On another forum, I was having a discussion with a few other Kenpo people, on the use of weapons in the Kenpo system, specifically the blade and the stick. There seems to be 2 viewpoints, so I wanted to post this here, and get some other opinions.
Some feel that as long as you have a good idea of the ideas, concepts and principles that the empty hand techniques teach, that you could put a blade in your hand, and be proficient with the weapon. In other words, you should be capable of doing an empty hand tech. with the blade in your hand, as well as having a solid understanding of how to use the blade, how it can be used against you, etc.
My thought on this is that, yes, while you can do your techs with a weapon in your hand, that will only take your knowledge of the weapon so far. Anyone could put something in their hand and use it, but IMO, its not really teaching you the ins and outs of it. I feel that if you really want to have a solid understanding of the weapon, you need to go to someone who can teach you properly. I mean, it'd be like giving someone a gun, and saying all you need to do is point and shoot, but never taking the time to teach the person about gun safety, how to hold the gun, how to stand, taking them to the range, etc.
Interested in hearing your thoughts.
Some feel that as long as you have a good idea of the ideas, concepts and principles that the empty hand techniques teach, that you could put a blade in your hand, and be proficient with the weapon. In other words, you should be capable of doing an empty hand tech. with the blade in your hand, as well as having a solid understanding of how to use the blade, how it can be used against you, etc.
My thought on this is that, yes, while you can do your techs with a weapon in your hand, that will only take your knowledge of the weapon so far. Anyone could put something in their hand and use it, but IMO, its not really teaching you the ins and outs of it. I feel that if you really want to have a solid understanding of the weapon, you need to go to someone who can teach you properly. I mean, it'd be like giving someone a gun, and saying all you need to do is point and shoot, but never taking the time to teach the person about gun safety, how to hold the gun, how to stand, taking them to the range, etc.
Interested in hearing your thoughts.