5 Things You Need to Know About Karate Weapons

1. The Simplicity of Karate Weapons

Karate weapons have an interesting history, as does the martial art itself. Okinawa banned the Chinese and Japanese from possessing any weapons during a long period of oppression. However, humans are tool-makers and the people learned that they could use their farming tools as substitute weapons. So, they trained with them in secret. Today, Okinawan karate styles teach the use of some of the original weapons in their schools. A karateka, or practitioner, first learns that his body is a weapon. The weapon becomes a natural extension of his body, and he uses it with the basic karate techniques learned in training.

2. The Popular Bo

The bo is a familiar weapon. Many karate schools use two different sizes of bos for training. The shorter bo may be more practical from a modern-day standpoint. A weapon does you no good if you don't have it with you. However, police frown on a person carting around swords or big sticks. If you train with the shorter bo, known as a han bo, you can easily use an umbrella or a cane in the same manner. The longer bo is 6 feet in length. The advantage of this weapon is reach.

3. Sticks and Stones May Break my Bones

Stones aren't a traditional karate weapon, but sticks certainly are. Originally used for threshing rice, the nunchaku may be more popular than the bo in martial arts movies. A chain or chord conjoins two short, wooden sticks. Once mastered the nunchaku is a formidable offensive weapon. The tonfa is a wooden stick between 15 and 20 inches in length with a handle near one end. Farmers originally used this karate weapon as a handle for turning millstone. Many police in the US and other countries use this weapon because of its defensive and offensive capabilities. For defense, the stick serves as a fortified block. You can use the tonfa for offense by striking with either end of the stick.

4. Non-Metal Swords

Kendo and some other karate styles make use of swords in training. The shinai is made of four strips of bamboo instead of metal. Leather binds the strips together. The bokken is wooden, but is very similar to a metal sword in size and shape. A karateka uses the bokken, sometimes in pairs, to practice defense against swords.

5. Sharp Karate Weapons

The sai has a wooden handle with three metal prongs. The middle prong is much longer. A karateka can use the sai alone or in pairs. The sai is a good weapon for blocking and disarming bos or swords. The kama, used in pairs, has a wooden handle attached to a sharp blade in the shape of a sickle. Farmers used it to harvest rice. You can use this karate weapon for defense in the same way as the sai or use the sharp blades offensively.