Thread: Why no tsuba?
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Old 10-09-2011, 05:45 PM   #62
kewms
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,318
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Re: Why no tsuba?

Quote:
Graham Christian wrote: View Post
I would say very simply that a tsuba makes you lazy. Learning how to protect your hands and knuckles etc. is all part of the training.
It would be equally accurate (or inaccurate) to say that *not* having a tsuba causes your partners to pull their strikes to avoid injuring you. Learning how to deal with realistic strikes is part of the training, too.

I once had a partner hit my (wooden) tsuba hard enough to split it in half. I'm pretty happy that the tsuba took the blow instead of my hand.

I've also seen quite a few techniques where the tsuba plays an important role. Certainly they are considered essential equipment in both my current and previous dojos.

So I'd say a blanket statement like yours says more about you than about the value (or not) of a tsuba.

Katherine