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Originally known colloquially as TEGUA, Kobudo was forged on the island of Okinawa by the same civilian-warriors who developed the art of Karate. Over the past two hundred years, several distinct methods of wielding the individual weapons evolved associated with different districts of Okinawa and certain families. Only rarely were these methods formalized into real distinct "styles" as was Karate. Most Kobudo experts have traditionally been influenced by several of these methods. While there are no standardized or official set of kata used by all Kobudo practitioners, there are many interpretations of the various kata handed down by the masters of old. |
Akamine Eisuke & Taira Shinken |
Historically, most of the old masters of Okinawa often practiced their own unique versions of the different kata. It was not unusual for many of them to make up new kata that were really just alternative or elaborated extrapolations of older forms. In more recent times, Karate and Kobudo organizations have tried to standardize the kata within their own groups, though no one group or individual can honestly claim to use the most "official" or "authentic" versions. However, while the individual movements of the old kata are subject to much interpretation, the names and patterns of about fifty to sixty forms are very consistent and well documented as traditional kata for practice and skills development.
Courtesy of RKAGB
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