I have some banana trees in my back yard. They only occasionally get fruit, maybe every other year, but the bananas are really tasty. Anyway, about this time of year, after the first frost, some of the leaves start turning brown. It is right about now that I start using the brown leaves as makiwara for my bojustu training. Banana leave make excellent targets for practicing bo thusts and also the pulling motions we use in Yamane Ryu bojutsu. Also, because the brown leaves are tucked away under some of the green leaves, it makes practice that more challenging.
While I was practicing these techniques this morning, I also discovered another useful training device...I have an Iron plant stand with circle hooks that are just a little bigger than my bo. These are excellent for practicing thrusts. The object is to poke the end of the bo through the hole with precision and accurate technique. Starting very slow and progressively getting faster.
Training opportunities are everywhere!
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