From http://www.rojodojo.com A preview of my Bujinkan video exploring the kata 朴返 bokuhen. We warmed up with a type of 体変術無刀捕 taihenjutsu mutōdori. Not the official forms, but we used ukemi connected to the opening of the kata we are studying in this class. We did sokuho kaiten, koho kaeru kaiten, and yoko nagare.
The reason I did the warmup this way was because the kata 朴返 bokuhen, begins this way for deception. It may begin with a roll for kyojitsu (the Japanese text is 下に出て虚一転返る), or you simply drop out of kamae this way. In either case, your opponent believes there is a target he can cut, but this is an illusion you have created for him as a trap.
Then you snap back into his space quickly and drop him with a kick! The first kanji of the kata is 朴 boku, which may refer to several types of Japanese trees: the Japanese bigleaf magnolia (Magnolia obovata) is one example. And the second kanji, 返 hen (also kaeru) means to return. It is like when you are hiking down a trail behind a friend. Then your friend pushes a branch aside. But he forgets to hold it for you and it snaps back (or returns quickly) into your face!
You may think of yourself in this kata as the tree that returns. Your opponent tries to chop you down, but you leap back in and catch hoshi. Use hoshi to briefly press or support your opponent. Then you drop out. The opponent falls into this void and you fill it with your kick to suigetsu.
In the normal kata, you drop out of your stance in a clockwise direction, but leap back to the left. Since we start in 平一文字之構 hira ichimonji no kamae, I showed how you may also cross step and leap back to the left. My students said this fooled them because it looked like I was stumbling.
In another henka from hira ichimonji, you simply pivot. As the cut comes in, pivot to check the opponent’s kote, then kick. This is useful for a late timing.
We finished with this type of late timing. Dropping out of our stance to cross step forward. In both of these late timings, I demonstrated something I studied with Hatsumi Sensei earlier this month in Japan. It was a form of 遠当之術 tōate no jutsu or even 遠當之術 tōate no jutsu. But Hatsumi Sensei said “you understand how important it is to have this toate controlling him. I'm not striking him, but it's used for control.” This is a deep lesson for all striking.
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