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Okinawan Kusarigama
Okinawan kusarigama is a rare chain (鎖) and sickle (鎌) weapon found in the Okinawan kobudō weapons set. A noted modern practitioner of the weapon was Seike Toma, a student of Chōtoku Kyan and a teacher of Seikichi Odo. Differing from kusarigama of Japanese Archipelago in anatomy and techniques, its use and design also varies depending on stylistic preferences or individual choices. The most common design, also known colloquially as "flying kamas", is where the chain (usually replaced with a rope) is attached to the bottom of the handle in the form of a loop. Another variation is where two kama are joint with a rope attached to the bottom of each. There also exists another, reminiscent of Japanese kusarigama but with a sickle smaller in size. Sources *''Kusarigama: The Flashing Art of the Sickle Weapon'', Tadashi Yamashita is a Japanese American martial artist and actor. Early life Tadashi Yamashita was born in Japan in 1942, but he considers himself an Okinawan. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kama (weapon)
The is a traditional Japanese farming implement similar to a sickle or billhook used for reaping crops and also employed as a weapon. It is often included in weapon training segments of martial arts. Sometimes referred to as ''kai'' or "double kai," kama made with intentionally dull blades for kata demonstration purposes are referred to as ''kata kai''. History Before being improvised as a weapon, the kama was widely used throughout Asia to cut crops, mostly rice. It is found in many shapes and forms in Southeast Asia and is particularly common in martial arts from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. From one or both of these areas, the kama was brought to Okinawa and incorporated into the martial art of te (hand) and later karate (empty hand). It also spawned the use of the kusarigama and the Kyoketsu Shoge. Ellis Amdur criticizes in his book ''Old School: Essays on Japanese Martial Traditions'' the theory that the kama was derived from a farmer's sickle. Sickle-like we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Okinawan Kobudō
, literally "old martial way of Okinawa", is the weapon systems of Okinawan martial arts. Etymology and definition Okinawan Kobudō is a Japanese term that can be translated as "''old martial way of Okinawa''". It is a generic term coined in the twentieth century.Donn F. Draeger, 1973. ''Classical Budo''. ., p. 135. Okinawan kobudō refers to the weapon systems of Okinawan martial arts. These systems can have from one to as many as a dozen weapons in their curriculum, among the kon (six foot staff), sai (three-pronged truncheon), tonfa (handled club), kama (sickle), and nunchaku (two rope- or chain-connected sticks), but also the tekko (knuckledusters), tinbe-rochin (shield and spear), and surujin (weighted chain). Less common Okinawan weapons include the tambo (short stick), the hanbō (middle length staff) and the eku (boat oar of traditional Okinawan design). Okinawan kobudō is distinguished from the general term kobudō, which refers to all Japanese martial arts that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chōtoku Kyan
(also spelled Chotoku Kiyan) was an Okinawan karate master who was famous for both his karate skills and his colorful personal life. He had a large influence on the styles of karate that would become Shorin-Ryu and its related styles. Early life Chotoku Kyan was born the third son of Chofu Kyan, who was a steward to the Ryukyuan King before the country's 1879 annexation by Japan as Okinawa Prefecture, and originally belonged to the Kyan clan of senior court officials having home territory in Shuri Gibu village being also a genuine member of the Shuri warrior class, a concept of which was imported from Japan. His father (born in 1839) was the eldest son of Motonaga Chōyō and a member of the 8th generation of the Motobu Udun, a clan belonging to royalty, and had been adopted into the Kyan family at the age of 17 in order to become the head of household of Chōtoku's grandmother Manabe, the third daughter of Kyan Uēkata Chōiku. He himself studied karate under Matsumura S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seikichi Odo
Seikichi Odo (born July 26, 1927 in Okinawa – died March 24, 2002), whose name means "world walker" in Japanese, was a karateka. He combined ''kobudō'' and karate techniques to found the Ryūkyū Hon Kenpo Kobujutsu Federation. Education Of pechin descent, he was small in stature and introverted as a youth. At age 9 Odo began his martial arts training in judo. At age 13 Odo met Koho Kuba of Kawasaki, Okinawa. Kuba taught Odo the art of ''Okinawa-te''. At the age of 20, Odo began to study Okinawan ''kobudō''. He studied weapons arts diligently to ensure the preservation of the old ways. Odo's ''kobudō'' instructors included many of the leading practitioners of Okinawa, such as Mitsuo Kakazu, Kenko Nakaima, Shinpo Matayoshi and Seiki Toma. At 23 Odo began to study karate under Shigeru Nakamura. Odo studied both ''kobudō'' (with Mitsuo Kakazu) as well as karate and ''kobudō'' with Seiki Toma, who was a student of Zenpo Shimabukuro who was taught by Chōtoku Kyan (1870– ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kusarigama
