Shuji no Kon Sho

周氏の棍小

Shuji no Kon Sho (or 周氏の棍小 in Japanese) is a Ryukyu Kobujutsu Bo Kata. The first part of its name – Shuji ( 周氏 ; also transcribed as ‘Shūshi’) – literaly means ‘Mr. Shū’. Therefore ‘Shūshi no Kon’ means “the techniques of staff (or Bō) fencing of Mr. Shū ”. According to tradition, the Bō-Jutsu Master Shū from Shanghai lived around the year 1831 at the rear of the Sōgenji in Okinawa, Naha, Asato. This version of this Bo Kata coming from him is named ‘Sho’ (or 小 in Japanese), which means ‘small’. In the video embedded below (recorded on 24 April 2023), budoka Johan Oldenkamp, a former national champion from the Netherlands, performs this ‘small version Mr. Shū’s Bo Kata’.