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What is Kobudo (古武道)? Kobudo can be literally translated as “old martial way”. It is an art of Okinawan weaponry and has been a prominent weapon-based martial art for centuries.
It is also known as the sibling to karate and extension of arms, the art of Kobudo is deeply rooted in Okinawan history.
It explores the use of weapons and how to defend against them. While it complements karate through its integration of techniques parallel to that of Okinawa karate, it is completely beginner friendly and safe to learn.
The weapons in Kobudo include the Bo (otherwise known as staff), Sai, Eku, Tonfa, Kama and Nunchaku. One will be exposed to the Bo first where he/she will pick up the foundational principles and techniques of Kobudo.
After a certain level of proficiency, exposure to the other weapons will begin where one will observe how these principles carry over to different weapons, each demonstrating its unique methods of executing said principles.
Our dojo is the only dojo in Singapore, which is affiliated to Japan Kenshin-ryu. All of our Kobudo grading certifications are approved by Okinawa Kobudo Kenshinryu and recognized in Japan.
Since the inception of the training, our dojo has produced several black belt Kobudo practitioners in its effort to transform them into a qualified Kobudo instructor. We will continue to strive for excellence to provide the best for its students.
Okinawa Kobudo Kenshin-ryu was founded by Teruo Hayashi, who was the first being accepted as a student by Kenko Nakaima to learn the style of Ryuei-Ryu. This style was only handed down to family members.
Hayashi was also among the firsts started to include fighting exercises into the regular training exercise.
It is an effective and powerful style that provides good basics and kihon that are easily absorbed into and complements our Karate training for a better performance. Likewise, a good knowledge of Karate basics will help form the fundamentals of the use of the weapons. Okinawan Kobudo and Karate are both intertwined.
Okinawan kobudo 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).
Kenshin-ryu Okinawan kobudo mostly focuses on the use of the bō staff.
The bō is a generally a six-foot long staff, which is sometimes tapered at either end. Nowadays, however, its length is relative to your height and skills.
It was perhaps derived from a farming tool tenbin, which is a stick to carry baskets or sacks over the shoulder.
The bo is the ‘king’ of the Okinawa weapons, as all others exploit its weaknesses in fighting it, whereas when it is fighting them it is using its strengths against them. The bo is the earliest of all Okinawan Weapons.
Eku is the Okinawan style of oar, which has noteworthy hallmarks such as the slight point at the tip, curve to one side of the paddle and a roof-like ridge along the other. One of the basic moves for this weapon utilizes the fact that a fisherman fighting on the beach would be able to fling sand at an opponent. While not having the length, and therefore reach, of the bō, the rather sharp edges can inflict more penetrating damage.