A is a traditional Japanese weapon that consists of a ''kama'' (the Japanese equivalent of a sickle or billhook) on a kusari-fundo – a type of metal chain (''kusari'') with a heavy iron weight (''fundo'') at the end. The ''kusarigama'' is said to have been developed during the Muromachi period. The art of handling the kusarigama is called ''kusarigamajutsu''. History The researcher Nawa Yumio believes that the ''kusarigama'' was based on the ''jingama'', a tool that resembles a sickle, which was used to cut through a horse's ropes in the case of a fire. The ''jingama'' could also be used as a weapon and according to Nawa, the tool might have been combined with a ''konpi'' (棍飛) which is a chain that contained a weighted end and a chain around the user's wrist. People would wield the weapons with both hands to protect their horses against criminals. Another theory is that the ''kusarigama'' is based on the ''tobiguchi'' ( :ja:鳶口), which is a type of axe that had a "stou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Archipelago
The Japanese archipelago (Japanese: 日本列島, ''Nihon rettō'') is a archipelago, group of 6,852 islands that form the country of Japan, as well as the Russian island of Sakhalin. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to the East China Sea, East China and Philippine Seas in the southwest along the Pacific Ocean coast of the Eurasian continent, and consists of three island arcs from north to south: the Northeastern Japan Arc, Northeastern and Southwestern Japan Arcs, and the Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu Island Arc. The Kuril Islands, Kuril Island Arc, the Daitō Islands, and the Nanpō Islands are not parts of the archipelago. Japan is the largest island country in East Asia and the list of island countries, fourth-largest island country in the world with . It has an Exclusive economic zone of Japan, exclusive economic zone of . Terminology The term "mainland Japan" is used to distinguish the large islands of the Japanese archipelago from the remote, smaller isl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tadashi Yamashita
is a Japanese American martial artist and actor. Early life Tadashi Yamashita was born in Japan in 1942, but he considers himself an Okinawan. His father died when he was three and he and his mother moved to Okinawa when he was 8, after the second world war. He began martial arts at 11. Yamashita was awarded his black belt when he was 16. He captured the All-Okinawan Shorin-Ryu Free Sparring Grand Championship Title in 1960. He visited Japan in 1968 and tested before Shugoro Nakazato and Chosin Chibana. He lived in Okinawa until in 1966 he came to the USA where he became a citizen. Yamashita began training in martial arts at the age of 11 when the school PTA president, who was also a martial arts instructor, took him on as a student because he was picking fights with other students. Tadashi Yamashita received his black belt at age 11. He began training with Hanshi Shugoro Nakazato and Hanshi Shinpo Matayoshi in 1953. and in 1968 he tested before his Sensei Shugoro Naka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weapons Of Okinawa
A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, self-defense, warfare, or suicide. In broader context, weapons may be construed to include anything used to gain a tactical, strategic, material or mental advantage over an adversary or enemy target. While ordinary objects – sticks, rocks, bottles, chairs, vehicles – can be used as weapons, many objects are expressly designed for the purpose; these range from simple implements such as clubs, axes and swords, to complicated modern firearms, tanks, intercontinental ballistic missiles, biological weapons, and cyberweapons. Something that has been re-purposed, converted, or enhanced to become a weapon of war is termed weaponized, such as a weaponized virus or weaponized laser. History The use of weapons is a major driver of cultural ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blade Weapons
An edged weapon, or bladed weapon, is a melee weapon with a cutting edge. Bladed weapons include swords, daggers, knives, and bayonets. Edged weapons are used to cut, hack, or slash; some edged weapons (such as many kinds of swords) may also permit thrusting and stabbing. Edged weapons contrast with blunt weapons such as maces, and with thrusting weapons such as spears. Many edged agricultural tools such as machetes, hatchets, pitchforks, axes, sickles, sling blades, and scythes, have been used as improvised weapons by peasantry, militia, or irregular forces – particularly as an expedient for defence. Edged weapons and blades are associated with the premodern age but continue to be used in modern armies. Combat knives and knife bayonets are used for close combat or stealth operations and are issued as a secondary or sidearm. Modern bayonets are often intended to be used in a dual role as both a combat knife and knife bayonet. Improvised edged weapons were extensively used in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
