Yawara

Last updated
A single dumbbell-shaped yawara stick Yawara.jpg
A single dumbbell-shaped yawara stick

The yawara is a Japanese weapon used in various martial arts. Numerous types of jujutsu make use of a small rod, made of wood, that extends somewhat from both ends of a person's fist which is known as a yawara. The yawara likely originated from the use of the tokkosho, a Buddhist symbolic object, by monks in feudal Japan. The tokkosho was used during the Edo period and it was made of brass. Sometimes a short rope or cord would be looped around the user's wrist to distract someone else while in combat. The methods of using a yawara may have been created by samurai that used tantojutsu, which was combat that made use of a short knife. According to another theory, a samurai might have fought with the scabbard "when a more deadly weapon was not necessary".

Contents

The yawara stick was popularized for police officers in the 1940s by Frank A. Matsuyama, who made his own version in 1937 or earlier. [1] The upgraded yawara was made of Bakelite plastic and had golf shoe metal spikes on both ends. A yawara can be used by the general public for self-defense in some countries. A variation of the yawara is a kubotan which is about six inches long, made of plastic, weighs about two ounces, and has no sharp edges. The kubotan is used by police officers and the general public. It is considered to be a modern version of a yawara, which is "a little shorter and broader". In the United States, yawaras are not intrinsically illegal in any jurisdiction. In the UK it's illegal for any member of the public to carry a lethal or non-lethal self defence weapon.

History

Numerous types of jujutsu make use of a small rod, made of wood, that extends somewhat from both ends of a person's fist which is known as a yawara. The shaft of a yawara is often "carved to fit a user's fingers and to improve grip". The yawara is around 15–25 cm (5.9–9.8 in) long. Either end of the yawara can "be used to strike or apply pressure to sensitive vital points on an opponent's body". Pressure points that can be easily struck with a yawara are "the forehead, bridge of nose, upper lip, chin, temple, jaw, bicep, solar plexus, elbow, forearm, kidney, wrist, hypocondrium, genitalia, testicles, and knee". When a yawara is "held across the palm", it can "be used to block strikes of blows, even knife and sword slashes". [2] Sometimes a wielder would add a short "rope or cord" that would be looped around the user's wrist, allowing the yawara to be propelled as a distraction while in combat. With the cord setup, the user can easily retrieve the yawara and the cord itself can be used to capture the other person's "limb or weapon as well as to restrain an attacker after they had been subdued". The cord or hook were sometimes called torihimo or "bird rope". [3]

It is believed by some historians that methods of using a yawara were created by samurai that used tantojutsu, which was combat with a short knife. A theory states that the scabbard of a short blade may have swelled from water, resulting in it being hard for a samurai to "draw the blade" from its scabbard. When that happened, the samurai started using the scabbard as a weapon. According to another theory, a samurai might have fought with the scabbard "when a more deadly weapon was not necessary". It is likely that the yawara was based on the tokkosho which was used by Buddhist priests, monks, and pilgrims for incantations and prayers. A tokkosho symbolized the Buddha's ability to destroy evil, but it could also be used in self-defense "as a hand-held weapon". [2] A takkosho was used during the Edo period and it was made of brass. It was an object that was used in rituals. [4]

Due to metal being expensive and requiring forging by tools, wood (of any type) was used to create a yawara. Because it is easy to carve and use a yawara, it has been used as part of multiple self-defense styles in the western world. [2] In feudal Japan, some yawara included miniature claws on one end, allowing someone to "hook the opponent's clothing to pull the attacker off-balance and throw him". The claws could also be used to attack an opponent's face. [5]

Police use

Assistants of the Japanese police force created various ways to capture a criminal with the rope of the yawara. [3] Japanese immigrant Frank Matsuyama taught the Berkeley, California, police department how to use the yawara in the 1930s. Matsuyama later wrote the book How to Use the Yawara Stick for Police, which details the use of an upgraded yawara that he created in 1937 or earlier for police officers. The upgraded yawara was made of Bakelite plastic and had golf shoe spikes on both ends. The spikes, which were made of metal, were to dishearten someone from taking the yawara from the police officer or to cause pain in order to stop a criminal. [2] Matsuyama stated in his book of his upgrade of the yawara, "The Yawara stick is very effective, easy to carry, easy to learn how to use, and easy to remember. It is hard – in fact, almost impossible – for anyone to wrest it from an Officer's grasp. The Yawara stick is better appearing, very inconspicuous, and is not objectionable to the public – even when it is being used". [6] While some yawara have ball bearings on each end, that version has been banned for most police officer usage due to how easily it can penetrate both flesh and bone. A 1985 manual by the University of Illinois titled Police Yawara Stick Techniques, Second Edition details "the advantages and disadvantages of the yawara stick as a weapon". The manual states how police officers can effectively use the yawara and it includes illustrations for each method of use. [7]

