Kobudo

Weapons Practised:

• "Bo" - Siz foot staff

• "Sai"- Dagger-shaped truncheon

• "Tonfa"- Handled club

• "Nunchaku"- Chained sticks

• "Eku"- Boat oar of traditional Okinawan design

History:

It is believed that Okinawan farming tools evolved into weapons due to restrictions placed upon the peasants by the Satsuma samurai clan when the island was made a part of Japan, which forbade them from carrying arms. As a result, it is said, they were defenseless and developed a fighting system around their traditional farming implements.

Okinawan kobud? arts are thought by some to be the forerunner of the bare hand martial art of karate, and several styles of that art include some degree of Okinawan kobud? training as part of their curriculum.

Other more authentic Okinawan kobud? kata demonstrate elements of empty hand techniques as is shown in older forms such as Soeishi No Dai, a bo form which is one of the few authentic Okinawan kobud? kata to make use of a kick as the penultimate technique.

Some Okinawan kobud? kata have undergone less "modern development" than karate and still retain much more of the original elements, reflections of which can be seen in even more modern karate kata.