The
history and development of the Okinawan traditional weapons
date back to
around the 16th century with evidence dating from the
7th century. The
actual history is not that important. The fact of why
and how it
developed, is.
The invasion by the Japanese and the subsequent banning of the carrying
of swords led to the popularity of the unarmed fighting techniques. The
ingenious Okinawan's then adapted these unarmed techniques to various
farm implements, using them as extensions in the hands of an expert.
These "weapons" could also be carried openly without being
recognized
as weapons.
KOBUDO - Ancient Warrior Way
The most popular of these "weapons" were the
• (long staff) BO
• (corn thresher)
NUNCHAKU
• (rice grinder
handle) TUIFA
• (sickle)
NICHO-GAMA
• (Okinawan short
pronged sword) SAI
• (wooden sword)
BOKKEN
The practice of these "weapons" form an integral part of
training in kobudo
because of their highly effective and practical nature as well as their
close
relationship to kobudo techniques. In many cases some of these
weapons
are more effective against a wider range of attacks than they were in
their
time of origin. Today replicas of Tonfa and Jo are used
extensively by riot
police and security personnel. In the hands of a well trained
Kobudo practitioner
these become lethal weapons.
Kobudo has always maintained that the practice of these weapons should
be
taught only to senior ranking and responsible students. It is
policy that the
student must first have an idea of what the reach of his/her own body is
before
he/she can learn how to make a further extension of the mind by adding a
weapon
to it. The practice of Kobudo gives one a good basis for Kobudo
techniques.
To become effective with these weapons requires, as does everything, a
lot of
hard, diligent and disciplined training under a good, highly trained
teacher.
