After the conclusion of last night’s karate class, my sensei gave us a basic primer on Iaido and Aikido in preparation for an upcoming seminar some of us black belts would be attending. In doing so, he opened our eyes to a fact that I think often gets neglected in many other schools: that Japanese martial arts don’t exist in a vacuum. They were created to work with, against, and in response to other arts that were practiced at the time of their creation, and understanding these relationships can help you understand your own art more deeply.

Karate and Kobudo

I wrote about the relationship between karate and kobudo in an earlier post, but it’s worth mentioning again in this context. Karate and kobudo are like peanut butter and jelly, or Bonnie & Clyde, or… well, you get the point. So many of the kata we practice in our karate has applications that were originally intended for unarmed defense against a particular weapon – a spear or staff, for example – but without understanding that context and how those weapons would be used, you’re left trying to find some random application against a seemingly empty-handed opponent.

If you practice either Bassai Dai or Bassai Sho kata, those are two prime examples of kata that incorporate techniques meant for empty-handed defense against someone with a weapon.

Kobudo and Kendo

Kobudo originated in Okinawa during a time when the carrying of weapons was prohibited, as a means for individuals to protect themselves from bandits and pillagers. These pillagers sometimes attacked from horseback with weapons, and so some of the movements you might see in kobudo katas are actually built to defend against a mounted adversary.

Again, not something you’d immediately think about when practicing your kata – I happen to be lucky enough to train under an exceptionally knowledgeable sensei though, so I’m sharing some of the tidbits I’ve picked up in recent months 🙂

Kendo and Aikido

Kendo is the art of sword-fighting; Iaido is the art of drawing and cutting with the sword. It’s a small distinction, and I’m just going to stick with kendo when I talk about the sword here.

If you’ve ever seen someone practice aikido, you know it’s an interesting art to watch. It’s very fluid, with open hands versus the closed fists we often see in karate. I’ve often wondered why aikido uses open palms instead of closed fists… until my sensei demonstrated a couple of basic applications of aikido against someone armed with a sword.

My mind was freakin’ blown.

It took movements that, performed solo, had absolutely no discernible meaning to me whatsoever, and instantly made them contextually relevant. I have a new appreciation for the art of aikido, even after only one simple demonstration.

Conclusion

At first glance, a spider’s web is often disorderly, tangled and erratic. Upon closer inspection though, you start to notice the beauty in its design, and the purpose behind every strand that holds the web together.

It’s no different when it comes to Japanese martial arts. At first glance, you might wonder why that particular technique exists in that place in the kata. It’s only when you take a step back and look at one art’s interrelationship with the others that existed during the period in which it was invented that you start to realize the real meaning behind a technique. I’m only just beginning to scratch the surface on this in my own training right now, and I have a long way to go before I can confidently say that I can make sense of most of the threads in the web of martial arts. One thing is for sure though: knowing they exist is definitely a start.