JO, BO AND HAMBO The jo or short staff is the first weapon introduced to a beginner at Shin Wa Kan Dojo, and is in the curriculum even at the white belt (early beginner) stage.  It is a straight wooden stick about four feet long.  A bo is like a jo but longer, about six feet.  Students are also trained in hambo waza (techniques).  A hambo is a short baton, about eighteen to twenty-four inches. Jo, bo and other staff weapons can be as small around as three-quarters of an inch in diameter, or as big as one and a half inches.  Some, like this example third from the top, are tipped in metal.  All are highly polished for easy sliding through the hands.  The one at the bottom is a hambo.  The characters say "Shin Wa Kan".  The one at the top is a bo; the character says "chikara", or "power". Practice with the jo is an important part of a new student's training, not only in individual training, but also in kumitachi (sparring) and two-person katas.  These two students, a mother and daughter, are practising a jo kata.

BOKKEN The bokken, or wooden sword, is the next weapon that a white-belt student learns.  Bokken come in several sizes, corresponding to the sizes of the steel swords.  The longer one on the top of the rack is about the length of a katana, the other two are about wakazashi length.  The small ones are the size of tanto.  Some have a tsuba (hand guard) and some don't, depending on what techniques are being practised and the preference of the individual.  The very long heavy example, just in front of the weapon rack, is called a suburito.  It is bokken shaped, but bigger and much heavier, and more advanced students sometimes use it in place of the bokken for the purpose of building upper body strength.     There are several different types of wood used for bokken.  Pine, for example, makes a lightweight bokken, good for beginners. Oak is a hard dense wood, and makes good bokken for kumitachi (sparring with weapons).  Students have plenty of opportunity to practise kenjutsu, sword arts.  Here, two students in the Women's Class, each with a bokken, practise the juhon no kata.     SWORDS

The sword was the most important part of the samurai's arsenal.  The longer one is called a katana or daito, the middle length one is called a wakazashi or shoto, and the shorter one is called a tanto.  The blade of the sword is made of very high quality steel.  The sheath, or saya, is most often made of beautifully lacquered wood with an insert of horn.  The handle, or tsuka, is covered with a braided cord called tsuka-ito, and the cord that is tied to the belt or obi is called the sageo. At Shin Wa Kan Dojo and in other koryu bujutsu schools, the sword plays an important part in the training of advanced beginner students and higher.  Iaijutsu, or the art of drawing the sword, is an elegant and beautiful art with a wide variety of techniques.  It can be done with a bokken, but an alloy or steel blade is much preferred.  Other sword arts, such as kenjutsu and iaido, are also taught and practised.

NAGINATA The naginata is also introduced to the advanced beginner student.  A genuine naginata is generally about seven feet long overall, with some examples up to eighteen feet!  It has a strong wooden shaft and a curved single-edged steel blade about 24 inches or more mounted on the end.  It is a fearsome weapon!  For training purposes, students start with a shorter - and safer! - version made entirely of wood.  As the student progresses, longer wooden naginata are used, then longer and heavier, and finally, an advanced student is permitted to train with a full length steel blade naginata. Although the naginata is taught to males and females at Shin Wa Kan Dojo, in some koryu bujutsu styles, the naginata is considered to be a woman's weapon, and was the weapon of choice for many samurai women.  The great length was useful for defending against an enemy while keeping them at a distance, out of reach of their swords.  It was often used by a warrior on foot against an attacker mounted on horseback. This student enjoyed some outdoor training with the naginata-ko during our Summer Schedule, which gives every student extra opportunities for practise.   SAI The sai are short, three-pronged swords, usually about twenty-four to twenty-eight inches long.  They are usually used in pairs.  Students begin to learn to use the sai at an advanced beginner stage in their training, and it is often necessary to concentrate on some upper-body strength building in preparation for sai training.  Kumitachi (weapons sparring) exercises often use the sai against other sai, against a jo or against a bokken to hone the skills of both participants, increase focus and concentration, improve reaction time, and help students in the process of learning how to adapt weapons techniques to work as empty-hand self-defense techniques.

TESSEN and SENSU The tessen and sensu are different types of fan, and are unusual weapons.   They are used by both males and females, and can be fairly small, about fifteen inches across, or quite large, up to twenty-seven inches or bigger.  It can be made of bamboo or other wood, bone, horn, or other materials.  The fabric can be paper, silk, linen or any soft, flexible fabric.  The tessen can even be made of iron!  Because it is so common, it is often not thought of as a weapon, but it can be employed in self-defense by someone who is trained for it.  The Tessen Odori, or fan dances, is an elegant and graceful kata that uses the fan.  Although it is very beautiful to watch and to perform, it still teaches some important techniques for self-defense using the fan, which can be adapted to use with other objects of a similar size and shape.

c Donna Murphy 2006.  All rights reserved.  No part of this web page or site may be reproduced without written permission from the author.  For information, see the "Find Us' page.