Naginata:
Known to be traditionally a women's martial art, Naginata is a weapon-specialized martial art that originated from Japan. The weapon itself is the equivalent of the European glaive or halberd. The naginata goes back to the heian period, and was originally used by men before the Japanese sword(katana 刀) was developed. Legendary Japanese warriors such as Saito Musashibo Benkei, as well as Tomoe Gozen, the only female samurai, used the naginata as their primary weapon. After the Japanese sword was developed by the blacksmiths, the samurai men threw the weapon away, and chose to use swords instead. However, after the men threw the weapon away, the wives of the samurai men picked up the naginata, and trained in secret. While the samurai men were off fighting in the battle field, their wives would defend their home villages vunerable for attack. As such, naginata developed a reputation of being a traditional women’s martial art.
Today there are two different types of naginata schools. One of the schools teaches the older, traditional naginata arts(koryu); which has its origins dating back as far as the Edo period. There is no physical contact in koryu naginata, therefore the main focus is forms(kata). Wood naginatas are used in koryu schools. They also range in size and shape, depending on the school.There are a few koryu schools that exist today.
The second type of naginata is modern naginata, which is known as atarashi naginata. Protective gear(bogu) is worn during sparring because of the physical contact. Atarashi naginata uses both bamboo and wooden naginatas. The atarashi naginata is usually around 210-225 cm long, and weighs at least 650 grams. Both sparring and kata competitions are done.
Kachimushi:
Literally means "victory bug"(勝虫). Translated into english, a dragonfly. Dragonflies, or Kachimushi, designs can be found on many samurai swords, armor, as well as uniforms. The reason for this is because a kachimushi always flies forward, and never retreats. The samurai respected this quality. Even today, there are many Japanese martial arts products that have a kachimushi design. The modern way of saying 'dragonfly' or 'kachimushi' is 'tonbo' (トンボ).
Why Red?:
Red is known to be the color for women. It can be seen in Shakti Hinduism, as well as in Japanese culture. Traditionally, Japanese women receive red coral as their wedding present from their mothers--because red is supposed to protect women. Why it protects women, I'm sure one can figuire out. Red dou(naginata protective gear) are very common among naginata women players. Red also symbolizes victory, which is why this club's color is red.
Club Name:
Originally I wanted to name the club 'Akai Tonbo' but it just didn't click. My sensei and I love dragonflies, and the color red, so I wanted to name the club something along those lines. My sensei showed me the old kanji for Tonbo, and we both agreed that it looked better than the kanji for tonbo. I decided to nix out the red/akai, and decided to use the old kanji for Naginata(薙刀)since Kachimushi is the old way to say tonbo. In present times, Japanese write naginata in hiragana(なぎなた) because the kanji is too difficult.
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