Yawara


The yawara is a Japanese weapon used in various martial arts.
The Yawara originated from the use of Kongou, a Buddhist symbolic object, by monks in Feudal Japan. The Yawara takes the form of one or two small, thick sticks that protrude about from each side of the hand. They are usually used in pairs to initiate throws, bone breaks, and pressure point strikes.
The yawara stick was popularized for police officers in the 1940s by Frank A. Matsuyama, who made his own version in 1937 or earlier.

Yawarajutsu

Yawarajutsu is a martial art focusing on use of the yawara. It is sometimes referred to as yawara, and this name has been used interchangeably with jujutsu. The kanji for yawara and ju in jujutsu is the same. The yawara, tessen, and short stick or jo can be used to apply yawara or jujutsu techniques. The yawara movements may have been derived from the sheathed knife techniques of tantojutsu.

Legality

In the United States, yawaras are not intrinsically illegal in any jurisdiction. In the United Kingdom, "any article made or adapted for use for causing injury to the person, or intended by the person having it with him for such use" is defined as an offensive weapon under the Prevention of Crime Act 1953. This broadly-worded measure may proscribe a yawara that is purposely manufactured or carried to be used as a weapon.

In popular culture