General public use

The yawara has also been created by using hard nylon and aircraft-grade aluminum for use by the general public. Depending on the company, the yawara can be built as either hollow or solid. For self-defense, the yawara can be aimed at the neck, throat, temple, eyes, or nose. A yawabara is easy to hide and might also have an attachment for a keychain. For use by the general public, a yawabara is inexpensive. [8] Martial artist Miguel Ibarra stated of a yawara, "It can give a person who might lack physical size, strength or highly developed technique an edge against an attacker". Martial artist Roy Goldberg said, "Stay away from the types of yawara that have knives or blades concealed inside them. If you practice right, you be very effective with the plain stick; you don't need the blade." Goldberg also said that "there is more risk of being prosecuted for carrying a concealed weapon if you have a yawara with a blade inside". [5] The senior black belt demonstration division of the American Jujitsu Association can demonstrate how to use a yawara among other weapons. [9]

A variation of the yawara is a kubotan which is "about six inches long, made of plastic, weighs about two ounces, and has no sharp edges. The kubotan is used by police officers and the general public. It is considered to be a modern version of a yawara, which is "a little shorter and broader". [10]

Etymology

The kanji for yawara and ju in jujutsu or judo is the same (柔). The kanji also translates to "flexibility" or "giving way". Another term for yawara is tenouchi which translates to "inside the hand". [2]

Legality

In the United States, yawaras are not intrinsically illegal in any jurisdiction. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scabbard</span> Sheath for the blade of a sword or dagger

A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, dagger, knife, or similar edged weapons. As well, rifles and other long guns may be stored in a scabbard by horse riders for transportation. Military cavalry and cowboys had scabbards for their saddle ring lever-action carbines and rifles on their horses for transportation and protection. Scabbards have been made of many materials over the millennia, including leather, wood, and metal such as brass or steel.

<i>Nunchaku</i> Traditional East Asian weapon

The nunchaku, "nunchucks", "chainsticks", or "chuka sticks" in English), is a traditional East-Asian martial arts weapon consisting of two sticks, connected to each other at their ends by a short metal chain or a rope. It is approximately 30 cm (12") (sticks) and 1 inch (rope). A person who has practiced using this weapon is referred to in Japanese as nunchakuka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hojōjutsu</span> Japanese art of restraining person with rope

Hojōjutsu or Torinawajutsu or just Nawajutsu, is the traditional Japanese martial art of restraining a person using cord or rope, as a precursor to modern-day handcuffs. Encompassing many different materials, techniques and methods from many different schools, Hojōjutsu is a quintessentially Japanese art that is a unique product of Japanese history and culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kukri</span> Knife associated with the Gurkhas of Nepal

The kukri or khukuri is a type of short sword with a distinct recurve in its blade that originated in the Indian subcontinent. It serves multiple purposes as a melee weapon and also as a regular cutting tool throughout most of South Asia. The kukri, khukri, and kukkri spellings are of Indian English origin, with the original Nepalese English spelling being khukuri.

<i>Tantō</i> Japanese dagger

A tantō is one of the traditionally made Japanese swords that were worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The tantō dates to the Heian period, when it was mainly used as a weapon but evolved in design over the years to become more ornate. Tantō were used in traditional martial arts. The term has seen a resurgence in the West since the 1980s as a point style of modern tactical knives, designed for piercing or stabbing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese martial arts</span> Martial arts native to Japan

Japanese martial arts refers to the variety of martial arts native to the country of Japan. At least three Japanese terms are used interchangeably with the English phrase Japanese martial arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Club (weapon)</span> Blunt weapon

A club is a short staff or stick, usually made of wood, wielded as a weapon since prehistory. There are several examples of blunt-force trauma caused by clubs in the past, including at the site of Nataruk in Turkana, Kenya, described as the scene of a prehistoric conflict between bands of hunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago.

<i>Jitte</i> Japanese non-bladed weapon

A jitte or jutte is a specialized weapon that was used by police in Edo-period Japan (1603–1868).

