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Old 11-18-2004, 01:28 AM   #10
batemanb
 
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Dojo: Seibukan Aikido UK
Location: body in UK, heart still in Japan
Join Date: May 2002
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Re: Bokken etiquette

Quote:
Dave Humm wrote:
As a student of iai and aiki I am often amused at the 'reverance' placed on a bit of wood by aikidoists with no formal training with a skinken or iaito.
Hi Dave,

There can be a lot of overkill there, but likewise it can be a bit tricky sometimes. The bokken is a training weapon substituting for the real thing, therefore it has to be respected as much as a real ken, and treated almost as if it is a real ken. There are certain moves that uke will only really respond to if a real blade is cutting your way, obviously we can't do that so uke needs to instill that it is a real blade in their mind and react believing it is a real blade, otherwise they will just stand there looking at a piece of wood brushing against their body, thus defeating the purpose of practicing those particular techniques.

I know I've digressed ever so slightly, but a bokken still needs to be treated with respect.

rgds

Bryan

A difficult problem is easily solved by asking yourself the question, "Just how would the Lone Ranger handle this?"
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