Tinbe Rochin

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  • Japanese/Okinawan: てぃんべーろーちん (tinbee rouchin)

Tinbe rochin is a spear and shield combination used in traditional Ryukyuan martial arts (Ryûkyû kobudô). The spear is a rather short spear, with the shaft (not including the point) being roughly the length of the forearm, from wrist to elbow.[1] The shield was traditionally often made from the shell of a sea turtle.

Sources differ on which of the two, spear or shield, is tinbê and which rôchin.[2]

The spear is often tapered, such that the shaft grows thicker towards the butt end; the spear point expands as it goes back, allowing the weapon to be twisted as it goes in or out of an opponent, aggravating the wound. The short length of the spear makes it more manageable in one hand, and can be spun or swiveled so as to strike opponents with the butt end as well. Many techniques involve upward thrusts, so as to get under armor and/or under an opponent's rib cage. Throat strikes are also common, and some techniques involve throwing the spear.

The use of the tinbê-rôchin has been traced back at least as far as the Sanzan period (c. 1314-1429).[3]


  1. Weapons of Ryukyu Kobujutsu: Tinbe-Rochin." Ryukyu Kobujutsu Association GB. 2007. Accessed 3 December 2010.
  2. The Ryukyu Kobujutsu Association of Great Britain website lists the shield as tinbe, and the spear as rochin, while the Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia relates the opposite.
  3. "Tinbe-jutsu." Okinawa Konpakuto Jiten (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia"). Ryukyu Shimpo. 1 March 2003. Accessed 3 December 2010.
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