Category Archives: Equipment

The Right Staff

Manuscript Cod.Ms.3227a of around 1390 is the first book that documented Johannes Liechtenauer’s fencing theory. Folio 78r contains the possibly oldest extant written instruction on “fencing with the staff.” [78r] Fencing with the staff Anyone aspiring to learn fencing with … Continue reading

Posted in Comparative Analyses, Equipment, Here Commences the Fencing with the Staff - Historical Staff Fencing of Europe | Tagged | Comments Off on The Right Staff

How to wrap a sāji or headband

Ever wondered how to wrap a sāji or headband for eisa, or bo-odori etc.? I translated below description from el-okinawa.com.

Posted in Equipment, Misc, Terminology, Translations | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on How to wrap a sāji or headband

Tsuken no Kon

(Note: The following is the translation of the abstract of Yoshifumi Hayasaka’s “Martial arts of the Satsuma Domain that influenced the martial arts of Ryūkyū (Tsuken no Kon)” presented at the 55th Conference of the Japanese Academy of Budo in … Continue reading

Posted in Equipment, Matayoshi Karate Kobudo - Written sources translated, Matayoshi Kobudo, Postwar Okinawa Karate, Translations, Tsuken | Comments Off on Tsuken no Kon

Taira Shinken 1964 also copied designs from Yun Heui-byeong 1948

In the last article, I notified that Taira Shinken copied important parts of text from Yun’s research published in 1948. Besides text, Taira also copied designs from Yun. Here I would like to particularly point out the makiwara design. The … Continue reading

Posted in Bojutsu Kata Series, Equipment, kobudo, New Developments, Postwar Okinawa Karate | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Taira Shinken 1964 also copied designs from Yun Heui-byeong 1948

Kamiunten Tonfa

Kamiunten Eisho originally produced wheels for horse-drawn vehicles, but then karate and kobudo master Soken Hohan (1891-1982) taught him how to make Bo, Nunchaku, Tonfa, and other wooden weapons and Kamiunten became a wooden weapons craftsman. He once also produced … Continue reading

Posted in Equipment, kobudo, Suppliers of weaponry | Tagged , | Comments Off on Kamiunten Tonfa

Jiganemaru @50th anniversary of the return of Okinawa

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the return of Okinawa, the special exhibition “Ryukyu”, which reveals the history and culture of Ryukyu with more than 700 exhibit items, has opened at the Tokyo National Museum. The exhibition runs from May … Continue reading

Posted in Comparative Analyses, Equipment, Okinawa Peace Theory, Terminology, Theories of Historical Karate in Comparative Perspective | Tagged | Comments Off on Jiganemaru @50th anniversary of the return of Okinawa

Control the opponent without causing injury. Kyan Shinei (1912-97). Sai. Bringing attention to Okinawa’s platonic ideal of peace.

Sai, which are used as weapons in ancient martial arts (kobudō), has been studied by warriors (bujin) since the Ryukyu Kingdom era. Originally used by the Buddhist monks of the Shaolin Temple in China, it is said that the tip … Continue reading

Posted in Equipment, kobudo, Postwar Okinawa Karate, Translations | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Control the opponent without causing injury. Kyan Shinei (1912-97). Sai. Bringing attention to Okinawa’s platonic ideal of peace.

Sai, Tinbe and the “Expedition to the Southern Islands” 1893

As previously mentioned, in 2021, a list of “100 Footprints of Modern Karate” was published in the Okinawa Times. I have already written about Footprint No. 1 and Footprint No. 2 and today will turn to Footprint No. 3. Footprint … Continue reading

Posted in Comparative Analyses, Equipment, Fundstücke, kobudo, New Developments, Prewar Okinawa Karate, Terminology, Theories of Historical Karate in Comparative Perspective, Unknown Ryukyu | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Sai, Tinbe and the “Expedition to the Southern Islands” 1893

The Twilight of Lord Kogusuku

Traditional Okinawa kobudō uses a shield with one hand in combination with a weapon in the other. There are basically two variants. One is the shield known best from Matayoshi lineage kobudō, which uses loop and handle, and which is … Continue reading

Posted in Equipment, kobudo, Misc, Unknown Ryukyu | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Twilight of Lord Kogusuku

The Ueku was the Sword of the Fisherman

Earlier today I wrote a piece about a current design of an ueku (oar), which you can read here. I would like to add a short note about the various designs of the ueku and what the design means for … Continue reading

Posted in Bojutsu Kata Series, Equipment, Hachiman-ryu | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Ueku was the Sword of the Fisherman