History
'Kubotan' is a registered trademark of Takayuki Kubota, who originally developed it as a tool for police officers to restrain suspects without permanent injury. Its popularity began in the mid-1970s when Kubota first brought the weapon to the attention of the LAPD and began schooling female officers in its application. It is often touted as extremely effective in breaking the will of unruly suspects with painful locks and pressure point strikes. Because of that the Kubotan is also sometimes dubbed the 'instrument of attitude adjustment'. In some law enforcement and security circles it is known as "The Persuader".
The Kubotan keychain (as designed and sold by Kubota) is a hard high-impact plastic rod, usually made from Lexan, about 5.5 inches (14 cm) long and 9/16 0.56 inch (1.5 cm) in diameter. The body is lined with six round grooves for added grip and there is a screw eye with a split ring attached to one end for keys.
There are many other forms and variations of the original design available, ranging from aluminum alloy to spiked, pointed, tapered ones to more offensive looking "ninja" models that have blades, spikes, hidden darts or tear gas. Although they may be marketed as Kubotans, they are not and are actually classified along the lines of generic self-defense keychain sticks (SDKS for short).
The umbrella term pocket stick is also used sometimes to classify rod-shaped hand weapons like the Kubotan.
The name 'Kubotan' is a portmanteau of "Kubota" and "baton".
Read more about this topic: Kubotan
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