December 1, 2006

Taking Out Little Gold Karate Guys

There have been lots of discussions about kobudo (weapons) and their usefulness in today’s world. When, for example, will you actually be carrying around a bo staff (6 ft. long piece of rounded wood for the non-karate folk)? How will knowing how to use a bo actually help you in an attack situation?

Well, I am here to tell you that if any three foot high person, built like a karate tournament trophy decides to attack me and my bo is handy. . . well, let’s just say that there may be a decapitation or more. The bo may seem harmless when going through the motions of a kata, but my bo showed the karate dude on top of my instructors trophy what was up the other night. Not only did my bo knock the karate dude completely off the trophy, it also sent him flying across the dojo. Another reason people, even little gold karate guys, should wear seat belts or something.

My instructors all have a wealth of trophies that they’ve earned throughout the years. One of our instructors has had his trophies on the side of the dojo training floor for a while now. They are lined up three or four trophies deep. I’ve knocked them over before, but I never damaged one quite like that.

So, to make up for hurting the little gold karate guy, I bought some super glue and went to town on the trophy after class last night. It seemed to be working just fine. . . until I walked away and he went tumbling down yet again. I added more glue and tried again. Same thing happened. One of my other instructors then offered to assist with the operation and held the little guy in place while I wrapped medical tape around the joint (I used to be a trainer in high school, you know). It’s now quite a site, and I have little optimism that the wrap job will do the trick.

One thing is for sure. I will be practicing my weapons kata’s from the opposite end of the dojo as long as those trophies remain there. I’d rather take out imaginary people than defenseless little karate guys stuck in a side kick.