When Chanbara was established by Tanabe Tetsundo, there was an underlying philosophy that related to the swords. The philosophy focused on safety where the weapons and training prevented injury; fairness because the equipment was standardized, and freedom where players can be creative because of the "air soft" technology on the equipment.
Chanbara is a Japanese free-style sword fighting martial art and players can use a variety of swords during the fight. The swords are not the traditional kind used in martial arts but are rather flexible and made of plastic or sponge-like material. Because of this, students in training can develop their skills to their full potential and be safe at the same time. The swords used in Chanbara come in a variety.
The short sword is referred to as Kodachi which is under 60 cm and is about the size of a wooden stick. The long sword is called a Choken and it is under 100 cm and can be played with a single hand or two hands. Other swords include a Bou, which is 210 cm, and a Yari which is a spear at 210 cm. Players can even use more traditional Japenese weapons such as the dagger, spear, halberd, long staff and short staff.
The purpose of these modern forms of weapons and swords in Chanbara is to ensure safety and protection for the players. Chanbara is a martial art that teaches self-defense while using free-style methods that also utilize traditional techniques but in the light of a modern samurai.