Kokusai Okinawa Kobujutsu Renmei

Okinawa kobujutsu is a  form of armed budō that originated in what is now Okinawa-ken, formerly the Kingdom of Ryūkyū, and primarily from the main island of Okinawa itself.   The word "kobujutsu" means "ancient peacemaking art," and from this it could be inferred that forms of Okinawa kobujutsu predate the development of karate-dō as a formalised system of defence in the ancient Kingdom of Ryūkyū.

The art uses a variety of objects as weapons, most of which were  common tools that were readily available in every farming or fishing community—meaning everywhere on an island—or slightly modified versions of those tools.  A prime example of this is the bō, which is a six-foot long staff about an inch in diameter that was found in every Okinawan household prior to World War II.  These rods served as clotheslines, drying poles for fish, meat, and animal hides, carrying heavy loads, walking sticks, and many other uses.  They were even used for centuries by low-ranking constables who were not permitted to possess bladed weapons.  Other examples include common garden sickles, sculling oars, garden hoe, and fishing gaff.  Okinawa kobujutsu is the art of using these implements in a precise and scientifically thought out manner to defend against attacks with the military weapons of that era:  primarily swords and spears, but also the weapons of Okinawa kobujutsu itself.

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Aragaki-Ryū is a rare style of Okinawa kobujutsu formulated by Higa Yasuhiro (1908-1984) shortly after World War II based on the instruction he received from some of Okinawa's most famous and talented masters of the art. 

What makes Aragaki-Ryūunique is that it blends the principles and methods of most major styles of Okinawa kobujutsu into a single, comprehensive, and uniform system of budo.  In much the same way that Mabuni Kenwa combined the teachings of Itosu Ankō, Higaonna Kanryō, Aragaki Seishō, Go Kenki, and others into a unified style of karate-dō, Higa Shihan combined the teachings of Aragaki Seishō, Aragaki Ankichi, Higa Seikō, Chinen Masaami, Taira Shinken, and others into a unified and comprehensive system of Okinawa kobujutsu.

The weapons taught in the core curriculum of Aragaki-Ryū are:

		Bō (six foot staff)
		Sai (3-pronged iron truncheons)
		Tonfa (wooden grinding wheel handles)
		Kama (garden sickles)
		Nunchaku (wooden flail)**
		Eku or Kai (sulling oar)
		Nunte or Nunte-bō (fishing gaff)
		Kuwa (garden hoe)
		**NOTE:  Because their possession is illegal in the state, nunchaku are not taught in Texas dōjō

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The Nippon Budō Seishin-Kan serves as the North American shibu (branch) dōjō of the Kokusai Okinawa Kobujutsu Renmei.  It has the responsibility and goal of promoting Aragaki-Ryū throughout North America.

In that role, the Seishin-Kan is, for all intents and purposes, the North American hombu (headquarters) for Aragaki-Ryū.  The Seishin-Kan's dōjō-chō, Leonard J. Pellman Shihan, was appointed in 2009 to serve as the primary representative and Hokubei Buchō (North American Division Director) of the KOKR.

As part of its responsibility as the Hokubei shibu, the Seishin-Kan also operates and maintains this KOKR English language website until the KOKR develops the capacity to operate its website independently.

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