Here’s what the Hombu is teaching this month.

It’s important to remember that the lessons linked to below are only a starting point, and that there is so much more great learning content to explore from all of our instructors.

February and August

Level 1 – Earth

Straight Punch Defense
When aggressor punches, reaches to grab hair, or grabs you around the neck with his leading hand:

1. Shift outside his arm with a swat
2. Hit the side of his head or slap his ear
3. Knee him in the side of the thigh
4. Knee him in the tailbone

Rear Arm Grab and Move Defense
When aggressor comes from behind you and grabs your upper arm:

1. Push your arm forward, up, and down behind him, breaking his grip on you
2. Scrape down his shin and stamp down on the top of his foot
3. Turn and palm-heel his face or smack to his stomach

Four Ready Positions
Practice the four variations on the Ready Position:

1. Totally at ease, hands at your sides
2. Aware, alert, with hands floating at your waist
3. Warding off, with hands raised to your chest, palms out
4. Fight-ready, crouched with knees bent and hands up

Level 2 – Water

Water Reposition Against a Straight Lead Punch
When aggressor punches, reaches to grab hair, or throw an eye jab with his leading hand:

1. Pull back outside his arm with a swatting hit
2. Hit the side of his neck or slap his ear
3. Knee him in the side of the thigh
4. Pull him to the ground

Rear Hair Grab Counter
When aggressor grabs you by the hair and pulls you back:

1. Tightly secure his hand to the top of your head
2. Back up with your knees deeply bent and back straight
3. Turn into him and twist his hand into a painful lock

Cross Grab Shove Counter
When aggressor grabs your wrist and shoves forward to push you off balance for an attack:

1. Collapse away at an angle, pulling your grabbed hand to the rear and pressing your hand (and his hand) to your chest
2. Strike with your leading hand against his elbow, knocking his hand off
3. Kick into his leg to take him down

Level 3 – Wind

Wind Evasion of a Front Kick
When an aggressor kicks straight into your midsection:

1. slip to the outside of his moving leg, staying close to him
2. Wedge your leg between his legs or drive forward with your leading knee
3. Capture him by wrapping a choke around his neck or by grabbing the tops of his shoulders

Pull him backward to the ground

Front Tackle Takedown Counter
When aggressor charges in with a takedown tackle:

1. Keep your back straight and angle your knees inward, and angle back and to your side next to his head
2. Hit down on the back of his head
3. Slap his head down and into your lower abdomen as you turn back into him
4. Grip his sides or armpits and pull the back of his head into you
5. Knock him to the ground

Suplex Lift-and-Throw Counter
An aggressor throws his arms around you, and attempts to lift you off the ground, and throw you down on your head or shoulders:

1. Step to his side, pulling out of his “box” of control
2. Reach back with a groin slap
3. Pull his hands apart and lift his rear hand up with your cross grip
4. Step under his grabbed hand and twist his shoulder to throw him to the ground

Level 4 – Black Belt

Horizontal Staff Strikes
One of two basic bo strikes, the horizontal strike starts out from Seigan no Kamae and swings the back end of the bo down along your leg and around against its target.

Vertical Staff Strikes
One of two basic bo strikes, the vertical strike starts out from Seigan no Kamae and swings the back end of the bo over your head and down against its target.

2nd to 3rd Degree

Kuki Shinden Ryu Bo-Jutsu Sabaki-Kata GOHO

1. Walk with staff in right hand, forward end down, pointing to spot ahead of body centerline.
2. From seigan no kamae, roll the bo with shiho furi along the right side, left side, and right side.

    

   Let go with left hand, flip upward with right
   Grab with left below right (“baseball bat”)
   Step forward with right and swing high end down with leg sweep (“golf club”)
   Let go with left hand, flip upward with right
   Grab with left, hold with right, stable level position (“motorcycle handlebars”)

3. Repeat roll from right-forward position
4. Repeat roll from left-forward position
5. Right ashi barai.
6. Right yoko men lateral strike to the head.
7. Left ashi barai.
8. Pull bo back while leaping back.
9. Left ashi barai tossed overhead strike.
10. Leap back to seigan posture.

GOHO Application (Unarmed)

1. Right low level kick towards his left ankle or shin, or right low level punch to his left ribs.
2. As you draw his attention down, right leading hand hook to the left side of his head.
3. Left low level kick towards his left ankle or shin, or left low level punch to his right ribs.
4. Pull back for a beat to lure him forward, left front kick to his abdomen, or left straight punch to face.

SAKA NAGARE (“Reverse flow”) 逆 流 Gyokko Ryu Koshijutsu Joryaku Kata

1. The aggressor attacks with a high right punch (cross, leading hand, or lunge).
2. From left ichimonji no kamae, shift left to hit outside his right arm with right fudoken punch.
3. He continues with a right front kick or karate side kick to your midsection.
4. Shift left with a right swinging kick to his right leg, snag his right arm with your right hand.
5. He continues with a left lunging uppercut punch to your midsection.
6. Drift to your left with a right lower defensive strike inside his left forearm.
7. Snag his right hand with your left and strike with right ura-shuto to the right side of his neck.
8. Lift his right hand with your left, and step left with omote-gyaku twist to his right wrist.
9. Throw him to the ground and finish with a stamp kick to his head.

Master-level subscribers can see more in-depth instruction on Sake Nagare here.