Talk:Kubotan

Accuracy Dispute

This article is presented as an advertisement, and not informative in the least. It does not present history, a picture, or a good description. Instead it presents a 'false' series of claims about the weapons use and capabilities. It is the wielder of a weapon that makes a weapon effective, not the weapon itself, and in this case... it's a gimmick. It was created by Takayuki Kubota (the weapon was named after himself). Although it has been claimed to initially have been created for "unarmed undercover police officers in Japan," this has not been substantiated. What has been substantiated is that it has been widely advertised in martial art magazines and comic books and is commonly mispresented as a traditional weapon. - Roy Locke

For one, if the accuracy is being disputed - the person making such claims should go to task and fix it. I do not know much of the history of a kubaton but I added the template so this could be settled. FiftyOneWicked 04:22, 3 July 2006 (UTC)FiftyOneWicked

If that were the case, all weapons would be gimmicks and their use and effectiveness merely subjective. The article now contains a brief history, clear picture and good description. Be that as it may be, it is still a recognized and useable weapon and as a testament to its usefulness, I have witnessed court officers and clerks, security and prison officers carry this weapon. Kaoloy (talk) 12:54, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Strictly For Amusement Value?

I've heard it said that the kubotan is really only an effective weapon if you're 5'4" tall and named Tak Kubota. --Septegram 02:40, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

If you want history on it, you'll have to trace it's origins back to weapons like the Yawara stick, koppo, suntetsu, etc. You may even go further back and discuss the possibility of it's roots in the techniques of the sheathed tanto.
While Master Kubota might have made such "false" claims about training Japanese police officers, it in no way, detracts from the effectiveness of the tool itself. I've used it, I know others that have used it. I know police and security people that can attest to its effectiveness. In addition, we have no other further information to go by other than this. Unless of course you have some new information to add. -- 63.68.125.26

A very good article can be found on page 302 in the book The Truth About Self Protection by Massad Ayoob. Without proper, hands on training, it only gives false confidence. Easy2go 16:15, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

Any weapons will inspire false confidence without hands-on training. Easy2go, maybe you could update this page with some info? Citrus538 14:01, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

I have also used the kubotan, but only in training. In that environment, it seems to be an effective extension for control and locks, and its uses as an offensive striking weapon are obvious. That said, the article notes how this device can be easily substituted by 'makeshift' items. I don't see how this is a simple advertisement for the item - the article describes how it is used, and gives a physical description of it. I do think some citations would be useful, especially when the author states that it is "now one of the most popular and widely carried self-defense tools around"... since I rarely see it outside of martial arts circles -- 147.9.11.204

Merge with Kubaton?

It seems to me that the Kubotan is merely a brand name Kubaton, which is a legitimate martial arts weapon. It is basically just a shorter yawara with a keyring. Perhaps this article should be merged with Kubaton. Chriszuma 12:02, 18 December 2006

It is unclear the relation between the Kubaton and the Kubotan. I suspect that they are either alternate spellings of one another, or that Kubotan is a brand of Kubaton. I am looking into the matter. Chriszuma 12:23 18 December, 2006

I did some research and it turned out that Kubaton is actually an alternate spelling of Kubotan, which is actually a registered trademark of Takayuki Kutoba. I went ahead and merged the articles, and performed a major overhaul on the article itself. I removed the disputed tag because I confirmed the accuracy of the points in question, and removed some exaggerations. Chriszuma 15:07 18 December, 2006

Kubaton is actually a misspelling of Kubotan, but it is sometimes used. Nevertheless both terms are included in this article Kaoloy (talk) 12:49, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

In "History" is written, that Kubotan is the registered trademark and not a wrong way to write it as claimed in the beginning of the article! So what? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.187.88.86 (talk) 01:10, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

When I first edited this years ago I set out a goal to represent this tool accurately. That a "Kubotan" was a registered trademark under Tak Kubota, that it was a name specifically describing Tak Kubota's patented invention which was a plastic rod with grooves and a keychain ring on it. Since that time, the name "Kubotan" has been genericized and the concept of a keychain self-defense stick has been copied so much that a whole new generation of knockoffs have come out. In addition names like "Kubaton" appear. Whether they are misspellings or deliberate attempts to avoid clashing with the official trademarked name is not clear. One thing is always clear is that these self-defense keychain sticks are not the original Kubotan as coined and created by Tak Kubota. They are imitations. Why people continually include images of imitation Kubotans is beyond me. It's akin to calling every car out there a Honda. The "Kubotan" was never a traditional weapon of Japan so it is not a term that should be used as such. In that sense all hand held weapons are not "Kubotans". My original photo depicting a genuine Kubotan with keys still remains but the top photo of a tapered keychain stick should be removed and/or re-classified as a generic self-defense keychain stick.Kaoloy (talk) 9:27, 6 February 2015 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.8.71.199 (talk)

Needs inline citations

Lots of references at the bottom.. mostly to one author. Needs a lot more inline citations. Should include some other credible sources as well. Jesse Crouch (talk) 17:33, 27 November 2009 (UTC)

Picture removed

Black Paracord Kubotan with Steel Keyring

I've taken out this picture. While one might argue that the shown object does have some similarities with Kubotan, and maybe some company is even selling it under that description, it must be absolutely obvious that the object has much more in common with a Blackjack. --BjKa (talk) 13:22, 7 March 2013 (UTC)

You are right to remove that. "Kubotan" is a registered trademark name for the plastic keychain weapon as invented by Takayuki Kubota. Everything else is either an imitation or bad knockoff of the original name and design. It is because the inventor has never made an attempt to curtail widespread misappropriated usage of this name that it has now come to include all forms of keychain weapons. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.8.71.199 (talk) 22:53, 10 February 2015 (UTC)