Bokken

A bokken or wood sable.

The bokken (木剣; hiragana: ぼっけん; boku, 'wood'; ken, 'sword') or bokutō (木刀; hiragana: ぼくとう; tō, 'saber') is a wooden saber used in various classical martial arts from Japan, mainly in: classical Japanese fencing or kenjutsu, modern traditional fencing or < i>kendō, the art of drawing and cutting with the saber or iaidō, and the art of fencing with a stick or jōdō. Likewise, it is also used by several essentially unarmed traditional Japanese martial arts as an integral part of their practice such as: jiu jitsu, Aikidō, ninjutsu, judo and the Japanese kobudō. It is mainly used as a replacement or representation of the real saber or katana.

Parts

The bokken is made up of two main parts:

• Tsuka (mango).
• Monouchi (third part of the saber at the top).

Other parts:

• Kissaki (punta).
• Tsuba (decorative aaro that separates the tsuka from the leaf. Protection).
• Tsuba dome (plastic aaro placed under tsuba to keep this fixed to the tsuka).
• Mune (parts contrary to the edge and is considered the sable loin).
• Shinogi (commonly called the channel of blood, is the line that is found on the middle side of the sable leaf.)

Features

They generally measure between 100 and 105 cm in length, with a 28 cm handle and the rest of the blade. It can be made of various woods, the most common is usually oak, which gives it different properties.

Differences between the bokken and the shinai or bamboo sword used in kendo

The main difference between the bokken and the shinai is that the bokken can cause bone fractures due to its hardness and its shape. wedge that imitates the edge of a katana.

Because it has a shape similar to the katana it is very useful to practice movements and displacements. Another difference is the weight, there are models of bokken that are heavier than the shinai but less than the katana, so it is a good shape to get used to the weight of a metal saber.

Care

The care of the bokken includes treatments with oils (linseed), these oils penetrate the wood gradually increasing its weight and the difficulty of its handling, approaching the weight of a katana.

You should also protect it from the weather conditions, in a dry place, since as with any type of wood, humidity or high humidity can not only warp it, but also rot it. Do not store it for a long period vertically, horizontally is always better.

It is not recommended that it be varnished since it will be very slippery since it does not absorb perspiration, or, on the contrary, sticky, which will cause blisters. Some come with a protection process, if not you will need to oil it at least a couple of times a year to prevent the wood from drying out, in this case you can use boiled linseed oil (not raw, as this creates excess oil on the surface).

History

During the Muromachi Period (1336-1600) the use of the bokken, also called bokuto, (when used with the tsuba), became popular as warriors began to use the art. of dueling against an opponent instead of fighting on a battlefield. It was from this concept of combat that the specializations of different styles or schools "Ryu" or "Ryuha".

Like the dojos of the different "Ryu" As they began to teach their students the art of fencing, it became obvious that the steel swords needed to be replaced as a safety measure for the students.

The edge of the katana blade is fragile and sharp, the "spine" The lateral blade was made to absorb the force used during slashing, thrusting, and blocking, but could break or chip on contact with another hard object or sword. Inexperienced handling could also be detrimental.

Through the centuries hundreds of different "Ryu" specialized in the art of kenjutsu, practically all of them used the bokken for training. At the same time that the students became masters of swordsmanship using the bokken, they obviously also became dangerous with the training instrument itself.

There are several Japanese chronicles that tell of warriors who for one reason or another used the bokken against an enemy wielding a steel blade and defeated them. Sometimes these victories were due to the warrior's skill in using the bokken. (See "Miyamoto Musashi Biography")

The woods

The bokken is made from a single piece of wood, although there are some made in various parts of the world, the most popular come from Japan and are red or white Japanese oak.

These woods made the Japanese bokken popular because its compact grain makes it wonderfully smooth, smooth, and forceful. Some experts say that white oak is superior to red oak because it doesn't warp as much and it doesn't have many knots.

Other woods can be maple, walnut, incense, ebony, guayubira, it all depends on the use it is intended to give, according to which the weight, balance and resistance are selected. If it is going to be used in combat against another weapon, it cannot be made of light and soft wood, as it will break easily; On the other hand, if what you want is to strengthen your arms and shoulders, there are those called suburi-to, which are much heavier.

Furthermore

Though they are safer than swords they should still be considered a weapon. After use against another bokken, jō, etc., you must ensure that there are no splinters or damage. If it is damaged, this could cause injury to the opponent during practice.