The yawara (also called pasak or dulodulo) is a weapon used in various martial arts. It takes the form of two small, thick sticks which stick out about an inch from each side of the hand. They are usually used in pairs to initiate throws, bone breaks, pressure points and the like. When one becomes proficient with yawara, they can use them as an effective fighting weapon that is both legal (in most jurisdictions) and easy to conceal. It is very important to wrap the thumbs around the yawara when using them rather than leaving them sticking out, as they present very tempting targets to an opponent. The yawara stick was popularized for police officers in the 1940s by Professor F. A. Matsuyama.
Pop culture
The yawara plays an important role in the movie Twisted. Modesty Blaise often uses a single yawara. In the Modesty Blaise books and comic strips it is called a "kongo". It is often mispronounced as 'Yeah-Ware-A'. It is correctly pronounced as 'Ya-wah-ra'.
