Tommysan, would you send me the photo here to look at? Some of our other Budo Brothers might like to see it also. Thanks much!
Tommysan, would you send me the photo here to look at? Some of our other Budo Brothers might like to see it also. Thanks much!
Hi Hank-san,
I will be at Lake Lure; it's only 45 minutes from my house. I hope you can make it. I can't wait to see the eku when your done.
Tommy Lane
Jimsan, I have a little bit of video of "Ti" dancing I have been trying to learn to teach my 18 year old daughter. It ain't easy. I don't know where the video came from and don't know who the LadyKa is that is preforming the dance. She is dressed in Okinawan garb mostly blue and white, at one point she pulls a cloth band and wraps it around her head as she is going through the moves. It is very soothing to watch and the music in background, I think is Okinawan, is real good too. Sounds a little like the Warrior Song from Oyata Sensei's video and some of the Tsunami video. The Japan Fest here in Atlanta(Sept.or Oct. of the year) has Odori? dancing and Kodo drummers are usually there. It is a great time. The ShinkenDo folks do demo's and the Aikido folks do a little demo stuff. It has been getting bigger and better each year. This year I believe is their 5th? year. I could be wrong on that. I make my students walk on their tiptoes whenever possible. Even when they are not in class. I stress this to be very important to younger students. Builds "shuffling" speed and jumping capabilities. My nephew, Justin, is 26 this year. I started him walking on his tiptoes when he was 2, you should see him now. When he was 15 he could dunk a basketball from right under the goal, he was 5'5". His calf muscles are the size of footballs now and the leg strength he has is unbelievable. I could see how O'Sensei Kyan could have had the jumping power he had just in my experiences with my nephew alone. I am starting to wander off the original subject, Eku. Sorry guys. But when you use weapons you must be light on feet, kinda like what tiptoe training does, no?
In the Kata Akacchu Eku performed by Shinyu Gushi the last thrust is a high above jodan in height. Is this against someone on horseback perhaps? Does anybode here know whats it for? And is that the same Kata as Chikin akacchu ekudi?
Patrik Weitko
We had traditional Okinawa dancers perform for us at our National Training Seminar a few years ago. One of the ladies performed a dance with an oar. No doubt in anyone's mind that she knew kata!
A high thrust could be someone on horseback. It could also be someone on a taller boat, or on a pier, or in the rigging.
I think there is a great deal to be said for proficiency with the tools of one's trade. Anyone doing things repetatively gets good at it, and gets to the point that they don't even think about it. Watch a skilled mason, a carpenter, a blacksmith. They use their tools as an extension of their bodies. It would be very natural to use the thing that is always in your hand as a weapon or shield. And the item is so familiar that it is light and easily maneuvered. A farmer that uses the carrying pole on a daily basis becomes familiar with its weight and length and the most efficient way of doing things with it. I think the oar is the most natural weapon used in kabudo. Once I have a few more bo kata learned to a comfortable level, I will be working on an eku kata.
Respectfully
Mark W. Swarthout, Shodan
A high strike, is a high strike. Could be attacking horses head, an extremelly large person, many things it could be.
This may be a stupid question since I already now THINK I know the answer. Were traditional eiku about 6 feet? As I understand their lenght was to match the boat and fishermen, so there are no exact measurements for the eiku historically.
Its always made in different dimensions, or are they always 6 feet? Sources anyone??
Patrik Weitko
Farm tools and weeaponry were almost always tailored to fit the individual user. Most of the old photos I have seen show ekude looking long, but, each one looked slightly different in length. The ekude we use nowadays is a developmental one, by way of traditional ekude, which were much smaller in length. Most Okinawans were about the same size, so the 6' length, as it turns out, was pretty common. The average height here in US is 6'-6'3", so, the common length here would be around 6'8"-7'.
It may be possible that the 20.th century Okinawan Budôka in their research on fighting techniques someday noticed that the Eku also seemed to have been used as a weapon, as seen in traditional dances and stage performances. In "Karate-dô Taikan" of Nakasone 1938, Taira only mentions Bô-kata, among them Sunakake no Kun. In "Ryûkyû Kobudô Taikan" of 1964 he doesn't mention the Eku either, and in the four planned, but never published remaining volumes, it was not planned to incorporate an Eku-kata.
So the Eku may only have been re-martialised from the traditional performances in the second half of the 20.th century.
However, in Matayoshi tradition it is said that "Tsuken Akanchû no Kaijutsu was Matayoshi Shinchin’s tokui and this Kata is representative for the Matayoshi-family." [KO MATAYOSHI SHINPÔ TSUITÔ. Matayoshi Kobudô Tôde-dô Kokusai Enbu Taikai, p. 20]
And as is pointed out in "Ko Matayoshi Shinpô Tsuito", the Eku-techniques were used in China: "This weapon had been in general use in Shanghai within the Bujutsu."
The Hârî boat race had been an official performance on occasions like Sappôshi coming to Okinawa for some hundred years. And of course the Hârî boat race came from China also.
By the way; I participated in the Dragon-Boat race in Duesseldorf last year. Our drummer was Woelli, Ex-drummer of "Die Toten Hosen"
Old Chinese picture of Hârî.
The Eku seem to have been colored for the most part.
Best regards
Andreas Quast
We are Pope!
Very nice Andreasan, very nice.
Here's a little video of the 29.the Naha Haarii boat race. Notice the two standing "Karate"-guys in the left boat:
29.th Naha Haarii boat race
Haarii racing is a very good training. Will there be an E-budo-Haari race???
Best regards
Andreas Quast
We are Pope!