Yoshukai Karate is a Japanese style of the martial art that originated in Okinawa. The craft began in a time when the peasant farmers of that country were not allowed to own weapons. Being defenseless, they were at the mercy of raiders and marauders until they discovered that they could use ordinary farm tools as weapons.
With this discovery, they trained themselves to defend their farms and families with these simple tools and well-trained bodies that literally became human weapons.

Pictures by Nila Smith

Movements is one of the first exercises the students learn. Each movement is precise and quick. The intensity in this young man's face is typical of a good student concentrating on his craft.

One of the first fighting tactics learned by the student is how to break away from an aggressor. Here Sensei (Japanese for teacher) Nykol Schreiber (in black) has hold of the student, but not for long. With the quick shift of the captured arm and a blow to the ribs from the tightly clenched right fist, the student will be free in no time

While the other students stand in the background, this woman demonstrates the various movements that can be done with the "Bo." The bo as a farm tool was balanced across the back of the shoulders and used to carry buckets of water.

Another view of stances and positions used when wielding the Bo.

 

Students also learn to do combat with the Bo.  Here two different sets of fighters go through the typical motions of self-defense using this 6-foot-long pole.

Here one man is armed with the Bo and the other with a pair of Sai. Sai are small pitchforks that were used by the farmers for digging, pitching straw or hay, or planting seeds.

Here Sensei Scott Bottrell of the Elkhart Dojo demonstrates with his group the use of the Tonfa as a weapon. The tonfa was developed by Okinawan farmers as a grinding instrument for rice, beans and grain.

Sensei Schreiber wields the Nunchaku, demonstrating the self-defense moves that are possible with this tool that was originally intended to thrash grains of rice from the plants.

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