06/02/2026
Bokken
The Bokken is a wooden sword made to mimic the iconic blade of the Samurai, the Katana. It is often considered a practice weapon or a sword substitute. Being made from hardwoods that are specially selected for their strength, crush resistance, and impact strength, these objects are weapons in their own right. When practicing, subtle differences in how the bokken is used to parry and strike are determined by whether one is using it in place of a shinken (live blade) or as a bokken. Primarily this difference comes into play with the orientation of the edge. When mimicking a real sword edge, one uses the sides of the bokken for any weapon to weapon contact as one would not practice endangering the sharp but brittle cutting edge of a shinken. When using as a bokken, the structure and strength of the bokken invites using the edge for contact.
In our context, we generally treat the bokken as sword. When handling the bokken the edge is treated as if it were live, only touching it when first picking it up to examine for any structural flaws that may have developed from use. The sword is carried pointed down safely between techniques. Though movies and TV have indelibly marked our consciousness, flailing the bokken about in swashbuckling type movements is never appropriate. The bokken should be treated with a degree of seriousness as unsheathing a sword is no different in gravity than un-holstering a firearm.
The movements in kata reinforce the fundamental building blocks of our techniques. Open hand techniques are further enhanced by studying their roots in open-hand defenses against the sword. Balance, focus, extension, and what we call ki are all sharpened by the proper use of a simple but elegant piece of wood.
