The Jiyu Kakiya (自由カキヤ) & How I Made It

A Kakiya is a traditional training tool used in Okinawan Karate that emulates an opponent's limb. It gives you a limb & a structure to work with for solo practice. This... is not that. My standard Kakiya has a wrap on the head & mid-section of the base for striking. I also attached a pad around the lower half so that I can work different kicks in as well. After all, "kick once you have 4 legs." As in, it's typically safest to kick an opponent's leg & knee joints once you've bridged a gap (so that you aren't launching easily-catchable kicks from further away, telegraphing more), & once you have established contact with the opponent's body... giving you 4 legs. You use the opponent's structure to supplement your own as you remove one of you balance points to use offensively (with the kick). It's pretty nice being able to practice this sort of application with a tool at home. But what I'm using today is my Jiyu Kakiya (自由カキヤ). Originally, I had built this for Wing Chun practice at home. The key difference here is the spring that allows for lateral movement as well, which is much more akin to live movement than the traditional Kakiya provides. Thus the name, Jiyu Kakiya. Jiyu means... "Free," as in "moving freely." I like to maintain connection with a limb while making sure I can simultaneously strike & block at the same time (連消帶打). This concept, Lin Siu Dai Da, or the unity of offense & defense at the same time, is something that is clearly relatable to Goju Ryu & so I like to use this to supplement both Wing Chun & Goju Ryu practice. Here's a quick rundown on how I made it, why I made it, & what kind of parts you might want to look for if you'd like to make your own. They're genuinely quite cheap to make! Enjoy!