The history and development of the Okinawan traditional weapons date back to around the 16th century with evidence dating from the 7th century. The actual history is not that important. The fact of why and how it developed, is. The invasion by the Japanese and the subsequent banning of the carrying of swords led to the popularity of the unarmed fighting techniques. The ingenious Okinawans then adapted these unarmed techniques to various farm implements, using them as extensions in the hands of an expert. These "weapons" could also be carried openly without being recognized as weapons.
It is true to say that in today's world, the need to carry traditional weapons is not huge. There are laws that effect the use and carrying of certain weapons. So why do we learn how to use them? There are many reasons, when using the weapons is it possible to learn a type of focus and control that might not have been achieved otherwise. We learn a martial ART, one could say that the full picture of what we are creating in ones self can only be achieved with as much knowledge and skill as possible. We learn amongst other things, basics (kihon), partner work (kumite), forms (katas) and randori or sparing. So to get the full picture we also learn weapons (kobudo).
For an interactive look around a dojo, and the weapons click on the virtual dojo.
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