Okinawa Kobudo Origins

Kobudo can be translated as ‘old martial way’.
Okinawan Kobudo (沖縄古武道) represents a piece of Ryukyu Islands History : indeed, located in China Sea, Okinawan is a crossroad between China, Japan, Korea, Philippines.

After Japanese invasion, Okinawa was placed Under Sho Shin administration(1477-1526).
Fearing a revolt from okinawan people, a weapon restriction decree was released by Japanese administration.
The effect of this first restriction forced Okinawan to develop fighting technics without weapon (empty hand).
In a second time, they converted farming Tools into real weapons by designing efficient fighting technics to defed themselves from Japanese samurai  : it was the birth of the kobu-jutsu (古武術).

In the 17th Century, after the end of japanese civil war Satsuma Samurai invaded the Ryukyu Islands.
Under Shimazu family occupancy,  weapons carry and  Martial Arts teaching were prohibited. In the mean timeall tool manufactured with iron were confiscated and the forges placed under samurai guardianship or totally dismantled

Shimazu Kamon

Okinawan people started to oragnize secret nighty sessions to improve their fighting technics.

Following forges dismantling, indigenous started to use wood farming Tools as defending weapons.
These technics were transmitted only verbally to keep this martial art as completely secret and reserved to Okinawan people.   The use of these weapons were first called  bujutsu (武術) and then became budo (武道). when philosophical and moral values were added to this teaching.