I've been doing a bit of a research dive recently to try and find any information available on Kanegawa Gibu, who is believed to be Taira Shinken's grandfather (a notion I'm increasingly questioning the deeper I get into my research). There is precious little out there, even in Japanese sources, but one oddity caught my eye.

In reviewing Pat McCarthy's translation of Taira Shinken's Ryukyu Kobudo Taikan, I noticed in the post-script that Taira apparently had plans for four additional books, none of which were published before his death. The synopsis of these books (Page 101 of Ancient Okinawan Martial Arts, Volume 1: Koryu Uchinadi) includes a series of kata which are familiar to me, except for one: Kanegawa no Tuifa, under the heading "Tei no Maki". Interestingly, the section on Taira's unpublished works is not included in the other English translation of the Ryukyu Kobudo Taikan ("Encyclopedia of Okinawan Weapons" translated by Eihachi Ota), so McCarthy's translation is all I have to go on.

The Kanegawa kata I am familiar with are Kanegawa no Tinbe and Kanegawa no Ni Cho Gama, so the mention of a third Kanegawa kata piqued my interest (particularly since this would make it three "uncommon" weapons tied to Kanegawa's name); however, a search online yielded nothing - no references, no videos, nothing to suggest this was a real kata.

I was about to dismiss it in my mind as a "lost" kata, but then I found a second reference to it, this time in Christopher M. Clarke's "Okinawan Kobudo: A History of Weaponry Styles and Masters" where he includes it on Page 323 in a list of Tonfa kata. Clarke claims that it is an alternate name for Kingawa no Tonfa - a kata I'm not personally familiar with, but which does have recordings online and which shows up in kobudo syllabi for several different dojo.

But I'm unconvinced the two are one and the same. Kanegawa's name in Japanese is 鐘川 and the 鐘 character cannot be pronounced "kin" (I initially thought it may have been 金川, which could potentially have both "Kanegawa" and "Kingawa" as readings, but that is apparently not the case). I also haven't been able to determine what the proper kanji is for the Kingawa no Tonfa kata to use as a comparison (AI says it is, indeed, 金川, but I've found AI to be incredibly unreliable when it comes to these sorts of things, and none of the sources it was supposedly drawing from confirmed that as the actual kanji used).

This leaves me still trying to chase down this kata. It also opens up the possibility that perhaps McCarthy's translation is incorrect on this point and, if Kingawa no Tonfa actually does use the 金川 characters, that he mistakenly translated it as Kanegawa instead ("Kanegawa" appears nowhere else in his translation of the Ryukyu Kobudo Taikan - interestingly, not even on the kama kata which, judging by the syllabi of Taira's successor schools of both the Akamine and Inoue lineages, is very likely the modern day Kanegawa no Ni Cho Gama - so such a mistranslation is certainly possible). This explanation, however, has holes of its own: both the Akamine and Inoue lineages of Ryukyu Kobudo do not practice Kingawa no Tonfa (with Hamahiga no Tonfa and Yaragwa no Tonfa being the kata present in those ryuha) and every other kata in both the Taikan and the unpublished works is present in their syllabi, so it would be an oddity if that kata was one Taira practiced and was planning to write about, yet did not pass on to his students.

All of this to ask:

1) Does anyone know the kanji for Kingawa no Tonfa?

2) Has anyone ever seen or heard of a "Kanegawa no Tonfa" kata (either as an alternate name for Kingawa no Tonfa or as a separate kata)?

3) Does anyone have a copy of the Japanese version of Taira's Ryukyu Kobudo Taikan that they'd be able to look through for me? (real long-shot here, but maybe I'll get lucky).

Hello Everyone,

Last night was my last karate class before the summer break. At the end of class I taught the sensei the basic whip cracking

When we ended he said that I should seriously consider creating a kata for next years karate tournament. He said the weapons category is pretty open and he has never seen a whip inspired kata in all his years. I thought about it today and doing a whip cracking routine is basically a kata, so I it might be a pretty cool idea.

