In response to attendance patterns, Master Gee’s is making a schedule change on Thursday evenings.

Effective immediately, Fight Fit classes will no longer be held on Thursdays. This change will give our Adult Black Belt students their own training space in the Dragon dojo on Thursday evenings at 7:15, and free up more room for Adult All Belts in the Main dojo.

Fight Fit classes will continue to be held Monday, Wednesday and Saturday every week.

To kick off 2015, Master Gee’s has introduced a new Leadership weapon: bokken, a Japanese wooden sword (bok = “wood” and ken = “sword”).

You can purchase your bokken from Ms. Tasha at the front desk. Reminder: All students must have their mouth guards in order to practice weapons.

Here are some excerpts from Wikipedia about bokken:

History

Bokken were designed to lessen the damage caused by fighting with real swords and were used for the training of samurai warriors in feudal Japan. Bokken eventually became lethal weapons themselves in the hands of trained experts.

Miyamoto Musashi, a kenjutsu master, was renowned for fighting fully armed foes with only one or two bokken. In a famous legend, he defeated Sasaki Kojiro with a bokken he had carved from an oar while traveling on a boat to an island for a duel.

Usage

The bokken is used as an inexpensive and relatively safe substitute for a real sword in several martial arts. Its simple wooden construction demands less care and maintenance than a katana. In addition, training with a bokken does not carry the same mortal risk associated with that of a sharp metal sword, both for the user and other practitioners near by. While its use has several advantages over use of a live edged weapon, it can still be deadly, and any training with a bokken should be done with due care.

It is not a sparring weapon, but is intended to be used in kata (forms) and to acclimate the student to the feel of a real sword.