Master Demura decided that kobudo was not being taught intelligently, with too much emphasis on learning just one weapon and only two or three kata for the black belt. He also thought the Okinawan kobudo kata were too long for the common purposes of testing and competition. He said he can judge your performance in the first five seconds, so why wait three minutes for a 200-step kata to finish?

For these reasons he created six "Kihon Kata" for kobudo. They are beginner kata, exactly like the Heians (Pinans). The six kata cover the basic moves of bo, tonfa, nunchaku, sai, kama and ekubo. Each kata is about 20 moves long. Short and sweet. Perfect for beginners; perfect for contests and testing.

Add these katas to your Shotokan curriculum, one per kyu rank parallel to the Heians. Your students will be greatly enriched.

It is a pity that Demura marketed the Kihon Kata as six separate videos. Their special utility cannot be appreciated until you see the entire curriculum. The set of six kata is a milestone in kobudo teaching, but presented one-by-one the kata naturally disappoint kobudo experts. This is a set for beginners, and for people who teach beginners. In that light, these six kata are absolutely outstanding.