Weapon: The Kongo (Yawara Stick)

Modesty Blaise’s preferred instrument for close-quarters neutralization, often favored over firearms due to its silence and precision.

  • Asset Designation: The Kongo
  • Classification: Blunt Impact / Nerve Suppression Tool
  • Primary User: Modesty Blaise

1. Description & Provenance

Identified in the novels as a “very old Oriental weapon,” the kongo is Modesty Blaise’s preferred instrument for close-quarters neutralization, often favored over firearms due to its silence and precision.

  • Form Factor: Shaped like an elongated dumbbell or a double-headed mushroom.
  • Ergonomics: The central shaft is sized to fit perfectly within the operator’s palm, allowing the rounded, mushroom-shaped knobs to protrude from the top and bottom of a clenched fist.
  • Materials: Typically constructed from hard, smooth, polished wood, often dark or black in color. Sandalwood is noted as the material for her preferred unit.

2. Operational Mechanics (Combat Philosophy)

The kongo functions as a force multiplier, concentrating the entire kinetic energy of a blow into a small, hard surface area, rendering a strike “as effective as a lead fist.” It is a precision instrument designed to target anatomical vulnerabilities rather than inflict brute trauma.

  • Striking Zones: The primary target is the nerve center located precisely below or behind the ear, a strike that can stun or kill instantly. Other targets include the temple (a “killer-point”), the base of the skull, the bicep (to paralyze a limb), and the dorsum of the hand (to savage nerves and force the release of a weapon).
  • Arrest-Grips: Used for non-lethal compliance. By pressing the hard wood against wrist bones or underlying nerves, the operator can generate “intolerable pain” to subdue prisoners or extract information.

3. Concealment

To ensure immediate accessibility in any sartorial context, Modesty utilizes custom concealment methods, often engineered by Willie Garvin.

  • The Handbag Clasp: A signature method involves disguising the kongo as the handbag’s locking mechanism—a thick rod of polished wood meshed into a clip. A sharp jerk frees the rod, instantly arming the operator.
  • Apparel Integration: Carried in specialized “squeeze pouches” sewn into the ribbing of sweaters, tunic pockets, or the thigh pockets of slacks.
  • Sub-Rosa Carry: When dressed formally (e.g., a cheong-sam) or expecting a search, the weapon is concealed inside the chignon or hair club at the nape of her neck. It is also kept beneath her pillow during sleep.

4. Field Improvisation & Secondary Utility

The simplicity of the design allows for field replacement or improvisation if the primary weapon is lost.

  • Improvised Weapons: Modesty has successfully utilized common household objects with the requisite mushroom shape, such as a wooden cruet (salt-cellar), as an effective kongo. Willie Garvin is also capable of carving replacement units from available hard wood in austere environments (e.g., desert survival scenarios).
  • Medical Application: In emergency trauma situations, the kongo has been utilized as a rigid pressure pad jammed high into the armpit to assist in arresting arterial bleeding from limb wounds.