Furi-bou

[Karasu Maru]

Furi-bou is a fat wooden stick used to practice swing a sword.
However, I have not seen such a big Furi-bou.
http://www.geocities.jp/takemusu_aikido/tanrenbo_story.htm

[ScottUK]

Is there a turning point when one of these gets so ridiculously big it becomes inefficient?

I have just started using a suburito/tanrenbo and it still resembles a sword and allows me a full range of (albeit slow) techniques.

However, some of these 'furi-bo' practitioners look like they're struggling to even keep hold. How does that help?

[BeginnerDavid]

What's the point of this? Is the idea that if you can swing a heavy sword, then you can swing a normal-weight one even better? I don't see how this works, because the balance of these huge wooden blocks would surely be totally different to that of a katana. I don't read Japanese, so I have no idea what the article says.

Also, why do they all seem to be wearing karate-gi?

[DDATFUS]

Maybe to build stamina? I think I've read that at least a few koryu sword schools use furibo as part of their training. Recently, I bought Nihon Kenjutsu volumes 1 & 2 (special thanks to Russ over at Futago Trader). The books are divided into sections on several different koryu. In the section on Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage Ryu, there is a photograph of a man holding a furibo (though it seems a good bit more slender than some of the monsters on that website). Sadly, my language skills aren't up to reading the Japanese text that goes along with the pictures. Still, if a school with the kind of reputation that Jikishinkage Ryu has acquired uses it, I would think it must serve some valuable purpose.

[Brian Pettett]

We have one in our dojo, although I've only used it a couple of times. As I was taught, they are used to train the hara, and not the arms. You slowly swing the (furibo?) straight down from jodan. If you use only your arms, you will quickly be exhausted. Tightening your abs and thus learning to use your hara instead of your arms, your endurance is greatly improved. I do not train with it much any more, but if I see someone in our class who overemphasized the use of their arms, I have them spend some time doing the above. I find that seems to break the habit in short order.

There may be other explanations that make more sense, but this is how we've used it in the past.

[fifthchamber]

They are used in Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage Ryu as a method of training, they also use Fukuro Shinai, Bokuto, and Habiki in their kata. The school focuses on use of breathing and the ways of using the body and hips are very dramatic to watch..Using the furibo is one of these methods, it can teach the correct use of the legs, waist and arms to cut and is actually one of the best ways I have seen to train the entire body for sword fighting..Or rather, what I would imagine you would need to do such..
The practitioners use it for furikaburi, sometimes sinking deeply as the cut slices down from men to the floor..This trains the legs to be able to handle heavy weight, and endurance..I would liken it to some kind of older version of the Stationary cycle, but with more relevance to the swordsman.
If you had ever seen them you would understand just how useful this method of training can be..
For more on this have a look at the book 鹿島神傳真心影流 by Iwasa Masaru. It has many of the waza in photographs and the dimensions and use of the Furibo as well.
Or look here....
Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage Ryu (www.kashimashindenjikishinkageryu.com)

[Brian Owens]

What's the point of this? Is the idea that if you can swing a heavy sword, then you can swing a normal-weight one even better? I don't see how this works, because the balance of these huge wooden blocks would surely be totally different to that of a katana.
The point is to build strength and stamina that will help one's technique, not to train in technique itself.

Just as one finds free weights and Universal Gyms in the training rooms of baseball teams, items that bear no resemblance to a baseball bat, so it is here.

The use of furibo and even suburito isn't limited to kenjutsu; I've known several karateka who also use them, along with sand-filled jars, iron geta, and other "old school" training aids, to build their bodies.

To me, the furibo looks like a lot more fun than a TotalGym, too.