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SamisaBokken
20th April 2017, 03:25
Greetings!
My name is Stu Smith from Melbourne, Australia.

After many years treating my body hard, I have been more focused on internal work, including an interest in applying power through a weapon, with my logical choice here (with very restrictive weapons laws) being Bokuto.

To that end, I have been hand carving Bokuto out of Australian hardwood, particularly Australian Ironbark and Redgum.
These timbers have the ability to let me test my limited but hopefully developing skills, using standardised tests that anyone can replicate.

Some of my initial testing:
If you go to youtube and type in 'Samisa Bokken' there a few videos up showing how I am going about the testing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m2W9bhQtPw&t=6s


These videos are a work in progress, so please take them for what they are.

All the best!

Stu Smith

Cady Goldfield
22nd April 2017, 04:44
Welcome to E-Budo, Stu, and thank you for the intro. What kind of internal training do you do... from what tradition?

Besides bokuto, you can do a lot with bo -- yonshakubo, hanbo -- and jo, of course. But, pointed sticks have their merits. ;)

We hope you enjoy the forums!

SamisaBokken
24th April 2017, 03:05
Hi Cady, thanks for your welcome.

After 20 years of hard contact arts (which I still love) and meditation I was fortunate to meet a Chinese doctor here in Melbourne, who was kind enough to take me as a personal student.
From her I learnt small and large circulation of Chi, red palm, eagle claw and 3 of the steps of Dragon Step, which is a method of expressing energy from the body (perhaps similar to some discharge forms).

I have lost contact with my teacher, so don’t have permission to make any claims.
I am interested however to show by demonstration the little that I know, as I don’t know if anything will be lost if I don’t.

On that, I am reading with interest a book by Kenji Tokitsu, ‘Ki and the way of the martial arts’, a very interesting book.
I was most interested in the description of a Japanese master Shirai Toru, where ‘it was said he could dominate his opponents by means of a strange power that emanated from his sword’.
Well there is something to aspire to.

I wish you all the best,

Stu Smith

hyaku
26th April 2017, 04:13
Hi Stu,

I have used some very hard woods but we have far too much hard contact. They carbonise after a while and snap. Best one yet for us is Ipe. Thing is our weapons area lot thinner and more sword shaped.

SamisaBokken
26th April 2017, 05:30
Hi Colin,

Nice to hear from you.
I will read with interest about your style, though I apologise, I am a wood carver and enjoyer of hand to hand play, not a kenjutsu player.

On that though, I have a beautiful old Kenjutsu Bokuto, which I use as a template for one of the Bokuto that I hand carve.

I will enclose a picture, would you like to see if the shape is similar to what you use?

If you could measure and send me exact dimensions (a tracing with exact dimensions would be fantastic) I will carve one for you.
If you are willing to pay the postage, I will do this for you at no cost, if you are willing to test it and give me some detailed feedback (perhaps video?).

All the best,

Stu



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