Tanto (Training Knife)
Blunt training weapon
Quick Facts
Martial Arts
OriginJapan (20th century (training form))
Wield TypeOne-handed
MaterialWood or foam rubber
Length25 - 30 cm cm
About
The training tanto is a wooden or foam imitation of the short Japanese dagger, used to practise defence against a knife. In aikido it is used above all for gokyo and kote-gaeshi, techniques whose shape has its direct reason in the held blade. In the competitive aikido of Kenji Tomiki the soft tanto is required equipment: one competitor attacks with it while the other defends, after which the roles are exchanged. The sharp tanto is a historical dagger; the training form is a twentieth-century matter.