Today I began learning the 20 Jo Suburi .
I had to look 'suburi' up.
Suburi (素振り, lit: naked or unadorned swing is a Japanese word for practice swings used in martial arts.
Now we both know what I hope to be doing. It doesn't 'flow' so well as there is a bit of resetting the bod to reach your number 20 'swings' or thrusts.
All the numbers are separated into categories and employ Japanese labels.
All due to the work of a leading Aikido practitioner, Saito Sensei.
I'm not necessarily into Aikido as I'm primarily interested in waving sticks about; and the 20 Jo Suburi is a great drill.
So I'm not wearing the pants or hankering for a new belt to hold them up. I just love the jo staff. I may be too pragmatic, even rude to do that.
In many peeps' eyes I may seem disrespectful, but for me, wooden sticks is where it's at.
Can't get as weapon-basic as that.
I have also embraced this Jo staff suburi because I found that my hands and wrist aren't flexible enough to advance quickly with the spinning and twirling dependent stick work like Tamil Silamban or Korean Bo staff styles.
Having practised the 13 Jo Kata and approximated the moves, I know that you can learn so much from the process of repeating the same succession -- not so much to get it 'right' but to embrace its martial logic. Indeed, I am ready for a new challenge and have decided to stick with the Jo.
I am, on the side, also doing Kali stick drills.
Now and then I take up my Bo length staff and do some thrusts and swings with that. I also prefer to do spins and twirls with my Bo which is a rattan Silamban stick. My kali sticks are cut from rattan also.
Wonderful material.
I'm not planning to be loyal to any one form. Preferring instead to be pragmatically polystick.
I'm also gonna stay with stick work because I do not want to spend any time on the ground. So all the other stuff in Aikido or Kali isn't my cup of tea.