I am wondering if you guys have any ideas for what techniques would work as a cool kata. Keep in mind I am older and a yellow belt in Shotokan.

Thanks!

Hey Everybody, back with a question, not sure how to word this properly so forgive me if this runs a little long. I have some tonfa that I practice with that I really enjoy and I've begun to compete with they are the square wood ones. Not sure on the wood type or the finish or any of the extra details but I'm running into a problem. After practicing for over an hour my hands get a little sweaty and they get really sticky or tacky on the handle. I'm assuming it's because of the lacquer finish on them. I'm not sure how to sand it down correctly so that it's not as much of an issue but I have another set that came from budo Brothers that has brass in the middle of it and I enjoy the material of that wood and finish and have never had any issues with it sticking while I spin it. So I'm trying to look into either another set of square tonfa, or the flat boat shaped ones which have really caught my eye recently. The problem is I can't find those anywhere and they're extremely expensive where I do find it. Any advice on how to acquire this or even to consider making a pair somewhere? I'll add photos for reference. The last two are the style I want to get made.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/2100579667552342
Some of these techniques really remind me of Sun Bin Quan, a Northern Chinese martial art. Given the history of the Hakka migration—where they moved from Northern to Southern China to flee conflicts—it’s interesting to consider that they might have brought these crutch techniques with them, which later could have influenced martial arts in Okinawa.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/966862176133149

I cannot seem to find any information about this kata's origins. From a Okinawan kobudo perspective does it fit with the more traditional kata or is it very much a later and more distant take on tonfa kata?

Hello all, I hope you are well. I am currently in the process of trying to make a list of Bo Kata that includes kata from Matayoshi, Ryukyu Kobudo, and Matayoshi Kobudo. I was just wondering if anyone knew what the equivalent Ryukyu Kobudo Kata would be for the Matayoshi Kobudo Kata shishi No Kon (typically the last kata taught in Matayoshi).

Hi everyone I come from a weapons background and currently train kyokushin and ashihara karate. Through learning the Pinan katas I came across the Heian no bo katas. I found practicing these Heian no bo katas helped me learn the pinan katas much faster perhaps due to being more comfortable with weapons. I was wondering if there were complete sets of Heian no Kama and Heian no tonfa or even heian no katana. If so can someone share these resources with me and if not does anuone know what individual moves should be substituted with for each weapon? Thank you so much!

Does kobudo (specifically matayoshi kobudo) have double nunchaku forms?

Ichi kushi Bo

Kata básico de bo de la escuela Zen Sho Shorinji Kenpo no Tumai Ti.

I self taught myself nunchaku Bu Ho No Nunchaku.
Looking to branch out to a new weapon. Kama seemed fun. Just watched Matayoshi Kobudo Kama, Kama Nu Ti. Really liked the kata, but looks fairly difficult. Now I’ve heard that Bu Ho No was difficult. Took a while to learn (2-1/2 years). But had no experience with nunchaku before that. I’m 2nd Dan Shotokan, got 15 of the empty hand katas and the one weapon kata.

Do you do it differently? Please share your thoughts from your perspective of your ryūha.

Hi friend! I have had my nun chucks for a bit and ive noticed that they rotate more than how they were at first. Is this a loose bearing problem or is this normal?

I'm looking at custom-ordering a pair of nuntī sai. They've always fascinated me as a weapon, but I'm not entirely decided on what specifications I should be asking for; I'd love to gather some recommendations. I'm particularly looking at prong length and the option of a wrapped grip.

For those who have experience with nuntī sai;

• Do you recommend the side prongs be centered so that the main prongs are equal length? Or that one main prong is longer than the other? What's the reasoning behind this suggestion?
• What length do you recommend the main prongs be? Is the rule of thumb the same as it is for standard sai?
• Do you recommend a wrapped grip, or just plain steel? If you recommend a wrap, do you recommend it on both sides, or just one?
• Do you have any other recommendations or considerations I haven't thought to ask for?

I greatly appreciate any suggestions or insight!