Kama (weapon)

Kama

The kama (鎌 or かま) (sometimes referred to as the kai or double kai. Kama made with intentionally dull blades for kata demonstration purposes are referred to as kata kai) is a traditional Filipino and Japanese farming implement similar to a sickle used for reaping crops and also employed as a weapon. The kama is often included in weapon training segments of martial arts, silat and in some Chinese martial arts.

History

Before being improvised as a weapon, the kama was widely used throughout Asia to cut crops, mostly rice. It is found in many shapes and forms in Southeast Asia^[1] and is particularly common in martial arts from Indonesia and the Philippines. It is also used in Chinese martial arts but not often. From one or both of these areas, the kama was brought to Okinawa and incorporated into the martial art of te (hand) and later karate (empty hand). It also spawned the use of the kusarigama and the Kyoketsu Shoge.

Technique

The kama can be used singly or in pairs. Both the point and sharpened edge of the metal blade are called into use, Okinawan kata suggesting that it could also be used to block, trap and disarm an opponent's weapon. The point at which the blade and handle join in the "weapon" model normally has a nook with which a staff can be trapped. The edge of a traditional rice sickle, such as one would purchase from a Japanese hardware store, continues to the handle without a notch, as this is unneeded for its intended use. The hard edge of the blade would be kept razor-sharp to enable efficient cutting of crops, though this is sometimes a cause of training accidents by unskilled wielders, for whom blunt training versions of the weapon are created.

The kama is used today in only few martial arts. The kama can be used as a weapon in karate kata competitions but competitors often simply adapt their empty hand routine while holding kama with little actual kama technique, or employ elaborate weapon-juggling routines that differ radically from the focused Okinawan forms.

In popular culture

• Ryu Hayabusa uses a pair of kama held together by chains, called the Vigoorian Flails, in the modern Ninja Gaiden game series
• In the role-playing game Legend of the Five Rings, the Mantis Clan Champion Yoritomo was trained since birth to fight using large dual kama.
• In Battle Royale, antagonist Mitsuko Souma is assigned the kama as a weapon.
• In the Warcraft universe, Akama's weapons of choice are a pair of kama.
• A weapon type found in the game Warframe, which comes in both a single and dual form. It is however erroneously called a hatchet.
• Strider Hiryu uses a futuristic-looking kama to climb walls.
• Kama are a special monk weapon in Dungeons and Dragons.
• Madara Uchiha, a major antagonist in the anime Naruto, makes use of a kama along with a gunbai.
• In the anime Black Butler, trainee reapers use a kama until they are full-fledged reapers and can change their death scythes to suit their tastes.
• In the Riot online game League of Legends the champion Akali uses two kama.
• In Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja, Randy Cunningham uses kama to destroy robots.
• In the Law & Order episode "Loco Parentis", a kama is the murder weapon.
• In the American animated web seies RWBY , the villian Emerald Sustrai uses two kama.
• In popular MOBA game League of Legends , The champion Akali uses two kama.

See also

• Okinawan weapons
• Kusarigama
• Kamaitachi

References

1. Donn F. Draeger & Rober W. Smith (1969). Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts. ISBN 978-0-87011-436-6.