Kobudo       

Kobudo is a Japanese martial art that focuses on the study of weapons. It is also known as "Okinawan kobudo"; "Ryukyu Kobujutsu", and "Koryu". When translated from Japanese Kobudo means: "old martial way of Okinawa". It generally refers to the study and use of traditional Okinawan weapons. Today the study of Kobudo is very often combined with Karate, even though is an entirely separate art.

Strictly translated, Kobudo covers all , armed or unarmed, ancient martial arts of Okinawa or Japan. However, today it is most often used to describe the weapons and traditions of the Ryukyu Islands. These weapons include: the "rokushakubo" or just plain "bo" - a six foot staff; the "sai" - a short unsharpened sword or dagger; the "nunchaku" - or nunchucks; the "kama" - or sickle; the "tekko" - knuckledusters or brass knuckles; the "suruchin" - a weighted rope or chain; the "tinbe-rochin" - which is a shield and short spear; the "tonfa" - a side handled baton similar to a nightstick; and the "eiku" - meaning a small Japanese oar. There are other weapons that this martial art teaches, but today most study focuses on these eight, with nunchucks and "bo" being the most common.

Okinawan Kobudo was at its zenith some 200-400 years ago. Over the years, several distinct methods of wielding the individual weapons had evolved. Of all the authentic "kata" - or forms - practiced at that time, relatively few remain today. Between the 1700s - early 1900s a decline in the study "Kobujutsu" - as it was known then - jeopardized the future of this traditional martial art.