kendo and so on. So, one wonders, it is legitimate to introduce such a difference, time and method even before language, even in kobudo? Nothing prohibits, from a purely lexical to define the arts and Japanese armed okinawensi old, which have not undergone the sweetening of sport, the term kobu jutsu.
But terms used in traditional Japanese are bujutsu and buke jutsu. Since ancient times the bujutsu, as the word itself was the art of combat, most schools, apart from a few that are specializzavano exclusively in the fight with bare hands, included the use of weapons. Now, the weapons of society par excellence Japanese military were those cutting: sword (daito, tachi) in the first place and then alabarde (naginata, bisen-to), lance (yari), short swords (wakizashi, kodachi etc.) and daggers (time aikuchi, toshi) of various shapes; not to mention the various types of arc (o-yumi, daikyu, hankyu, azusa-yumi, etc.) and arrows. Although, as witnessed by several classical schools (ryuha), the noble bushi not trascurarono all the advantages of weapons as shaken and shuriken (small weapons launch, circular or elongated), kusari range (with sickles chain) and other weapons peasant or monastic referred treat. An object that the Japanese warriors is solved soon use as a weapon was the range; virtually every social class, in Japan, was widely used (including ceremonial use, ornamental and symbolic) of various types of range, and using it as a weapon. The origin of the Eastern fans is unknown, but the custom of carrying a range as a symbol of military power undoubtedly comes from China, Japan to be recognized instead invention of the folding fan. The first fans warships used by samurai models were large, heavy and rigid, called gumbai used to strike or parare. Parallelamen-you, the warriors used to battle the range folding gunsen, while in civilian clothes carrying the tessen, hard fact with iron slats.
All these models, in various ways, were used to strike or parare, deflecting the trajectory members of the opponent. Indeed, some teachers loved show about a low esteem for their occasional adversary, fighting with a simple fan, instead of resorting to the sword too.
However, that the ability to fight in itself could have led to the great philosophical values is only a consequence of the mere purpose of survival and victory in battle. Therefore, not much maybe away from the truth about claims that these warriors, today, would be concerned with the use of pistols, rifles and cannons several more that the swords. The same goes for the famous ninja According to these same people, it is simply absurd to think that a ninja today should be around hooded and would use weapons of their ancestors. When there were not that the knives, in war or in fighting it used the knives. Today, unfortunately, there are more terrible firearms and everyone has to do with war actions, it's a real war or not, use the best means available. Although there is no shortage of examples curious eccentricity, as in the case of fancier representatives of the special forces of a Western power, which during the war in Kuwait scorrazzavano for the country with the sort of wakizashi across the back.
So then the meaning of training with the weapons of East must necessarily have changed meaning. According to many experts, these momentous changes are among the main reasons of evolution from jutsu to do, that is a priority aim of survival purposes thinner, as the improvement and personal growth, and then work on the structure of personologica. But according to the most attentive experts that to be such, we must not forget, must have practiced very, very long, the benefits of the practice of both ancient arts go far beyond. So Miyamoto Musashi, after years of duels and killings, came to insights worthy of the highest level of humanity; in the same way, many great masters developed through the bloody experience of the battlefield a spirit of rare sophistication and depth. Probably there is no need to follow a path so unlucky, but for the same human nature, it is revealed in the history of unexpected fertility.
I hope that the maestro Claudio Set, a great expert on Japanese art and often a source for me of interesting details, we do not have a male if I quote a discussion with him had recently: talking about the practical forms of tenshin shoden katori shinto ryu , the style of bujutsu still active oldest of Japan (where the master Set is an expert), he told me that the key to training is to correctly understand the movements, and then practise constantly kata (forms), a a certain point, kata begin to "speak", revealing experiences of great magnitude. In this lies the somewhat 'mitizzata nobility of martial art, and the great charm that the warrior archetype, and in modern times the emotional investment of mould neurotic related to it, exerts on the human mind. No need to go back in time too, just mention the kendo, which under an appearance, so to speak, sports, hides all the depth of Japanese warrior spirit (the same master Set, on another occasion, he told me that kendo is a game not quite understand what I meant, until the meeting later, he added: "kendo is a game, but a game in which condensed the basics of combat"): you have ever looked into the eyes of an old expert of kendo, who stands before, "imperturbable as the mountains ..." (a tribute to the motto of the great family Takeda), impugnando a simple bamboo sword that seems inexplicably crush your conscience?
These aspects are of course valid to do with the peaks more immaculate condition of the human being, but also wanted to ask the question in terms only physical, one of the keys to any traditional martial art is expressed by the proverb "is not the glittering sword that fights , but the heart Evident. "
This is not a concept primarily idealistic or spiritualistico: any instructor of special bodies, once again, modern armies sign that motto. That is why, according to some teachers, each jutsu has always understood the concept of do. This probably stems identifying both emphasized nell'occidente today between the warrior and an essay. Of course, have to deal every day with death can lead to imbalances or
Librio or wisdom. Today, it was said, the situation dell'adepto schools martial, when
To old, it is inevitably changed. But what has not changed much, practically since birth of humanity, is the fear of death, so that weighs on the conscience and freedom of individuals. It was only transferred to a more metaphorical (never too metaphorical, because its inevitability leaves no room all'idealismo), as has happened perhaps for the bujutsu.
