Local karate instructors Calvin Leckie and Ryan Poitras are among the first in Canada to receive their black belts in Okinawan Kobudo.
The pair tested for the black belts on May 19 in Lloydminster in front of international instructor Master Fumio Demura as part of the first group in the country to test for black belts in Kobudo.
“Kobudo is the practice of martial arts weapons. The test involved demonstrating proficiency in six different weapons,” Leckie told the Journal in an email. “Kobudo weapons were developed from traditional farming and fishing implements.”
Leckie pointed out that the weapons he and Poitras were required to use in their test included the Bo, a six foot wooden staff originally designed to help carry a load over the shoulders, the Eku Bo, a weapon based off the traditional fisherman’s oar, the Tonfa, a side-handled baton that was originally the handle from a rice grinding stone, the Nanchaku, which was designed from a horse bridle, the Kama or sickle, commonly used for cutting rice and other grains, and the Sai, which would have been used for transporting rice plants.
Leckie and Poitras are no stranger to the astringent testing required to achieve a black belt, as Leckie is already a fourth-degree black belt in Shinto-Ryu Karate Do, while Poitras is a second-degree black belt in the same discipline. Leckie has been practicing Kobudo and Karate for 25 years, while Poitras has been at it for 18 years.
“The practice of Kobudo compliments the practice of Karate-Do. Many of the same stances and basic movements are used in both arts,” said Leckie. “As well, the practice of weapons helps strengthen the same muscles used in karate practice.”
Leckie added that intermediate and advanced students at St. Paul Karate-Do practice with weapons as part of their regular training, and St. Paul Karate-Do will be giving demonstrations of Karate and Kobudo at the St. Paul Heritage Festival on July 31, and during rodeo weekend at the end of August to promote enrollment in fall classes, which open in September.
