Kobudo

Kobudo is an outgrowth of Okinawan karate that employs a number of weapons in its usage. Most Okinawan weapons developed out of simple farming instruments or tools that could be reaily available in day-to-day life.

The weapons with which we train at this club are as follows:

The Bo is a six-foot long length of wood. Traditionally, this was either a walking staff or a pole held across the shoulders to carry buckets of water.

The sai (plural: sai) is a pointed metal weapon, usually between 35 and 50 cm in length and weighing between half a kilo and 1.5 kilos. This distictive weapon has three prongs, with the outer two curved away from the center shaft. Originally, this weapon was used as a seed planter, used to punch three holes in the ground simultaneously.

The kama (plural: kama) is a sickle-shaped weapon with a curved metal blade atop a wooden shaft. As its shape might indicate, this weapon was used in harvest time, as sickles.

The tonfa (plural: tonfa) has a modern-day descendent in the form of the nightstick, or baton, used by many law-enforcement agencies. Originally, this weapon was the handle to a millstone.

The nunchaku consists of two lengths of wood connected by a short shain or rope. Originally, this weapon was use as a threshing tool.

The eku is a bo with a difference. As its shape would indicate, this weapon has its roots as a boat oar.

The bokken is possibly the only okinawan weapon that does not have an origin as a farming implement. The study of this weapon is closely linked with that of kenjutsu (the art of the sword), but the bokken itself is a development of bojutsu (the art of the bo).