i have a question about training by yourself with a bokken.

[davidgibb]

how would one train with a bokken by himself?

thanks

[BigJon]

Practice Kata.

[glad2bhere]

then practice more kata.

However, if you get frustrated, disillusioned and think you are pretty fed-up with doing the same ol' BS over and over again.

Start over again from the beginning and try practicing your kata repeatedly instead.

In between you can always parctice kata if you have nothing better to do.

But any chance you get, practice your kata--- that is-- when you are not praticing kata.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

[socho]

or you could practice kata.
Unless you don't know any kata, then you should get someone to teach you kata, so you can practice kata. If you can't get someone to teach you kata, don't practice kata, because you will teach yourself all kinds of wrong things that will get in the way when you find someone to teach you kata. IMO.

Dave

[jest]

When taking a break from kata, you could always go for some kamae.
and then do some kurotty in a multi-bepatched 'gi. and take some pictures thereof. and post them in the thread at the top of this forum

[Usagi Yojimbo]

But if you can't find anyone to instruct you, then watch videos and read books and practice kata. Many martial artists think that they are special, and the skills they practice can only be developed if they show you. This is, of course, not the case. Develop an appraising eye for movement and you will be just fine.

[SLeclair]

Originally posted by Usagi Yojimbo
But if you can't find anyone to instruct you, then watch videos and read books and practice kata. Many martial artists think that they are special, and the skills they practice can only be developed if they show you. This is, of course, not the case. Develop an appraising eye for movement and you will be just fine.

*gulp*

This thread is about to get some action, methinks. Maybe I'll write about my opinion on this, once a few people have responded to you. Hopefully someone will make my input unnecessary, which is good. I tend to write long messages .

---
Sebastien L.

[gendzwil]

Originally posted by Usagi Yojimbo
But if you can't find anyone to instruct you, then watch videos and read books and practice kata. Many martial artists think that they are special, and the skills they practice can only be developed if they show you. This is, of course, not the case. Develop an appraising eye for movement and you will be just fine.

Yeah, that's about the answer I'd expect from a cartoon rabbit samurai.

You can't learn from books and video. They are tools for helping people who already have a teacher.

[Usagi Yojimbo]

Ha, ha! This is where you are wrong! A "friend of mine" was thinking about joining a koryu swordsmanship dojo. Before joining this dojo, "my friend" got some embu video and some books from buyu books, and worked at it in his spare time, for about ten months. "My friend" then joined the dojo, when his course load changed, didn't tell his instructor that he had been "self-trained"...he recieved shodan in under 10 weeks. This was unprecedented in this dojo.

[glad2bhere]

Sorry, Tom. I have been over this issue so many times in the past in the KMA that this almost doesn't bear repeating. Learning gross motor skills is not the same a learning swordsmanship. I wish it were. Think how much money I could make selling mail order courses in Hapkido and Kum Bup. Ethically it can't be done because I already know that I would be defrauding the public. There will always be people who are happy with approximations of actual art. Cooking is an art and some people are very happy with TV dinners or cooking by recipe. Painting is an art and some people will be happy with those number kits. Hapkido is an art and there are folks who are perfectly happy to learn the gross skills and think they are doing the same thing as a person who has practiced for years. In my own case my cutting is significantly better than the stuff some fellow students have been doing but I know its because they thought that swinging a juk-to with armour on was the same as cutting with a shin gum. Suprise! Handling a sword as a weapon cannot be learned out of a book. You CAN learn to swing a sword around authoritatively and impress people. Whether you can use that weapon in a manner for accomplishing what it was invented for is open to discussion. FWIW.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

[Soulend]

Books and videos and self instruction allow one to pick up bad habits which take years to unlearn. It is impossible to get the small details and nuances of the technique from such media, and this is what separates good waza from galactically ridiculous waza.

McClafferty sensei once told me that there was a video out of a very senior exponent of his ryu, who could no longer perform the energetic 'tobichigai' of his waza due to advanced age, so he pretty much shuffled his feet to simulate this movement. Lo and behold, here come younger people who claim to 'know' the waza performing the exact same movement. Wonder where they learned it from?

[socho]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Usagi Yojimbo

But if you can't find anyone to instruct you, then watch videos and read books and practice kata.

Or, if you can't find anyone to teach you, or you feel like you can learn the nuances of a centuries-old tradition by reading a book (not in the original language, of course) and following the pictures, that's ok, too. Then you should try and find others who have taught themselves so you can pat each other on the back and say how good you are doing. Sheesh.

Many martial artists think that they are special, and the skills they practice can only be developed if they show you....

No, no one here is saying 'train with me', they are saying find a qualified instructor. Big difference. Japanese sword arts, remember, not strip-mall karate. Preserving and passing on a tradition, not trying to learn how to kick (or cut) butt. Also a big difference. IMO, the ones who think they are 'special' are the ones who think they don't need all that instruction and training crap. Seems like a lot of ego to carry around, careful it doesn't get in the way of actually learning anything.

If you want to learn a Japanese sword art, and there is no sensei in your area, do something that will make you stronger, more fluid, better balanced, better focused. That will help you adjust to some of the physical requirements of sword. Or swing a bokken, just be prepared to 'unlearn' a bunch of stuff if you do find an instructor.

Dave

[davidgibb]

well i had information someone is coming down here in semptember to teach iaido, i need more information on that if anyone has any, but i plan to wait till then to mess with anything

[Jock Armstrong]

Now you're cookin' Dave- a little instruction, practice that, get some more instruction, practice that. Thats how I started. Books and vids can help but actual instruction is the go, no matter how long between. Good luck.

[Usagi Yojimbo]

Originally posted by glad2bhere
Sorry, Tom. I have been over this issue so many times in the past in the KMA that this almost doesn't bear repeating. Learning gross motor skills is not the same a learning swordsmanship. I wish it were. . Whether you can use that weapon in a manner for accomplishing what it was invented for is open to discussion. FWIW.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

There are obviously vast spectrums of talent in the human populace. Most martial artists lack real talents, hence turning to anachronistic, socially inclusive behavior to substitute a sense a accoplishment. "My friend" is not an example of this...I gues soem of us are "better" than others!