Yawara
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The yawara (also called pasak or dulodulo in Filipino martial arts) is a Japanese weapon used in various martial arts. It is also the specific weapon of yawara-jitsu. [1]It takes the form of one or two small, thick sticks which stick out about an inch from each side of the hand. They are usually used in pairs to initiate throws, bone breaks, pressure points and the like. When one becomes proficient with yawara, one can use them as an effective fighting weapon that is both legal (in most jurisdictions) and easy to conceal.
It is very important to wrap the thumbs around the yawara when using them rather than leaving them sticking out, as they present very tempting targets to an opponent.
The yawara stick was popularized for police officers in the 1940s by Professor Frank A. Matsuyama. Matsuyama also made his own lethal version. [2]
Yawara is also a system of martial arts, and the name has been used interchangeably with Jujutsu. There are similarities in the kanji for Yawara and Jujutsu. The yawari, tessen (iron fan), and short stick are used to apply Yawara or Jujutsu techniques. The Yawara movements are believed to have been derived from the sheathed knife techniques of tantojutsu.
The yawara plays an important role in the movie Twisted.
Modesty Blaise often uses a single yawara. In the Modesty Blaise books and comic strips it is called a “kongo”.
Cold Steel, a blade and weapon specialty company, markets the Pocket Shark, a durable, reinforced polymer permanent marker designed to hold up to impact and pressure with the intention of being used as a Yawara.
It is often mispronounced as ‘Yeah-Ware-A’. It is correctly pronounced as ‘ya-wa-ra’ with no syllables emphasized.
