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! |
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.
Ben defends attack by Gavin at the Arizona Hombu during ippon kumite (one step sparring). |
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 15th 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 |
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.
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.
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. |
Kama and bokken - traditional Okinawan martial arts at the Arizona School of Traditional Karate. |