{"id":1070,"date":"2019-06-01T12:43:43","date_gmt":"2019-06-01T10:43:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/katorishintoryu.pl\/?p=1070"},"modified":"2023-11-28T20:12:45","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T19:12:45","slug":"martial-art-of-bojutsu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/katorishintoryu.pl\/en\/artykuly\/sztuka-walki-kijem-bojutsu\/","title":{"rendered":"The art of stick fighting - B\u014djutsu"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The stick is one of the first weapons used by man. An ordinary piece of wood does not stand out much compared to later weapons, but in the right hands it can be extremely effective.<\/p>

Due to its simple design, the stick was probably used all over the world, by all social classes. Moreover, compared to, for example, a sword or a spear, it is not immediately identified as a weapon and looks rather like an everyday item (it often fulfilled both functions). Wherever access to other weapons was limited, for material or legal reasons, people reached for a stick for self-defense.<\/p>

As a weapon, the stick is versatile. Not only can it deliver powerful, deadly blows, but it can also be used to incapacitate.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Construction and nomenclature<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Japanese name because <\/strong>literally means "stick" and today is a synonym for its most popular variety - rokshakub\u014d<\/em>, meaning \u201ca stick 6 shaku long\u201d. The exact dimensions may vary slightly, depending on the specific school and the preferences of the practitioner. The standard length is approximately 1.82 m (6 Shaku<\/em>) and diameter about 3 cm (1 sun<\/em>).<\/p>

Currently, b\u014d is made of one piece of wood (e.g. oak, beech) and has a round cross-section (marubo<\/em>). Historically, other varieties were also found, such as: hexagonal (rokakubo<\/em>) and octagonal (hakakubo<\/em>). Sometimes the wooden structure was reinforced with metal strips, but due to the weight, wood alone was usually the best option.<\/p>

In Japanese budo, you can also find other types of stick. Popular in modern martial arts yo<\/strong> is usually 1.27 m long. According to legend, this weapon, designed by Muso Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi (incidentally, an adept of Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b), was intended to be faster and easier to use than the longer b\u014d, but still retain the advantage of distance over the sword. On the other hand disgrace<\/strong>about<\/strong>, as the name suggests, is half a b\u014d long, i.e. 90 cm (3 shaku). This is the right length so that such a stick can also be used as a walking stick - a seemingly harmless everyday item.<\/p>

Same as wooden training weapons (e.g. bokken<\/em>), the stick requires periodic grinding and lubrication with vegetable oil (e.g. odorless rapeseed oil).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Martial arts using a stick<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Although the greatest emphasis in koryu <\/em>(old martial schools) focused on sword techniques, the stick was equally popular, and warriors - even if they did not learn to use it themselves - were aware of its effectiveness in combat and the methods of defense against it. It is worth knowing that the stick can also be interpreted, apart from the weapon itself, as a fragment of a broken spear (yari<\/em>). Parallel teaching of spear and stick techniques prepared them for such a situation, which was common on the battlefield.<\/p>

When a samurai did use a stick, he usually preferred the b\u014d.<\/em> It is estimated that by the end of the feudal period, over 300 schools had b\u014djutsu in their curriculum. The oldest of them are, among others: Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b, Kashima Shint\u014d-ry\u016b and Takenouchi-ry\u016b.<\/p>

In turn, Shint\u014d Muso-ry\u016b initiated and popularized the techniques j\u014djutsu<\/em>, which have also been incorporated into other fighting styles. The modern art of Seitei J\u014dd\u014d also comes from this school.<\/p>

The stick is also used in some hand-to-hand martial arts such as Karate and Aikid\u014d.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Stick versus sword<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The main advantage of the b\u014d in a duel with a sword is its length, which allows it to stay out of the sword's reach and keep the opponent at a distance. The stick can be moved in the hands, which allows for additional range when pushing. The length of the club also means that (due to the lever principle) the tip gains a lot of energy during the swing. Thanks to this, delivering a fatal blow does not require the attacker to use much force. Of course, provided that the shot was made correctly.<\/p>

However, the length of the b\u014d may also be its disadvantage. As with naginata and yari, they require space to use and are not suitable for tight spaces. More importantly, since the attack is launched with the tip of the stick, the weapon loses its effectiveness when the opponent shortens the distance.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Stick fighting techniques in Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The b\u014d stick is the second weapon that Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b students become familiar with - after learning the basics of the sword. It is also the first of long weapons, and good mastery b\u014djutsu<\/em> pays off in later learning naginata<\/em> and yari.<\/em><\/p>\n

At the primary level - omote-no-b\u014d<\/em> \u2013 you get to know six kata <\/em>(sequences) performed in pairs. The less advanced person is called uchikomi<\/em> and learns stick techniques. Whereas uke<\/em> this is a more experienced partner who uses a sword.<\/p>\n

Similar to the rest of Katori Shint\u014d-ry\u016b, except for the level omote <\/em>there is also a \u201chidden\u201d level \u2013 gokui-no-b\u014d<\/em>. Techniques and kata gokui <\/em>are taught only after years of practice, at further master levels.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Kij jest jedn\u0105 z pierwszych broni jakich u\u017cywa\u0142 cz\u0142owiek. Zwyk\u0142y kawa\u0142ek drewna, nie wyr\u00f3\u017cnia si\u0119 szczeg\u00f3lnie na tle p\u00f3\u017aniejszego or\u0119\u017ca, lecz we w\u0142a\u015bciwych r\u0119kach potrafi by\u0107 niezwykle skuteczny. Dzi\u0119ki prostej konstrukcji kij by\u0142 u\u017cywany prawdopodobnie na ca\u0142ym \u015bwiecie, przez wszystkie warstwy spo\u0142eczne. Co wi\u0119cej, w por\u00f3wnaniu do np. miecza czy w\u0142\u00f3czni, nie jest od razu […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1080,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artykuly"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-06 15:44:06","action":"category","newStatus":"draft","terms":[101],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/katorishintoryu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/katorishintoryu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/katorishintoryu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katorishintoryu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katorishintoryu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1070"}],"version-history":[{"count":55,"href":"https:\/\/katorishintoryu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13034,"href":"https:\/\/katorishintoryu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1070\/revisions\/13034"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katorishintoryu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/katorishintoryu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katorishintoryu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katorishintoryu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}