“A weapon is an extension of the hand...”

KOBUDO

Kobudo is the art of Japanese Karate weaponry, which reemerged in the Islands of Southern Japan during 16 & 1700s. It’s the style consists a variety of weapons, primarily the Bo (staff), Sai (short sword), and Nunchaku (sickle).

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 is the Japanese name for a long wooden staff about five to six feet in length. The Bo was used as a farm tool, for example to carry buckets of water.

Nunchaku

The Nunchaku is the Okinawan weapon composed of two pieces of wooden sticks connected by rope. The length of the weapon varies from 12” to 14”. The connecting rope varies from 1” to about 5”.

The most common Nunchaku is octagonal (hjakakuei) with eight sides, there are various shapes such as round (marugat).

Sai

The Sai is a short fork like weapon measuring 15” to 20” in length. It’s weight is about 3 lbs. The weapon consists of a handle, shaft, two wings, the but and the point. The Sai is mostly a defensive weapon, used against the sword.

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.

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.