I was just thinking - for whatever reason - about the history of Okinawan Karate, and came across the following relevant quote:

“There were many emperors who eventually produced laws that were supposed to keep the peace. Laws like, no production of iron (which could produce metal weapons) and laws like ‘Turn in your swords for all Samurai warriors). In 1609 Okinawa was occupied by the powerful Samurai clan of Lord Satsuma. Although the Okinawan people were required to be subject to the new laws, they continued to practice life protection karate and kobudo skills with the undetectable farming implements that could be found around the farm and in the home without appearing as threatening weapons.”

So what I was thinking, was about how they lost their military weapons, and learned to fight and defend themselves with tools and farm implements. I also remember reading a while back about how they developed their physical conditioning so that the would be able to do things like punch through the wicker armor of a samurai. There’s also a cool thing on that page about the bo staff, which I never realized was used to fight against katanas, and long swords, like the no-dachi, because the bo staff had a really long reach, farther than the reach of swords, and you could carry them around and be inconspicuous.

I think this sort of thinking is going to become increasingly important in the not-too-distant future, as our government becomes increasingly hostile to its citizens. How do you fight back, without looking like you’re fighting back? How do you resist without drawing undue attention to yourself, and thereby having your resistance shut down. I’m not just talking physical resistance (yet), but mentally. What are the tools which we can turn into weapons to protect ourselves and what’s important in a society that is largely unconcerned with that? How do we learn to punch through the samurai’s armor?