Weaponry: The Rise of Kobudo

Kobudo is the art of Japanese Karate weaponry. The history of Kobudo on Okinawa is extremely difficult to account due to the fact that almost all written documents about it were destroyed in the feudal fighting, bombings and the outbreaks of fire that followed during the Second World War. In the 12th Century, regional Lords called, 'Aji', emerged and exerted power from their fortified manors called, 'Gusuku'. Soon, power was divided among three small Kingdoms in 1326, which led to a lot of internal and continuous feudal and peasantry warfare until 1429.

Okinawa is a for the most part an island country with few natural resources to support its large population, and this has historically imposed significant physical and political hardship on its inhabitants. In spite of this, the Okinawan people maintained an indomitable will to survive. When provoked or wrongfully persecuted, or when hostility and invasion greeted them, these basic peace-loving people drew on their inherent Martial Arts spirit. They fought weaponless against armed opponents, using only their bare hands in a self-defence method called Karate-Jutsu. Their hand and feet became in themselves, weapons--through the use of Martial Arts techniques. The technique called shuto (chop), still in used today, is a vestige of those early times when hands first functioned as swords. The deprivation of the right to bare arms contributed greatly to stimulating the development of Karate-do in Okinawa.

In 1429, Sho Hashi united the island and founded the Kingdom of the Ryukyu. From the 14th Century through to the 16th Century, a period known as the "Golden Age of Trade flourished throughout the Ryukyu Islands as a trade center for China and other nations. However, trade vessels were constantly threatened by Japanese pirates and the Okinawa sailors needed to protect themselves while in foreign lands. Around 1580, Toyotomi Hideyoshi stated laws again that prohibited the possession or the carrying of weapons, in order to restore peace and bring some sort of prosperity to a resource poor Ryukyuan Kingdom. It helped to prevent unnecessary loss of life among the people and was a deterrent to insurrection and civil wars. But that left the peasants of Okinawa more or less defenceless against the Samurai, which were the only ones allowed to carry weapons. Although the empty-hand techniques developed on the battlefields were very effective and refined, they were not as effective in massive defence or offence operations.

In 1609, the Satsuma Samurai Clan attacked and swept the Okinawan defences. The islanders used turtle shields and short stabbing daggers, but they were of very little use against horse backed, sword-carrying Samurai or bows. The only instruments the farmers had were their simple farming tools. The unique martial arts of Okinawan Karate and Kobudo were born from this background. Over long years, the techniques of Chinese and South East Asian Martial Arts were incorporated into Okinawa Karate and Kobudo to establish the forms known today. The Chinese methods were a combination of techniques with empty hands and with weapons like the San-Ku-Chu, the ancestor of the Sai.

Though much of their defence was unarmed, the Okinawans began to more frequently use weapons against armed opponents. These weapons included the nunchaku, a neck of stringed instruments used as sword, and reels which were thrown as missiles. Perhaps the prohibition of weapons by Lord Shoshin in 1488 and the famous battle of Keicho in 1609 were factors in the development of these Karate weapons. In the battle of Keicho, the people of Shuri City, lacking weapons utilized instruments of daily life. The nunchaku began as a horse bridle or wagon shaft, kama came from a potato digger or crop grinder, and timbei came from a pot cover.

The stick techniques were all used by Okinawan peasants who had to protect themselves against pillagers. Some new weapons were made using as example tools used from peasants, for instance the Nunchaku and the Tonfa or the Kama, which was the unique tool with a metal part used at that time.

Sai

The Sai was a simple farm instrument which the peasants turned to their advantage once they were forbidden to carry weapons. Usually, the Sais are used in pairs. A third Sai was hidden in the obi (belt) and was used to replace one Sai that was thrown at the charging enemy. If the throw was successful, the fight could be over all at once. If not, the distraction could be just enough to get close to stab with the Sai or to counter an attack and win the battle.

Originally, the Sai was made out of 2 separate parts: the stem and the curved prongs. These 2 parts were then pounded together in a process similar to that used by sword smiths. Around late 19th century, another method was used. A finished Sai would serve to create a Sai shaped cavity in the ground. Molten iron was poured into this shape, producing a perfect twin of the first Sai when the iron had hardened. Rough edges were removed and afterwards the Sai was polished. The stem of the Sai should cover the complete forearm, to guarantee full protection when countering an attack. The butt of the handle can have various shapes and can be used in the same way as a bullet.

Tonfa

The Tonfa was used as a working tool, before being a weapon. The Tonfa was an arm of a millstone for preparing grain, which could easily be removed. The main part of the Tonfa, the shaft, consists of a large hardwood body, about 50 to 60 centimetres in length, and a smaller cylindrical grip secured at a 90 degrees angle to the shaft, about 15 centimetres from one end.

Bo

The Bo, or stick is probably one of the first weapons that mankind used to defend or hunt. It could easily be found, was not to difficult to handle, and could be used for multiple purposes. In Okinawa, the Bo probably originated from a farm tool called, 'tenbin'. It is a stick held across the shoulders, on which fish or water buckets could be hung. It could also be originated from walking sticks monks used to ease hiking and eventually defend themselves. The techniques executed with the Bo, were probably developed very early in history, and were probably refined after the Heian Era (around 1127 AD).

Kama

The kama was a tool used to cut weeds and bring in the crop. It was a very simple but very sharp and potentially deadly weapon. Its structure however made it very weak when attacked with heavy blows directly to the blade. Therefore, there has been a redesign of the weapon, which is called natagama. It is stronger in its construction, because the blade runs through past the curve of the normal kama and all the way down into the handle. This makes the cutting edge bigger, and above all, the previous weak point where the sickle was attached to the stick has disappeared.