Page 47 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 119

www.sportsenergynews.com Issue #119 December 2022 47

It is still used today for safety reasons in place of a sword, at competitions
KARATE KOMMENTS and in the dojo.

8) Oar – Okinawa is one of the Ryukyu Islands, a chain of islands that lie
southwest of Japan, and stretch to Taiwan. Fish has always been a staple
in the Okinawan diet, with many fishermen becoming quite skilled at
By Jim Riddell, using the oar as a self-defense tool.

Seaway Karate Club 9) Tekko – iron fist or fist loaded weapon. The Tekko is not very common
and is rarely seen in the weapons division at a karate tournament. There
are many different versions of the tekko, but most versions involve either
Traditional Martial Art Weapons a single horseshoe, two horseshoes welded together, or a stirrup (attached
by a strap to a horse saddle) which is smaller, lighter, and easier to conceal.
In this issue of Sports Energy, we will take a look at a few of the more
popular traditional martial art weapons, along with their history. During One of our Seaway Karate members, a lifelong horse owner, bought her
hypoallergenic American Baskir Curly (breed) horse at 3 months of age
the 17th century the Ryukyu Islands, (of which Okinawa is the largest),
was captured by the Japanese. Forbidden by the Japanese to possess and trained him herself. Linus is now thirteen years old. After earning her
weapons, several agricultural implements used by Okinawan farmers Blackbelt in 2018 and looking for a new karate challenge, she had a set of
horseshoes made into a tekko. (See photo) She then designed a tekko kata
were improvised as “weapons of opportunity” to defend themselves and
their property. The demonstrated use of most of these weapons can be which she based on Bassai Dai, incorporating many of the gross motor
skill movements into strikes, blocks, and traps with the tekko. Because
observed at the weapons division of any large karate tournament. Here
is a brief description of eight popular traditional weapons plus a “bonus” her version of the tekko served no purpose other than as a weapon, it
traditional weapon, which is rarely, if ever, seen in competition. soon became a piece of art and was lagged to a wall. She had a second set
of traditional blunt end horseshoe tekko with plasticized tips added for
1) Bo Staff – was normally one hand width longer than the height of the
safety while training. Although less common, the tekko is still an original
user. This allowed a safer distance defending against an attacker with a Okinawan weapon.
bladed edge. The bo staff was originally used by the Chinese, balanced
across the shoulders, to carry heavy loads. Karate Quote: ‘Repetition is the mother of all skills.’

2) Nunchaku – the nunchaku was originally used by farmers in China as
a threshing implement for rice and soy. It consisted of two wooden sticks
held together with horsehair. The binding between these sticks is one
hand- width, and the sticks should be balanced. The legality of traditional
martial art weapons in Canada is determined by the Criminal Code, the
most specific being regulations which prohibit certain weapons, one of
which is the nunchaku. This makes having a set of wooden, metal, or
composite nunchakus in your possession, a criminal offense. For those
who still would like to train with nunchaku’s, a legal substitute is available

which is made of soft foam rubber – they may not be original, but they
are unlikely to cause any legal issues either.
3) Tonfa – the tonfa was originally the handle used to turn a millstone. It
has a perpendicular handle placed at one – third the length of the stick.
Usually 15” – 20” long. The stick must protrude an inch or two beyond the
elbow. The PR-24 side handle police baton was derived from the tonfa.
Edged weapons – edged weapons had a sharpened edge for cutting and
slashing, or a sharpened point for puncturing.
4) Kama – a sickle used to cut crops.
5) Sai – (pronged truncheon) looks like a very short sword and was used
in pairs as a pitchfork. They were quite useful for blocking, trapping, and
countering attacks.
6) Katana – the Samuri sword. The katana is worn on the left side,
edge upward, and is drawn in a “sky to ground” fashion, used both on
horseback, and on foot.
7) Bokken – (wooden sword) – used as a training weapon by Samuri
because it was much safer and cheaper, as metal was not easily obtained.