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The simple tonfa
has a very interesting history.
During the 17th Century the inhabitants of the island of Okinawa
were banned by the invading Japanese government from carrying
weapons such as swords and knives. Adding to this problem to the
people of Okinawa was the scarcity of workable metal in the
Ryukyu Islands. These conditions and the need for personal
protection gave rise to the development of the Martial Arts of
Okinawa: Karate and Kobudo.
Like most Kobudo weapons the
tonfa was originally used as a farm implement and was converted
into a device of self defence from pure need. The tonfa was
originally a wooden handle set into a hole on the side of a
millstone. This handle was easily disengaged from the millstone
to act as a defensive weapon. In this modern age tonfa are used
employed by Martial Artists and widely utilised by modern law
enforcement.
For the staged weapons fighter the tonfa
is a creatively used and easy to find or even construct training tool.
The use of the
tonfa will:
Build up
your reflexes and confidence
Get you
conditioned for the impact from other weapons
Develop your
timing and distance needed to fight
Strengthen
your combat techniques, blocks and stances
Develop your
coordination to defend from all angles and with both hands
Enhance you
trust & relationships with your training partners
Some
Major Considerations:
Practise,
practise, practise
Start
slow and simple, then build the speed and complexity up over time
Don’t
be over excited and get carried away with force
Remember
you are learning defence. Unless you and your partner are incredibly
advanced in the use of the tonfa and have a mutual agreement do not
strike back!
Never
try to hurt your opponent
Never
train whilst intoxicated, drugged or in a bad mood.
If
you are injured in any way, stop immediately and assess the damage.
If
your opponent accidentally hits you do not take it personally and
never try to get revenge!
Keep
your tonfa well maintained.
Sparring
Sparring with the tonfa
can be done against a multitude of different weapons. These can include
swords, staffs, spears, knives and really any weapon you can think of. I
would not recommend practising against steel or edged weapons though.
Sparring against these will lessen the life of your tonfa and also
increase the likelihood of any accidental injury being much worse than
it could have been. Experienced Martial Artists should be able to easily
adapt their own style’s blocks and forms to match the ability of the
Tonfa. You will be amazed at how your Martial training will benefit from
this form of sparring.
