The Takenda Ryu Kobilza Ha: a teaching concerning the different aspects of unarmed combat as well as the use of traditional weapons such as the sabre, the shuriken or the different types of poles...
To understand this school a bit better, we need to go back to Japan’s feudal history and the story of how the fighting arts of this era developed. Japan in the Middle Ages was damaged by several centuries of internal wars between clans controlled by feudal lords wanting to assert their dominance over the country. It wouldn’t be until the start of the 17th century with the seizure of power by the Takugawa Clan that a period of peace would finally take shape. The Takeda Clan were just one of the large number of prestigious families who were participants in this troubled period and who saw their own decline come about at the end of the 16th century.
You have to remember that during this era, a Bushi (literally 'man of war') was predisposed to combat on the battlefields. The majority of them were infantrymen on foot, equipped with Yari; (long spears primarily intended to stop the cavalry) only the most affluent possessed horses and quality battle equipment.
The noble warriors of the time were mainly trained by weapons masters who had often shown their worth in the field and the techniques passed on were often tried and tested during battles. These families' main weapons of choice were the bow and the sabre. But just like in Europe, the arrival of firearms quickly changed the order of things. The warrior class, taught and trained in military techniques and strategy since feudal times, would have no other choice but to make way for a more efficient, modern army made up of ordinary citizens.
The Edo era (Pax Tokugawa) and the periods which would follow would take the development of fighting arts in a completely different direction.
Combat techniques are no longer aimed at destroying the opponent, but rather at improving all aspects of oneself
Under Takuan Soho’s influence, a Zen (Chan*) Buddhist monk, and the influence of the Tokugawa family, fighting arts would change. They would take on a more philosophical dimension targeting the improvement of one's own persona! qualities.
The concept of Do (Tao*) and of the way of life would take precedence over the art of Bugei war.
For SIFU MAG, Philippe Boutelet, Okuden Shihan Takeda Budo ISTB Responsable France de la Takeda Ryu Kobilza Ha, 6th Dan FEKAMT Sites : takeda-budo.fr
