Tsukenbo

津堅棒

Tsukenbo (or 津堅棒 in Japanese) is a Ryukyu Kobujutsu Bo Kata. It is named after the island of Tsuken (or 津堅 in Japanese), southeast of Okinawa’s main island, which is used as a prefix in the name of this bō (or 棒 in Japanese) kata. The Tsukenbo kata is related to the Sanjakubo kata that is performed, as the name suggests, with a semi bō, having the length of three ( 三 ; san) foot ( 尺 ; shaku). The Tsukenbo kata is the Sanjakubo kata performed with a standard bō, known as the rokushokubō, having the length of six ( 六 ; roku) foot ( 尺 ; shaku). In this video (recorded on 11 March 2024), budoka Johan Oldenkamp, a former national champion from the Netherlands, performs this Bo Kata from the island of Tsuken.