Grandmaster Ken MacKenzie - Taekwondo Times

The Kubotan Keychain is a handy, versatile tool of self-defense. A civilian can
use it to keep an attacker at bay just by slashing with the key end. It can also be
used for powerful, blunt strikes. In the hands of well-trained law enforcement
officers, it can be used to restrain suspects without causing excessive physical
harm.
The Kubotan is said to be derived from the Yawara stick, used in some traditional
Japanese systems. Korean stylists can relate its strikes and joint locks to the
dan-bong. However, the Kubotan as a keychain was developed and trademarked
by Takayuki Kubota.
Tak Kubota was born in Kumamoto, Japan, and holds the title of Soke or
Grandmaster for his development of the Gosoku Ryū style of Karate. He was a
self-defense instructor for the Tokyo police department in the 1950s where he
was renowned for his expertise in practical applications of Karate. Kubota has
devoted his life to learning, creating and teaching the application of self-defense
techniques to military, law enforcement and civilian personnel. He is the president
and founder of the International Karate Association, Inc., and the inventor of the
Kubotan self-defense keychain. The word Kubotan is a combination of Tak’s surname,
Kubota, and baton.
Tak Kubota originally developed the Kubotan as a means of restraining a
violent perpetrator without causing unnecessary injury. Kubota made the keychain
popular in the mid 1970s when he started training the LAPD. Use of the
self-defense tool spread rapidly throughout the law enforcement community and
eventually became well known in civilian self-defense workshops.
Kubotans can be made of wood, aluminum or hard plastic. They are five and
a half inches in length and a half inch in diameter. A fob at the end allows you
to attach your keys. With modernization of the tool, Kubotans began to come
in a variety of colors with flat or pointed tips. My personal preference is a solid
black hard plastic with a flat butt. This is the original trademarked design of Tak
Kubota.
taekwondotimes.com / November 2009 77