Wakizashi is a short traditional Japanese sword. Mainly used by samurai and worn on the belt. The length of the blade is from 30 cm to 61 cm. The blade is sharpened on one side, slightly distorted. It is usually worn with a katana in the samurai's belt.

In ancient Japan, a sword with a blade length of more than two shaku (60.6 cm) was considered a katana, and less than 2 shaku - a wakizashi.

Wakizashi is made of various shapes and lengths, usually thinner than a katana. 

Samurai used wakizashi as a weapon when the katana was inaccessible or unusable.

Wakizashi were always carried as a samurai's personal weapon. Bushi often called this sword the "guardian."

Experienced samurai used wakizashi in battle as a second weapon - to strike unexpected blows. The katana was held in the main hand and served as the main weapon.

Wakizashi was also used to perform ritual suicide - sepuku, if the samurai did not have a specially designed dagger kusungobu.

Kano Jigoro is the creator of judo, the first Japanese martial art to gain widespread international recognition, and the first to be recognized as an official Olympic sport.

Educators of the new innovations presented to Jigoro Kano should be used on white and black belts and be introduced to the dans to show the relative seniority of the average sportsman given a martial art. Kano also introduces some well-known mottos such as: "Maximum efficiency with minimum improvement" and "Shared wealth and benefit".

He was born on October 28, 1860 in Mikage, in the Kobe region. In 1871, Jigoro's family moved to Tokyo. As a child, Jigoro was a weak and sickly, the diseases followed one after another. Despite the doctors' advice, Kano decided to do something to improve his health and at the same time learn to defend himself. At the age of 18, he began studying at the Fukuda Hachinosuke School in Tenjin Shin'yo-ryu Jujutsu. Tenjin Shin'yo-ryu is a soft martial art that emphasizes more harmony than fighting, but at the same time includes striking techniques and throwing techniques. In 1882 is when he created the Kodokan Judo.

Muso Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi, samurai of the early 17th century, launches a system that elevates the simple stick to one of Japan's favorite martial arts weapons called Jojutsu. He practiced in Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu, then studied Kashima Jikishinkage-ryu, practicing their secret techniques called "ichi no tachi". According to legends, Gonnosuke took part in a large number of duels, winning them all until he met Miyamoto Musashi. If we can believe the legends, and there are more legends than real facts about these two masters - Muso Gonnosuke is the only person who had defeated Miyamoto Musashi in a duel. 

The first of the two legendary duels between Musashi and Gonnosuke took place in the beginning of 17th century. Gonnosuke had one day encountered Musashi and had challenged him to a duel. Musashi accepted and Gonnosuke, taking out his sword, immediately charged Musashi who with ease avoided Gonnosuke's strike and locked Gonnosuke's sword, using both his long and short sword. The loss made Gonnosuke take a path of exile at a shrine in Mount Hōman where he perfected his swordsmanship and developed Jojutsu. Gonnosuke defeated Musashi through the use of the jo's surperior length by keeping Musashi's swords out of range.

Miyamoto Musashi was a Japanese samurai and swordsman who became a legend. Musashi is known for his remarkable skill as a swordsman and the many duels he has won since his early teens. He is the founder of the Ni Ten Ichi Ryu school and the author of Go Rin No Sho ("The Book of Five Rings") - a book on strategy, tactics and philosophy, which is still read today.

Born in Mimaska ​​province to a middle-class family, Musashi learned the art of sword fighting from an early age. He won his first duel at the age of thirteen, when he challenged the qualities of a samurai and challenged him to a duel and managed to defeat him with a wooden sword. Throughout his life, he won over sixty duels, some of them against numerous enemies, and fought successfully in three major military attacks, including the defense of Osaka Castle.

Towards the end of his life, after perfecting his Ni Ten Ichi Ryu style, Musashi retired to the mountains and wrote his last treatise, entitled "The Book of Five Rings".

Masutatsu Oyama was born in Korea in 1923 and is the founder of Japan's most famous and widespread karate style in the world. At the age of 9, Mas Oyama learned Chinese kenpo in Manchuria and practiced judo and boxing as a teenager. All this leads to training in Okinawan karate, which serves as a basis for creating his own style, Kyokushin or "Absolute Truth". When he turned 20, Mas Oyama received a 4th dan in Okinawan karate and with the help of tireless work he also received a 4th dan in judo. 

Among Mas Oyama's many achievements, he is best known for introducing tameshiwari, or "breaking stones," into modern karate. Mas Oyama achieves this with intense training by making his arms as strong as hammers. By his logic, after a person can break stones with a hammer, he begins to learn and train to break boards, bricks and stones with his bare hands. He transformed this incredible power into his theory of karate, taking into account that if he could break stones, he could break human bones as well. His greatest contribution to Japanese karate is considered to be the introduction and popularization of full-contact karate. When he wins the biggest Okinawan-sponsored Shotokan karate tournament, he is often punished for fighting too hard, injuring his opponents. His experience, among other influences, led to the creation of Kyokushin Karate. Above all, Mas Oyama believes that karate is the art of fighting: Unless one goes to extremes involving breaking one's opponent's bones (applied in real life and fighting life and death), one will never understand one's true spiritual potential. of karate.