Aikido Bokken Swords

Traditionally, bokken have been in existence as long as their Japanese counterparts and were mainly used for training of warriors and samurai. The bokken is a wooden training tool for martial students wishing to learn the use of a live weapon. In Japan, the sword and its artistry dates back before the times of written history.

Throughout Japan, some swords began to take a shorter length and had a curve, compared to the longer, two-handed hilt. When Japanese warfare turned to the use of cavalry, these shorter types of swords had been better suited for slashing from atop a horse.

In early history, Japanese swords were copied from the Chinese, but as Japanese martial arts changed, so did their swords. The Chinese swords were long and straight, used more often for thrusting into an opponent instead of slashing like Japanese swords.

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The parts of a bokken are the same as a live blade and are listed below:

Kissaki: the tip
Mune: the back of the blade
Monouchi: the cutting portion of the edge, the 1/3 closest to the kissaki
Chu-o:the middle third of the blade
Tsuba moto: the third of the blade closest the handle
Tsuba: the guard, not present on most Aikido bokuto
Tsuka: the handle
Shinogi: the ridge between the mune and the edge
Shinogi-ji: the flat plane between the mune and the shinogi
Jigane: the flat plane between the shinogi and the temper line (edge)
Ha: the edge
Tsuka gashira: strictly the pommel fitting, butt end of the bokuto

The Happo Giri (eight direction cutting style) is used to understand spatial awareness and learn to use the Bokken to defend yourself from all angles. While practicing the Happo Giri, the student learns the correct breathing techniques and good posture.

You raise the sword you breathe in, and make a strike you breathe out. This is sometimes considered an exercise for meditation as well as a way to form of connection with the bokken.

A bokken ("bok"-wood and "ken"-sword") is a wooden Japanese sword used for training, usually taking the approximate size and shape of a katana but sometimes shaped like other swords such as the wakizashi and tanto. They are also known as bokuto ("wooden sword"), which is the generally-used term in Japan. These should not be confused with shinai, bamboo practice swords used in Kendo. Historically, bokken are as old as Japanese swords and were used for the training of warriors.

Bokkens were (and still are) used in the early stages of training within a school of martial arts that uses swords. When the student reaches an efficient and safe level of training, they move to using a live blade (Iaito). Practitioners of Aikido use bokkens to gain an understanding of timing and distance, to develop confidence, and to learn a fundamental understanding of movement. Most of the techniques, katas, motions, and drills in Aikido represent the cut of a sword in one form or other.

Although the sequence is often practiced at a slow but steady pace, it can take quite a lot of mental and physical effort, so do not underestimate its importance.

You'll find many Japanese legends that tell of warriors uses a bokken against a steel blade-carrying opponent. These legends are just as likely to sing praises of those exact same warriors beating their opponents. Occasionally, these types of victories were because of the talent of the warrior using the bokken. On other occasions it was because of the fragility of the opponent's katana.

Kenjutsu master Miyamoto Musashi was renowned for fighting fully armed foes with only one or two wooden bokken. In a famous legend, he defeated Sasaki Kojiro with a bokken he had carved from an nearby oar while traveling to the island for the duel itself.

The bokken is created from a single piece of wood from handle to end, whereas the katana has its edge connected to the handle by two metal pins. Throughout a fight, there can be tremendous strain placed on any part of the katana and the blades or pins can split. Common problems can weaken katanas. The pins may suffer from rust even while using the best of care, and handles were made of wood that may rot.

Japan is an small island, and the effects of dampness can impact any sword, armor, or other type of weapon and lay unseen right until the crucial moment of a battle. The wood of the bokken, on the other hand, could be seen and attended to at all times.

Many ninja preferred to use the bokken on a mission rather than a regular sword. A bokken is lighter and easier to carry, and there is no risk of cutting oneself. Bokkens are very easy to camouflage since they can be stained or painted, and when proper techniques are used, a Boken can easily break bones and damage internal organs.