About Offensive Weapons

There are numerous traditional offensive martial weapons. These are weapons whose primary purpose is to attack and kill the enemy. Some of these weapons have been adapted to modern self-defense usage.

Although Taekwondo does not train with weapons, there are many traditional weapons used by other martial arts. Training with traditional weapons assists students in their understanding of body dynamics, structural alignment, and power generation, as well as increasing their reaction speed. Although most people would never carry traditional weapons in today's society, an understanding of the theories, concepts, and principles of their use are easily applied to any common item the one may have at hand.

Some the more popular traditional weapons, such as the nunchaku, tonfa, and sai, were developed in Okinawa. Most modern martial arts students are taught that Okinawan kobudo developed because the Okinawans they were stripped of their weapons and had to resort to using farm implements as substitute weapons. Although some of the traditional weapons were adaptations of farm implements, there is disagreement on whether Okinawan metal weapons were ever confiscated. The development of traditional weapons may be because of the scarcity of ordinary weapons, scarcity of metal in the islands, or possibly because the peace loving Okinawans did not desire weapons. After all, they did not resist the invasion of the Shimazu clan of Kyushu.