Friday's session was all about the bo, or long staff. Sensei Gilliland taught Keichu no Bo, with emphasis on the bunkai or application of each technique in the kata.
Sensei Travis Christensen, an instructor in Santa Maria, acts as uke to Sensei Gilliland.
Performing upper blocks as part of the kata:
On Saturday, the morning session continued with long weapons. We worked some more on Keichu no Bo and then the advanced students began learning the eiku kata. By lunch time, we were definitely hungry and ready for a break.
After lunch, the next session answered the question, "What does kata teach us about self-defense?" as we explored the different levels of bunkai found in open hand kata. While I love training weapons, this session was one of my favorites. I hope that my students were equally inspired, and that they will never train kata in the same way as before.
Then it was on to the final session: short weapons. We spent most of the time on the tunfa, learning the kata and application. Several different uke "attacked" Sensei Gilliland so that he could demonstrate the various techniques. Here Mitch Jan from our Santa Barbara dojo wields his bo.
The last part of the session was spent on the sai.
By the time it was all over, we were tired! One attendee said that his head felt ready to explode with all the new things he had learned. Before we said our goodbyes and headed out to dinner, the diehards who had managed to stay to the very end posed for a picture.
We are very thankful to Sensei Gilliland for taking the time to travel here and teach us. I'm also thankful that several of our students had the opportunity to take part in such an exciting training opportunity. Everyone seems really motivated to continue working on what we learned.
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