Home Built Traditional Training Tools

[Mitch]

Picture the scene: I'm a bit skint and need a present for a karateka friend's birthday. The answer is clearly to make something for him. I'm also very lazy, but luckily I have a small child handy to do all the hard work for me. Result! :D

First up is the chi shi. I'm using a length of old curtain pole. I had to wait a little while as my workforce had to scare off some monsters.
http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/9530/imgp2442.jpg

The pole wants to be long enough to come up to your knee, so this one's going to be chopped in half to make two chi shi. Chi shis?
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/414/benchlg.jpg

The pole is going to be embedded in concrete and needs something to give it some purchase to hold it there against leverage in use. So I drilled a few pilot holes to avoid splitting the pole and knocked through 5 or so long nails. I think my workforce had brief dreams of seizing control once armed with this, but I got it back with the promise of a biscuit.
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/5884/spikedclub.jpg

I now need a weight to go on the end of the pole. I'm going to use an old paint tin. I popped the pole in and kept it vertical whilst cracking the whip some more. My slave labour started filling the tin with fast setting concrete.
http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/2695/fillingup.jpg

I bought some designed for setting posts in which is all ready mixed and super-fast drying, but you could use anything really. Half way there.
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/3673/halfway.jpg

My workforce finished the first one and then repeated the process to complete the second.

Total costs:
Labour: Bribed with 1 Digestive biscuit
Poles, Paint Tins: Free
Nails: 99p
Concrete: £4.99

Now for the Makiage Kigu. This really is very easy, but I'll lay it out here anyway.

I'd run out of curtain pole at this point so had bought a length of pole. I cut it to about 24" and drilled a hole through the middle. I was going to get my workforce to do this but feared a rebellion if they were armed with power tools. Here he is marvelliing at my drilling skills.
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/4655/drillhole.jpg

The pole will be turned in the hands when in use, so we decided to make sure it was nice and smooth with a sanding block.
http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/7678/sanding.jpg

I tied one end of some old washing line through the hole in the pole, and tied a small weight I am now far too buff to use around the other end. Ahem. I could of course have filled another tin with concrete, drilled a hole in a stone, or used any other kind of weight.

Here's the end result, ready to use.
http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/2158/completedv.jpg

Total costs:
Labour: Still running on the Digestive biscuit
Pole: £2.99
Rope: Free
Weight: Too puny for my Hulk-like build so free.

For an idea of how to use these two training tools, search for hojo undo (supplementary training) on google or youtube.

Here are a couple of examples from youtube.

Chi Shi.

Assorted.

There's nothing difficult about making these, especially with free labour, and though they may not do anything you cannot do with other training tools, they are so cheap to make it's almost daft not to, and they give you another couple of bits of fun equipment to play with :)

Mitch

[Fish Of Doom]

protip: chi shi = short barbell (or dumbbell even for some exercises) with the weights only on one side :D

good stuff, dude!

ps: another tip: not a good gift for a shotokan dude, since they won't know what to do with them :P

[Moosey]

ps: another tip: not a good gift for a shotokan dude, since they won't know what to do with them :P

Not true! It's an awesome gift and any shotokan guy would be happy to learn!

[YouKnowWho]

The "single head" is a very important training tool used in CMA training. The light weight single head is called "sky scale" that you throw it over your head. The heavy weight single head is called "earth scale" that you drag along the ground. The purpose of using it is not trying to build "big muscle' for look, but to enhance some of your "body function" for usage.

http://johnswang.com/single_head.wmv

[simon s]

Very disappointed you have any DIY items in your garage. Surely a garage should be turned into a dojo, with all DIY equipment stuffed into the cupboard under the stairs.

[xXAIRRXx]

Well done man, I love the idea of using home made training items as opposed to buying their sports store equivalent. In today's economy I'm sure that alot of people could really benefit from this sort of thing.

[Vimtoforblood]

Just seen this and it might interest you guys. I've not read it, but I have read two of his previous books. I have a great deal of respect for the guy.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qt9Trv0fy1I/SrbJCugvuxI/AAAAAAAAABk/c-t_GGsa0xM/s1600-h/Hojo-+Undo+Cover.jpg

[Hatamoto]

Just bought myself that book last week as it happens, inspired by this thread and a video on youtube of goju ryu training from the 40s or so. Not read much of it (Got a stack of books by my bed about 11 books high :p) but from the contents, it looks to cover a good few methods :)

[47MartialMan]

Over the decades, I have fabricated, and seen others fabricate many such devices.


What sorta impressed me, even so slightly was this;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAeuplQdyZM

[slipthejab]

Good work man! Love home made training kit!

One of the pieces that I use every single day - but which maybe doesn't qualify as home made is a large rubber band. The type they use for squat racks and bench presses. The amount of strength moves you can get out of that piece of kit is unreal. It can go anywhere and BAM! you have instant resistance. The resistance is really amplified at the top portion of movement as well... as the elasticity of the band starts to reach it's limit. They're dead cheap and just take a bit of practice.

We're shooting some instructionals now so I will get them up on MAP in relatively short order. :)

[Commander Nitro]

Ingenius. It showcase another side of you which is being creative and talented