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The hanbo is a staff weapon used in the martial arts of Japan. It is very popular with the members of the Bujinkan Taijutsu martial art. The hanbo is a stick about three feet long with a diameter of about an inch. The name of the weapon comes from the name of another weapon, the rokushaku-bo, the “six-shaku-stick.” A shaku is about twelve inches. So when we say, “hanbo,” which means, “half-stick,” we are acknowledging the existence of a larger weapon. This is truly very significant!

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As a serious martial artist, I spend my time around people who devote huge chunks of their lives to the martial arts. Many of these people have dove right into the deep and life-changing journey that is the progress towards mastery. Many of these same people are also deeply interested in the history and the exciting legends that surround the lives of the great martial artists of the past. I am quite conversant in the many tales of derring-do of the likes of Miyamoto Musashi, Yagyu Muneyoshi, and Hattori Hanzo, to name a few. Tales like theirs have inspired generations of budding martial artists to continue and pursue mastery in their chosen art. These tales serve an important purpose and give the modern martial artist a link to the rich history of the martial arts.

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Christmas is both a religious holiday and increasingly a secular holiday heavily influenced by local culture. As a result, Christmas traditions are as diverse as the world is diverse culturally.

In the United States, for example, Christmas traditions are a literal potpourri of the Christmas traditions brought by immigrants, mostly European. For example, Yule log (English), Christmas tree (German), carols or noels (France), Santa Claus (Dutch). In more recent times, newer Christmas traditions have arrived with the most recent immigrants such as luminaries (Mexico) and “Feliz Navidad!” greeting (Latin America generally).

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