Category Archives: Equipment

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

Posted on August 20, 2022 by Andreas Quast

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 →

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Kamiunten Tonfa

Posted on August 3, 2022 by Andreas Quast

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 →

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Jiganemaru @50th anniversary of the return of Okinawa

Posted on May 15, 2022 by Andreas Quast

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 →

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

Posted on May 1, 2022 by Andreas Quast

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 →

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

Posted on April 10, 2022 by Andreas Quast

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 →

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The Twilight of Lord Kogusuku

Posted on January 23, 2021 by Andreas Quast

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 →

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The Ueku was the Sword of the Fisherman

Posted on January 19, 2021 by Andreas Quast

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 →

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