And 'only a humble personal vision, but every time I see a practitioner of Japanese sword kneel for greeting to the kami, or in calm before the moment in which explodes the action, I see a dignity and equal beauty the cherry blossoms falling in the spring on the slopes of Mount Yoshino. This seems to be the spirit in which every dawn, every sunset, thousands of students, not only in Japan, honor the old masters merging their bodies and their souls with the old weapons. Arma is a word that I do not like, because it evokes in me obtuse images of violence and unnecessary. But in this case it brings the splendid sword in hand to avoid having to extract ever.
All these factors have led, often with excessive superficilità, to consider the bujutsu armed than without weapons. To make expenses are many schools ju jutsu, considered an extraction popular and rough. That is why the problem is similar to the practice of weapons precisely popular, as opposed to those from a certain period, the Japanese empire had sought to become the exclusive prerogative of the patrician class buke, the powerful warrior class. This exclusivity failed to fully assert itself even at the application of edicts prohibiting that to bring the sword (katana laps) who was not a bushi, countless were the merchants, craftsmen and farmers who celavano in shops or their villages ar -
Me. Moreover, members of these classes, at least until the long-pax To kugawa, also had a very close relationship with the martial arts, often having to fight for re-propiro clan, or even go to war as ashigaru (soldiers walk). Of course, it is rather difficult to find trained fighters of the best exponents of the warrior class, because usually it - it is right, given his role - provided the best teachers and best schools. Nevertheless, many strong groups of fighters popular, as otokodate, brought many troubles to powerful armies of the shogun.
And when the government of the military, mindful of past conflicts, taken the precaution to exercise control and suffocating angariante on these classes of the people, in those difficult times - with the violence on the agenda and respect for human life at very low - merchants, artisans, farmers, fishermen and so on, the poor palesava possibility of linking arms classic defensive use of everyday objects, with the advantage that their appearance was not necessarily due to the fighting. If we can extend, at least from a semantic point of view, the term kobudo to armed Japanese martial arts and, by analogy language, Okinawa, it is usually more popularly refer to the practice of their weapons minors, often peasant.
Among them there were weapons chain, very ancient origin: for example kusari range, a falcetto of various lengths connected with a chain weighed at free; a weapon that in experienced hands became very effective against various types of Weapons from the long lance katana. Similar, but more subtle, nage range, an auction with a curved blade and a un'esremità a long chain concealed into the recess in the handle. The two elements that made these tools were weapons in itself: falcetto, kama, was of peasant origin and could take on the shapes and sizes more varied to achieve, in kama-yari, lengths achieved. The simple chain, kusari, was also an excellent and very ancient weapon, which has become very popular thanks to note samurai Masaki Toshimitsu Dannoshin, which invented the manriki kusari, a chain, originally, about 66 centimeters (two shaku and two sun ), of which ten per handle; the same handles were used as instruments bodies, both by rotating the chain impugnandole as short sticks. Masaki, with the title of the banpei (great sentinel), was chief of guards who vegliavano of the Tokugawa castle in Edo from its calculations, the chain took great spread and variety of forms.
There were also other social classes who contributed with new and interesting features to the already rich world of Japanese weapons. One of the most important contributions was undoubtedly that of warrior monks, including schools and brillarono items of great value, as the school launches Hozo-in ryu. The supposed contact with the laws and supernatural forces attached to them, as has always happened in the world, a great power. But in the Far East, the spread of martial arts within the clergy has reached breadth and importance decidedly relevant (not forget that even nell'occidente Christian esistettero orders of monks skilled fighters, the Knights Templar as those teutonici or Knights of Malta, to name a few). These bellicose priests were renowned for the use of naginata (halberd that perhaps had the merit of introducing the bujutsu), as well as for the use of spears, bows and swords. A weapon particular that really became deadly in their hands, was the oni, a huge dark of 1 and 80 meters in length.
The bujutsu must largely to the class monastic its most purely mental and spiritual, never divorced from the physical practice.
Another class of professionals who know how to craft had to fight was the police. The supervisory bodies organized in individual feudal clan of ancient Japan, to the disabled, but often corrupt, henchmen of the Tokugawa shogun (divided into securities yoriki, doshin, okappiki and tesaki), the police are always affiancarono to similar roles groups of soldiers and citizens. Because quite often the police had to shut down the affected without killing them, it specifically developed techniques, such as the use of jutte (also called jitte or jittei), the fight with bare hands or the art of trap and bind prisoners ( hobaku jutsu). The jutte, which are in different variants (even with blades or paramano) was brought in a sheath stuck nell'obi (fusciacca) or hung it. Japan and Okinawa are courting, perhaps even more than for other weapons, the paternity of jutte. Another curious object that the police was invented metsubushi (or gantsubushi), a container or bronze lacquer combined with a tube through which the police soffiavano pepper or other dust in the eyes of the criminal who had captured.
Stefano Pernatsch
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This article was translated by a machine translation software and not by one person.