The above video shows an outdoor practice session of a kobudo kata named Onami. Onami means Great Wave. I videoed this practice session in my backyard on 10/24/21. This was the first Tonfa (Tuifa) kata that I learned and is a simpler form than the Tonfa no Ichi kata, which I had previously posted, since I performed that kata in a recent promotion. Onami primarily incorporates basic tonfa blocks and blunt strikes using the short butt end, with a few kicks and flipping strikes using the long end. Tonfa no Ichi in contrast, focuses more on flipping strikes at various angles and is more difficult to learn/perform. Onami is a good basic tonfa (tuifa) kata to start with. Onami is the tonfa form in the kobudo program I run at The Academy of Traditional Karate.
Periodically video taping practice sessions like this is a great way to review and analyze your own performance. On video you can see what you are doing well and where you can continue to improve. Practicing Karate/Kobudo is always a constant process of learning, evaluating and improving.
Similar Version of Onami Tonfa (Tuifa) Form
The above video shows a similar Onami kata from another Matsubayashi-ryu dojo, AuroraKarate in OH. The basic embusen (pattern) is the same, as are many of the moves. There are some significant differences however. When learning any kata, I often try to find additional videos with similar versions as close to ours as possible. Analyzing the similarities and differences in such videos can sometimes help give further insights into a kata.
Stay tuned for my next post where I will break down the Onami tonfa kata into a step-by-step reference that may help anyone else who is learning or practicing it as well.
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