Nunchaku - two short sticks held together with a short cord or chain
Introduction
Kobudo is the Okinawan study of weapons. It should be understood that these are not weapons that would have been used on a battlefield at any time. Weapons were banned at least twice during the history of Okinawa, initially by the Okinawan king and then later by the Japanese Satsuma clan after they invaded in 1609. These bans related to battlefield weapons, ie. bladed weapons such as swords and spears.
As a result the Okinawans began to train in the use of covert weapons, ie. weapons that, at least theoretically, had another primary use. That way they could carry a weapon and not risk punishment by the warriors of the Satsuma military occupation.
The Weapons
Many covert weapons were used by Okinawans over the last several hundred years. The following are formally taken up into the Shindo syllabus for all students to learn.
It can be argued that these are the most practical weapons to learn in our society, for two reasons:
Students should note that it is illegal in the UK to carry any object in a public place with the intention of using it as a weapon, should the need arise. This would extend even to such objects as say, a comb, if you're intention was to defend yourself with it, rather than to comb your hair. On the other hand, it would be perfectly legal to pick up any available object and use it to defend yourself, as long as this could be considered "use of reasonable force" in the particular circumstances. The situation would therefore need to be extremely dangerous to justify picking up a weapon of any sort.
Other Weapons
Many other weapons have been used in Okinawa. The following are available for study by interested members of the Shindo Trust:
Nunchaku - two short sticks held together with a short cord or chain