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Kobudo: Weapons Kata 
Personal Honor
 Phone: 954-201-6882
mnolan@broward.edu
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Bushi Matsumura created both Naihanchi Shodan and Nidan from a kata called Naifanchi that he got from a Chinese Master named Ason. Some believe either Itosu or Choki Motobu made Naihanchi Sandan. Naihanchi Sandan is not a Matsumura kata, passed down other Shorin lines. Funakoshi called Naihanchi by the name Tekki, meaning "Iron Horse", which refers to the stance used in it. "Iron" refers to its strength and stability. "Horse" refers to the fact that it resembles a man riding a horse. There is more than one possible meaning for the word Naihanchi, and they are both very plausible. The pronunciation of Naihanchi was originally Naifanchi, because that is the way it was pronounced in China. The particle 'Nai' means "inner" or "inside" and probably refers to pointing the toes inward. 'Fan' means a clawed foot of a certain animal. 'Chi' means the soil or foundation. So the original name probably meant something to the effect of being rooted to the ground in correct stance. Chin could mean "battle" as it does in the word Sanchin. The word 'Naihan' could refer to the narrow paths through rice fields that resemble squares. Therefore, it could mean "battle in a rice field."

Kihon Bo Ichi
is a series of 7 movements. The kata reviews the basic bo blocks

Kihon Bo Ni
is a series of 18 movements. The kata reviews the basic strikes, and a disarming move

Kihon Bo Sandan
is a series of 16 movements. The kata reviews: striking, advancing, and disarming movements.

Shihonuke
It is a four directional bojitsu defending and counter attack bo (kun) kata.

Choun no kun
CH'Oun is the name of the Ryu family / Master who created the kun kata.
So we can break down Choun No Kun as: Ch'oun: family name,No: of,
Kun: Bo Staff. So we can define the Katae as the Bo Staff kata of Choun,
or the Staff technique of the Master Choun family.

Kobudo literally means "ancient martial way," and refers to the ancient weapon arts of Okinawa and Japan. Kobudo and Karate are separate arts,however, the two are very closely related and many karate and kenpo schools teach the art of weapons within their curriculum.

The weapons used in Okinawan Kobudo were mainly devised from agricultural tools, since the use and ownership of weapons was prohibited in the fifteenth century, along with the practice of all martial arts. The resourceful citizens Okinawa made very effective use of common agricultural tools as deadly weapons, and practiced them as they did karate, in secrecy, for hundreds of years until the late 1800's when Japans feudal era ended and martial arts began to be practiced publicly.

Although the use of these weapons became highly refined over several centuries, the art of karate was more common and became, organized, and systematized, particularly in the nineteenth century, and by the time the veil of secrecy had been lifted from martial arts practice in Okinawa, karate was much more widely practiced. Unfortunately, the weapons arts of Okinawa became less popular as karate became more and more popular. In modern times, the use of weapons such as the ones practiced in Kobudo, had little practical value for self-defense purposes compared to the art of karate, and came to be practiced more for the preservation of the arts, and the development of mind, body, and spirit.not a stance is a strong stance for defense from the front and rear of the practitioner.
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