Tinbe-Jutsu Kihon

Tinbe-Jutsu (or ティンベー術 in Japanese) includes the defensive fighting techniques ( 術 Jutsu ) with a small shield called Tinbe (or ティンベー in Japanese) together with a short spear called Rochin (or ローチン in Japanese), usually as long as one’s own forearm. The Tinbe can be made of various materials, but is commonly found in vine or cane, metal, or archetypically, from a turtle shell (historically, the Ryūkyū Islands’ primary source of food, fishing, provided a reliable supply of turtle shells). It could also be made from a farmer’s conical straw hat (that used the straw in order to trap an opponent’s weapon). Next, Kihon (or 基本 in Japanese) means basics or fundamentals.

In the video embedded below (recorded on 25 July 2025), budoka Johan Oldenkamp performs these basic fighting techniques with Tinbe and Rochin.