Practicing on Many Levels Simultaneously

March 20, 1991

Mark J. Norton


When I teach weapons, such as the staff, I will often start the class with suburi practice, then work on a few transition moves, and then perhaps show one or two kata or kumi-jo forms. Traditionally, the student was set to practicing the basic forms before being allowed (or even shown) the kata or two-man practice forms. This approach seems quite acceptable for that long-gone day, but might not be appropriate for today's student.

The ancient bodoka took weaons study quite seriously. He had to since his very life was quite likely to depend on how well the lessons were learned. Sensei of the day understood this and used this determination to lay a very solid foundation before leading the student on to more complex practice. Given a multi-year commitment of daily practice, this would work quite well to produce a superior level of training.

Today's student (in the US at least) would have a great deal of difficulty committing the same amout of time and energy to the study of weapons. While it is true that knowledge a practice with weaons might save his life as well, how much application does this really have in modern society? Reasons for study are different: exercise, meditation, curiosity, etc. are more often cited today.

It is for these reasons that I teach various level of practice in my classes. I tell my students that suburi is very important and will serve as the foundation for weapons practice. I also teach them transition moves, and explain to them how to move from one suburi element to another. Then we practice kata forms where transitions and basic movements are joined into longer sequences. Finally, kumi-jo practice shows how these movements can be combined into exchanges between two individuals. Using this approach, mastery may take longer, but interest is maintained. Variety and experience may cause the student to think more about the applications of suburi as they are practiced repetitively. I have observed many other teachers using this technique today, and it has worked well for me also.