Yawara/Pocketstick

The yawara is likely one of the most versatile and portable weapons that you can study, next to the cane of course because you can't legally take a yawara onto a plane and you can in fact bring a cane on. Now, that's assuming people know what the yawara is for, and it could well be as inconspicuous as a small flashlight or a permanent marker.

As a martial artist and as an amateur woodworker, I'm fascinated with yawara and similar pocketsticks. Let's face it, they're the only things I'm skilled enough to make. Not to mention that they're incredibly simple in function once you figure out what they're used for, unlike nunchaku or katana.

I have a few questions about yawara, though. Firstly, is there an actual organized style based around them, or are they basically an instinctive weapon where you strike pressure points with no real pattern or style, thereby making them adaptable to any person's unique method of fighting? Secondly, I've looked around a lot, because I want to see about getting a higher quality yawara and comparing its form, price, and function against the ones I've made, and I haven't found too many made of exotic wood. There are endless waves of kubotan and keychains of aluminum, but if I look for wooden yawara I only find the generic ones that are advertised simply as being made of wood. There are exceptions, of course, but in no case do I find someone who specializes in yawara; highest quality exotic wood yawara always seem to come from companies or artists that primarily make highest quality exotic wood bokuto. But given the nature of exotic woods like ebony or kingwood, too brittle for a bokuto but hard and dense enough for yawara, why hasn't anyone tried to fill this niche in the market? After all, yawara and kubotan are highly popular self-defense instruments, carried even by people who received little to no instruction on how to use them.

I recommend doing some research on the Chisikunbo or Techu.I think they are different names for the Yawara.Some companies do offer them like Crane Mountain Weapons but they are very easy to make your own.Visit your local suppliers of exotic woods or some online sources,look for dowels of the diameter you prefer and cut them to the length you like and shape the ends to your liking.

Tom Hodges

Well, that's what I've done, and I've been trying to find other people who've done it, but so far there are few people that offer yawara of exotic woods, fewer that specialize in said yawara and kubotans, but I have never yet found anyone who specializes particularly in yawara and also offers genuine lignum vitae, the hardest and most durable wood on the planet. This wood is obviously a good choice for yawara, though iffy for bokken due to its tendency to warp and sometimes check when moved to a different climate. Yawara made of this wood, then, should be plentiful, since checking and warping can only affect the yawara visually and it can be considered aesthetically pleasing anyway. However, yawara of lignum are considerably rare, rarer than even the low availability of genuine guaiacum officinale and guaiacum sanctum would suggest.

In recognition of the virtues of lignum as far as uses for a yawara go, it's obvious to me that's what I'm going to use. In fact, actually I've already made two yawara out of it in the past few days, and I'm about to go out in the garage and make one more for my sister.

Usualy the techniques of a fist loaded weapon are directed to rather soft target areas although it could contact bone. So generally any wood would work very well. I like cocabolo,osage orange even hickory are pretty hard woods but if you want an in destructable set the lignum is a good choice but a stainless steel set is top choice. A friend made a set for me from stainless that are very nice.

Tom Hodges