<i>Tanbō</i>

The tanbō is a short staff weapon used in Okinawa and feudal Japan. Today the tanbō is used by various martial arts schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese sword mountings</span> Housings and associated fittings that hold the blade of a Japanese sword

Japanese sword mountings are the various housings and associated fittings that hold the blade of a Japanese sword when it is being worn or stored. Koshirae (拵え) refers to the ornate mountings of a Japanese sword used when the sword blade is being worn by its owner, whereas the shirasaya is a plain undecorated wooden mounting composed of a saya and tsuka that the sword blade is stored in when not being used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Okinawan kobudō</span> Weapons systems of Okinawan martial arts

Okinawan Kobudō (沖縄古武道), literally "old martial way of Okinawa", is the weapon systems of Okinawan martial arts.

<i>Ikkaku-ryū juttejutsu</i> Japanese Tradditional School

Ikkaku-ryū juttejutsu is a school of juttejutsu that, as the equivalent to its sister variant Chūwa-ryū tankenjutsu (中和流短剣術), is taught alongside traditional school (ko-ryū) of Japanese martial arts, Shintō Musō-ryū. It is composed of 24 forms (kata) divided into two series. It was created by the third Shintō Musō-ryū (SMR) Headmaster, Matsuzaki Kinu'emon Tsunekatsu in the late 17th century.

<i>Kubotan</i> Genericized trademark for a self-defense keychain weapon

Kubotan is a genericized trademark for a self-defense keychain weapon developed by Sōke Takayuki Kubota in the late 1960s. It is typically no more than 140 millimetres long and about 13 mm in diameter, slightly thicker or the same size as a marker pen. The material is usually a hard high-impact plastic such as Lexan. The body of the Kubotan is lined with six round grooves with a screw eye or swivel and split ring attachment at one end for keys.

Tatsumi-ryū Hyōhō is a traditional school (koryū) of Japanese martial arts founded in the early 16th century by Tatsumi Sankyo.

Jujutsu techniques include joint locks, chokeholds, strikes, grappling, throwing, and other self-defense techniques.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jujutsu</span> Japanese martial art

Jujutsu, also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponents. It was designed in the 1530s and is coined by Hisamori Tenenuchi when he officially established the first school of Jiu-Jitsu in Japan. A subset of techniques from certain styles of jujutsu were used to develop many modern martial arts and combat sports, such as judo, aikido, sambo, ARB, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and mixed martial arts.

Takayuki Kubota, also known as Tak Kubota, is a Japanese-American karateka, known as the founder the Gosoku-ryu style of karate. He holds the title of sōke (grandmaster) for his development of the Gosoku-ryū, and is the founder and president of the International Karate Association. He is also the inventor and holder of the trademark of the Kubotan self-defense key chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Three-section staff</span> Chinese weapon

The three-section staff, three-part staff, triple staff, originally sanjiegun or sansetsukon, three-section whip, originally sanjiebian, is a Chinese flail weapon that consists of three wooden or metal staffs connected by metal rings or rope. The weapon is also known as the coiling dragon staff, originally panlong gun. A more complicated version of the two section staff, the staves can be spun to gather momentum resulting in a powerful strike, or their articulation can be used to strike over or around a shield or other defense.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Budoshin Ju-Jitsu</span> Contemporary style of ju-jitsu

Budoshin is a contemporary style (ryū) of ju-jitsu rooted in ancient Japanese techniques, with an emphasis on practical self-defense.

References

  1. ↑ Patent 2,099,447; Issued 16 November 1937; Police Weapon; Frank A. Matsuyama
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Don Cunningham (21 August 2012). Samurai Weapons: Tools of the Warrior. Tuttle Publishing. pp. 22–26. ISBN   978-1-4629-0749-6.
  3. 1 2 Don Cunningham (8 December 2015). Secret Weapons of Jujutsu. Tuttle Publishing. p. 22. ISBN   978-1-4629-1705-1.
  4. ↑ "Single-pronged vajra (tokkosho)". Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 Active Interest Media, Inc. (August 1989). Black Belt. Active Interest Media, Inc. pp. 52–53.
  6. ↑ Matsuyama, Frank (1948). "How to Use the Yawara Stick for Police" (PDF). University of Hawaii. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  7. ↑ Truncale, J. J.; Connor, G. J. (1985). "Police Yawara Stick Techniques, Second Edition". National Criminal Justice Reference Service. University of Illinois. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Featured Non-Lethal Self-Defense Weapon: The Yawara". Off The Grid News. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Tournament Handbook" (PDF). American Jujitsu Association. September 23, 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  10. ↑ Active Interest Media, Inc. (June 1982). Black Belt. Active Interest Media, Inc. pp. 47–48.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.