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In
1985 I decided it would be fun to have the Karate students try their
hand at swordsmanship. I wanted them to get a feel for holding and
using a weapon so I bought a couple shinai. The first time we suited up
in the Karate armor we use for kumite, which is very similar to Kendo
armor. We had a great time flailing away at each other.
After several episodes like this I tried it with the
Kenjutsu group. However, I wanted to do away with the armor headgear
because it was so restrictive and hard to see. I discovered pipe
insulation and tried it on a shinai. I wrapped the shinai in the pipe
insulation and taped the whole length of it with duct tape. This made
the shinai soft enough so you could hit someone full force on the
forehead and they wouldn’t be hurt. This discovery led to the “Samurai
Night.”
“Samurai Night” is a night when the students come in and
compete with each other. When the competition is over, we share food and
drink and many toasts are offered. To complete our evening, we watch a
Samurai movie. Overall, it is an inspiring and uplifting experience.
This year I decided to combine the Karatekai with the
Kenjutsukai and Aikikai. We had Samurai Night with everyone competing
against everyone else.
We had competitions of sword against sword, and sword
against no-sword. The sword against no-sword competitions was really
interesting. We saw that the sword always won. However, there was one
match between an accomplished swordsman and an unarmed, competitive and
unafraid karateka. It was fast, furious and awe inspiring. It is less
evident that an unarmed combatant will always lose against an armed
one. The stories of Karateka fighting Samurai are much more believable.
The rules we used in this year’s Samurai Night are
listed below. It is a distillation of the many experiences we have had
in the past and hope to continue having in the future. Maybe you can
try it at your dojo too.
SAMURAI NIGHT – COMPETITION RULES
1. Equipment
– Shinai wrapped with pipe insulation and taped with duct tape. Guys
must wear cup; everyone wears chest
protector, (protective gloves optional).
2. Anything
goes - kick, punch, throw, joint lock, choke.
3. Hitting
arms or legs doesn’t count - must be a killing blow to the head or torso (or
using the blade against the neck in a choke hold.)
4. Thrusts
- OK (Try to avoid throat) and can count as a killing blow.
5. Takedowns
- OK.
6. Sword
disarm - OK.
7. Match
continues until one competitor lands killing blow (with or without
sword, i.e., choke, shuto, etc.) No time limits.
8. First
killing technique wins match.
9. Sword
versus sword or sword versus no-sword.
10. Competitors
vote on best swordsman, best non-swordsman, and best overall competitor.
Below is a selection of
pictures from the various 2007 Samurai Night duels with Sensei Rodriguez
officiating.
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