Eku
Also known as: eiku, ieku
Okinawan oar that became a kobudō weapon; one of its basic movements imitates a fisherman flinging sand into an opponent's face on the beach.
Quick Facts
JapanAbout the weapon
The eku, also spelled eiku or ieku, is a weapon of Okinawan kobudō whose first purpose was to serve as an oar. According to one source, the word itself denotes a local wood from which oars on Okinawa were most often made. When the oar became part of the martial art is something we have not been able to establish, nor its usual dimensions. One of the basic movements comes from the image of a fisherman fighting on the beach, who flings sand at his opponent with the oar. The eku is one of the nine standard weapons of the Ryūkyū Kobudō Hozon Shinkōkai and is also taught in Matayoshi kobudō. A well-known kata is Tsuken Akachu no Eku De, also called Chikin Akachu no Eku De; the kata Chikin Sunakake no Eku is also mentioned.