Then it happened - the OBC 2 course started. The long awaited and very intense OBC 2 which went through Ken-Jutsu 1 and 2 as well as Kotachi 1 and 2. The registration for OBC 2 was as big a success as OBC 1 and the content and atmosphere was in a caliber of its own. So all in all, there is no doubt that the introduction of OBC is a huge success. The members have really seen the light and are going straight against it with the sole purpose of becoming much better than they already are.

On this beautiful September Friday, the number of participants was at the same level as OBC 1 and the expectations to be taught directly by Yamana-Itotani-Sensei were sky high. Expectations are always exciting to follow – whether they are met or not. It was clear that everyone's expectations for OBC 2 were met in a big way. The OBC courses are aimed at everyone who has passed the courses. This applies to everyone in the degree pyramid from high to low. That is that all registrants take part in the OBC in order to raise their level.

Raising your level is also about changing bad habits into good habits. The longer you have trained, the greater the tendency for bad habits and especially when you have not maintained your skills in the standardized way, but instead only in your own way. And that is, among other things, one of the important reasons why OBC has come on the scene.

The responsibility for maintaining competences can be left to the local school and then the national bodies. But if the local OBC manager has not maintained his competences according to the standard, then you start to drive off a road that does not lead to the goal.

It is easy to create your own system and it is extremely easy to maintain your own competencies according to your own standard. But in Shindenkan we train Yakami Shinsei Ryu Karate Do and here there is only one standard to follow – namely the one laid down by Yamana-Itotani-Sensei. If everyone follows their own standard, it will create chaos or, in the worst case, many martial arts systems. But why reinvent the deep plate when it is now standardised, tested and 100 % ready to serve just for you.

Ken Jutsu and Kotachi Jutsu are core skills in the multi-track martial arts system Yakami Shinsei Ryu Karate Do. Yakami-ryu Kenjutsu (sword) has over 1,000 years of history behind it, and are the techniques that especially the samurai from the Takeda clan's elite forces were notorious for using on the battlefield. Today, they are one of the pillars of the overall system, and for Yakami Shinsei-ryu Karate-do it is the important part that must increase understanding, insight and knowledge about the transformation from martial arts to martial arts.

Originally, when the samurai went to war, they were only equipped with the long katana, which in Japanese is called "Tachi" and the dagger, which is called "tanto". But gradually there were some clans who, with their experience, saw it as an advantage to use a slightly shorter sword (Kotachi) on the battlefield.

Yakami-ryu Kotachi-jutsu is training with the slightly shorter sword and has approx. 900 years of history behind it. It has always been a characteristic part of the complete martial art system Yakami-ryu. The use of the short sword requires a very high level from the practitioner, among other things because you need to be faster and more manoeuvrable, but also because you need to get closer to the opponent. That is the use of the competence in real combat requires greater internal clarification.

Although the training in Ken-Jutsu and Kotachi-jutsu takes place with wooden swords, it is very important to understand the structure of a real sword. The understanding of the structure of a real sword helps to create the right attitude so that the participants learn to respect weapons and how they are used. It is not the weapon itself that is dangerous - it is the person behind it - even if the weapon is made of wood.

After a very thorough review of both Ken-jutsu 1 and Kotachi-jutsu 1, it was time for review of course 2 in both competencies. Both Ken-jutsu 1 and Kotachi-jutsu 1 gather the knowledge of previous courses in a central package which is about understanding the elements of the principles THANKS MY CT. Understanding these principles requires training so that it is stored in one's inner being.

On OBC 2 this was refreshed, which many were very happy about when they found parts of the elements in their own interior. It's always nice to find something that you know is there but that you haven't looked at for a while 🙂

On OBC 2, the link to TF 1 and 2 was also recreated if you couldn't remember it. Because just like in TF 1 and 2, Ken-jutsu and Kotachi-jutsu are not about winning, but about mastering the technique. If you can master the technique, then the possibility of splitting a grain of rice lengthwise is present.

As a practitioner, you have to think that everything starts somewhere. In Ken Jutsu and Kotachi Jutsu, you start with Kihon in the same way as with karate. Then comes kumite and finally kata. In the weapons skills, you also need to start with equipment that can be handled without causing major damage. It is actually when you cannot handle the weapon that the damage occurs. Having said that, you have to remember that a wooden weapon can cause damage if it is in the hands of a person who has mastered the technique. Has it been mentioned that it is the person behind the weapon that creates the result 🙂

Just as with OBC 1, OBC 2 also contains four competencies that are connected. One thing is that they are connected as courses 1 and 2, but that they are actually connected to other courses, many had probably forgotten.

Kenjutsu package 2 is a so-called hub course that brings together competence knowledge and curriculum knowledge around the common thread in the courses shown in the drawing.