The club

Club (weapon)

A club is among the simplest of all weapons. A club is essentially a short staff, or stick, usually made of wood, and wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times....

 was used in feudal Japan as a weapon

Weapon

A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...

. Other related weapons of this type are the nyoibo, konsaibo, , ararebo.

Description

Kanabō and the other related types of these club like weapons were constructed out of heavy wood, or made entirely from iron, with iron spikes or studs on one end. One or both ends of the wooden type clubs could be sheathed in iron. Kanabō type weapons came in all sizes and shapes with the largest ones being as tall as a man and a two-handed weapon while the smaller lighter ones were primarily one-handed and the length of a forearm.
The shape could be that of a baseball bat with a thick heavy end tapering towards a slender handle or they could be straight all the way from the handle to the end, with the shaft being round or multi faceted.

Mythology

The kanabō was also a mythical weapon, often used in tales by oni since they were reputedly extremely strong. Today there is a saying in Japanese: "Like giving a kanabō to an oni" — which means to give an extra advantage to someone who already has the advantage (the strong made stronger).

Use

It has been said that one purpose of the kanabō type of weapons was to smash enemies' armor, bones and the legs of their warhorses. The art of using this cumbersome weapon, kanabō-jutsu or Tetsubo-jutsu, consisted of a mastery of both balance and strength; it required great skill to recover from a miss with the heavy club, which could leave a wielder open to a counter-attack.

See also

• Bō
  Bo
  -People:*Bo , name origin, plus people with the name*Bo , name origin, plus people with the surname**Bo , Chinese family names*Bo people , extinct minority population in Southern China famous for hanging coffins...
  
  
• Hanbō
  Hanbo
  The hanbō is a staff used in martial arts. Traditionally, the hanbō was approximately three shaku or about long, half the length of the usual staff, the rokushakubō . Diameter was...
  
  
• Jō
  Jo
  JO, Jo or jo may refer to:*Jō, a ~4-foot-long wooden staff used in some Japanese martial arts*Cho , , also spelled Jo, a common Korean family name*Jo , a 1971 French comedy...
  
  
• Tambō
  Tambo (weapon)
  The tambo, in Japanese , is a short staff weapon used in Okinawa and feudal Japan. Today the tambo is used by various martial arts schools.-Description:...
  
  
• List of martial arts weapons