Kobudo Farming

(“The ancient history of Okinawa tells us a turbulent story, with violent political upheavals characterizing a major part of the now-peaceful island's heritage. It was out of these days of unrest that the art of kobudo (the ancient martial way) was born, due to a necessity for peasants to defend their families or property by turning common, everyday items into weapons that could be used for self-defense. The Okinawan people developed a system of self-defense using farming and fishing implements. This rare ancient practice has developed into the beautiful art form known as Kobudo.”)

Now for my idea… Start by gathering the farming/gardening tools that you will need. Next, you might want to train in the beautiful art form yourself, or hire someone who already knows how to perform with ease. Set up your garden or farm like a choreographed stage, straight rows might be the easiest, but flowing serpent lines or circles would lend to this beautifully. When it’s planting time, one does the kick, plant, and step and so on up the row. If you would like to carry a hoe at this point, substitute the kick for one swing of the hoe. Plant seed, step on dirt and move on.

A few quick jaunts through the rows with your sickle should take care of weeding for the season.

When harvest time comes along, use your staff or sickle to slice the plant. With a gentle kick, knock off the fruit, bend, pick the fruit and toss into a basket, then end with a nice roundhouse kick to the sky. (just for show)