Okinawan Kobudo Tools - the Kama | Gardening Tools for Self-Defense

Into gardening? The Okinawa kama is hard to beat when it comes to removing weeds
and bad guys. Into karate, the Okinawa kama is a must!

Traditionally, kama was developed with other farming implements for self-defense on Okinawa. It became an important weapon due to King Shoshin of Okinawa outlawing ownership of bladed weapons. Some suggest the king was a devout Buddhist and was against violence, but in all likelihood, the king was fearful of an uprising. Even though kama had a blade, these were not considered weapons, but rather farming tools; so the Okinawan peasants converted traditional sickles into weapons of self-defense and trained in secret. Typically, we train with two kama - one in each hand.

If you are into gardening - there is nothing like sharp Okinawa kama for removing weeds from your garden. But if you are into traditional martial arts like many of our adult students at the Arizona Hombu Dojo in Mesa, there is nothing like kama for self-defense. But to protect ourselves and our training partners, we train only with non-shapened kama because we all want to be able to go home and text with all of our digits still attached.

Thursday evenings, members of the Arizona Hombu on Baseline Road on the border of Mesa and Gilbert Arizona in the Phoenix valley train with Okinawan Martial Arts Weapons - just like the Okinawan peasants of the past. Currently (2015), students are training in kama as well as nunchaku. Few other schools teach kama (gardening sickles) which is unfortunate, as kama is a martial arts weapon found in most Sears garden shops. Most Okinawan kama (gama) come as pairs  and are handy to have for any garden or home invaders which are all too common in Arizona.

Ben defends attack by Gavin at the Arizona Hombu during ippon kumite 
(one step sparring).

A modified kama, known as kusarigama is even more rare in martial arts schools because it leaves bruises until the student learns to use this complex weapon - its a kama attached to a chain. But our students love gardening. So if you are ever attacked in your garden by a gang of ninja or CDC bad guys, you will be thankful you learned to use kama and kusarigama.

At the age of 10, I was handed a rusty sickle by my mother and told to de-weed our back yard. I only wish I would have known something about kama back in those days, it would have made cutting weeds much more interesting. 

Anyway, kama was likely a weapon of the peasant class on Okinawa, simply because it would have been a tool of farmers – something beneath the Pechin class (Okinawan equivalent of Samurai). One of the great controversies of Okinawa karate was how the martial art developed. Many think of karate as a form of self-defense used only by Okinawan bodyguards and royalty, others argue it was a peasant art. The martial art of kobudo argues this was a combat art for peasants.

Kobudo developed after King Shoshin outlawed bladed weapons on Okinawa in the 15^th century. Okinawa was invaded by the Satsuma Samurai from Japan and the ban on bladed weapons continued to be enforced by Japanese Samurai who could take the life of any peasant they chose. If any Okinawan was caught with a weapon or practicing karate, they likely would have lost their head – this was one reason why karate was a secret for centuries.



The kama is one of the more difficult Okinawan weapons to learn due to the inherent danger of the blade. Before karate became popular in the US, kama training (just like samurai sword) involved a razor sharp blade. It was easy to self-inflict scars during practice. Today, we have practice weapons, but care must still be exercised because most are so poorly made that they tend to fall apart with little use. It is a good idea (and highly recommended) to wear safety glasses or goggles while training with these and to search for either a martial arts supply house that sells kama that will last and not break easily.

Training in kama and bo at Kobudo class in Mesa, Arizona

Kama is used singly or in pairs (gama). The point, sharpened edge of the blade, handle and the butt of the handle are all used in strikes and blocks. There are different grips used in kama combat including honte mochi (natural), gyaku te mochi (reverse) and tokushu mochi (special grip). The weapon is used for kuride (hooking), kakede (gripping), ukete sasu (blocking & stabbing), tsuki (thrusting), kiru (cutting) & nagete ateru (throwing and striking). Some kama have straps attached to handles so the weapon can be released similar to some nunchaku techniques.

A similar weapon to kama is kusarigama (chain-sickle). This is a very difficult weapon to master and rarely taught and it is difficult to find kusarigama to purchase. They are almost non-existent in the US and the few available at local martial arts stores are not up to specification.

Kusarigama is a traditional weapon with a kama attached to a metal chain (kusari) with heavy iron weight at the opposite end of the kama. Or it can be attached to a rope wound around the wrist.

Okinawan farmers at the Arizona Hombu dojo train with farming implements. Photo shows karate
 students and instructors training with kama (Okinawa sickles) during kobudo class.

The chain of kusarigama is relatively long (often 6 to 9.5 feet) and used to reach an attacker outside a striking distance of a samurai sword with weighted ball and chain. This was done by swinging the kusari overhead or at the side and wrapping it around the attacker’s arms, legs, or neck.  It is also likely the kama was swung overhead in big circles and thrown at samurai with follow-up strikes to vital points with the weight. Records show that kusarigama was extremely popular in feudal Japan, and many schools trained in this art from the 12th to 17th century including Koga Ryu, a school of ninjutsu. Anyone who doubts the effectiveness of kama or kusarigama should spend time with Tadashi Yamashita.

Kama and bokken - traditional Okinawan martial arts at the Arizona School of Traditional Karate.