Kubotan
Sign in to savethumb|An original Kubotan keychain with keys attached A Kubotan is a self-defense keychain weapon developed by Sōke Takayuki Kubota in the late 1960s. It is typically no more than long and about in diameter, slightly thicker or the same size as a marker pen. The material is usually a hard high-impact plastic such as Lexan. The body of the Kubotan is lined with six round grooves with a screw eye or swivel and split ring attachment at one end for keys. The term is a portmanteau of Kubota (the creator's last name) and of the word Baton, and it is a genericized trademark.
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8 sectionsContents
- History
- Concept
- Legality
- Trademark
- Books
- Films
- References
- External links
thumb|An original Kubotan keychain with keys attached A Kubotan is a self-defense keychain weapon developed by Sōke Takayuki Kubota in the late 1960s. It is typically no more than long and about in diameter, slightly thicker or the same size as a marker pen. The material is usually a hard high-impact plastic such as Lexan. The body of the Kubotan is lined with six round grooves with a screw eye or swivel and split ring attachment at one end for keys. The term is a portmanteau of Kubota (the creator's last name) and of the word Baton, and it is a genericized trademark.
==History== The Kubotan keychain was originally based on a small bamboo weapon called a "hashi stick", an invention by Kubota's father, Denjiro. Its popularity grew from 1969 to the 1970s when Kubota, at the request of California State Senator Edward M. Davis, the former Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, created the weapon and began training female officers in its application.