Weapons

 

Weapons training is important for several reasons

• It preserves a rich history of combat prior to the advent of modern firearms
• It develops the body and mind in ways empty hand training alone does not.
• It teaches how to defend against weapons (blade, club, etc.).
• It is much more flowing in its movements. In a series of Taekwondo or karate techniques, a pause may occur. You do not have this when you have a weapon that is usually in constant motion.
• It increases coordination, especially eye-hand coordination. It also teaches you to trust your body, allowing it to do as it has been trained.
• Weapon techniques may be used in self-defense. You may not use the exact weapon, but the training learned may be transformed into use with common objects. A golf club may be used instead of a bo or a short stick nay be used as a sai.

In many cultures, prior to firearms, knowledge of a weapon was part of an educated man's learning. In other cultures, only certain classes of people learned a specific weapon. For example, in Japan, only the Samurai class was permitted to carry the Katana. In China, scholarly gentlemen tended to carry the "jian" (saber) whereas soldiers tended to carry the "dan dao" (single broadsword). Preserving this history and knowledge of the culture is important. One remembers something much better after doing it than after merely reading about it.