Tino Ceberano Shihan was fortunate to train in kobudo, traditional Okinawan weaponry with the famed Inoue Motokatsu Hanshi who he was introduced to by his grand-master Gogen Yamaguchi Hanshi, founder of the Goju Kai.

Okinawan Kobudō (沖縄古武道), literally meaning “old martial way of Okinawa“, is the weapon systems of Okinawan martial arts. These systems can have from one to as many as a dozen weapons in their curriculum, among the rokushakubo (six foot staff, known as the “bō”), sai (dagger-shaped truncheon), tonfa (handled club), kama (sickle), and nunchaku (chained sticks), but also the tekko (steelknuckle), tinbe-rochin (shield and spear), and surujin (weighted chain). Less common Okinawan weapons include the tambo (short stick), the hanbō (middle length staff) and the eku (boat oar of traditional Okinawan design).

The son of a general and grandson to the former Prime Minister of Japan, Katsura Taro, Ryukyu Kobudo Hanshi Inoue Motokatsu was exposed to martial arts from an early age. Interestingly, this training began under a personal security specialist hired by Motokatsu’s father to work in their house.

This specialist, Soke Seiko Fujita, was also the 14th headmaster of the Koga ryu Ninjutsu line, and the last known of his kind to work for the government. Mr. Seiko was always present around the house, and begun teaching Inoue Sensei as a young child.

Inoue Sensei would later train seriously under Konishi Yasuhiro Sensei and Taira Shinken Sensei, who became his primary instructors after the death of Seiko Fujita in 1960. Taira Sensei taught Inoue Sensei the vast weapons curriculum of the Ryukyu Kobujutsu Hozon Shinkokai (The Society for the Promotion and Preservation of Classical Martial Arts). The weapons society practices all eight of the Okinawan classical weapons, and all the combined katas  of the Naha, Shuri, Aragaki and Tomari styles.

In addition, Inoue Sensei was also the founder of his own style called the Yuishinkai, a name given to him by Soke Seiko Fujita. Tino Ceberano Shihan visited Inoue Hanshi on several occasions and was privileged to take some of his attending students to Shizuoka Prefecture for training as well.

In this video, a senior student Ragnar Purje demonstrates use of the bo with Tino Ceberano Shihan at a camp in Mt Evelyn. The senior students were well practiced at demonstrations for pubic events whether it be tile and board breaking, multiple partner assaults or basic weaponry.