A Wooden Tonfa

The tonfa, also known as tong fa or tuifa, is a traditional Okinawan weapon from which the modern side-handled police baton is derived. This is a file created by Tony Jonick, myself. ... This is a file created by Tony Jonick, myself. ... An Okinawan weapon is a weapon developed in Okinawa and employed in the fighting system known as Okinawan kobudo, Ryukyu Kobujutsu and also just as Kobudo. ... A club, cudgel, truncheon, night stick, or bludgeon is perhaps the simplest of all weapons. ...

History

Folklore says these were originally used as wooden handles that fit into the side of millstones, or as horse bridles, and were later developed into weapons when Japanese peasants were banned from using more traditional weaponry. Other sources say they have a richer history extending back into Chinese martial arts, and appearing in Indonesian and Filipino cultures. It also appears in Thailand as the Mae Sun Sawk. The slight difference is that the Mae Sun Sawk has rope tying the elbow end of it to the arm (see the explanation below). Mill stones are used in windmills and watermills for grinding wheat or other grains. ...

Construction

The tonfa traditionally consists of two parts, a handle with a knob, and perpendicular to the handle, a shaft or board that lies along the hand and forearm. The shaft is usually 51–61 cm (20–24 in) long; optimally, it extends about 3 cm past the elbow when held. Often the shaft has rounded off ends which may be grooved for a better grip.

Technique

One way to wield a tonfa

There are numerous ways to defend and attack with the tonfa. Defensively, when holding the handle, the shaft protects the forearm and hand from blows, and the knob can protect from blows to the thumb. By holding both ends of the shaft, it can ward off blows. When holding the shaft, the handle can function as a hook to catch blows or weapons. Image File history File links Tonfahold. ... Image File history File links Tonfahold. ...

In attack, the shaft can be swung out to strike the target. By holding the handle and twirling the tonfa it can gain large amounts of momentum before striking. The knob can be used as a striking surface, either when held by the handle, or when holding the shaft, using it as a club (when striking with the flat end) or like a hammer (when striking with the handle itself, which is an effective application of force amplification). The shaft can also be maneuvered to stab at attackers. By holding the shaft and handle together, the tonfa can be used for holding or breaking techniques. Another method as used by the Thais involves striking with the elbow end of the mae sun sawk while grabbing the handle similar to striking with the elbow in Muay Thai or Krabi Krabong. As the mae sun sawk has the elbow part of the arm attached to it, the swinging out technique described above cannot be used but offsetting that, almost all of the elbow strikes of Muay Thai can be used with great power. A claw hammer A hammer is a tool meant to deliver blows to a target, causing it to move or deform. ... Muay Thai (IPA: [/muai32 32/]; Thai: ) (Thai Boxing) is the Thai name for a form of hard martial art practiced in several Southeast Asian countries including Thailand, Cambodia (where it is Pradal Serey), Myanmar, and Malaysia (where it is known as Tomoi). ... Krabi Krabong is a Thai fighting system which makes use of various weapons and also incorporates the empty-hand techniques of Muay Thai. ... Muay Thai (IPA: [/muai32 32/]; Thai: ) (Thai Boxing) is the Thai name for a form of hard martial art practiced in several Southeast Asian countries including Thailand, Cambodia (where it is Pradal Serey), Myanmar, and Malaysia (where it is known as Tomoi). ...

The tonfa is traditionally wielded in pairs, one in each hand, unlike the police nightstick which is a single-hand weapon. As the tonfa can be held in many different ways, education in the use of the tonfa often involves learning how to switch between different grips at high speed. Such techniques require great manual dexterity, as they involve flips and slides with the weapon.

Media depiction

Recently tonfas have been seen in movies and video games where often the tonfa itself was bladed and sharpened.

Video games

• Talim from the Soul Calibur series uses "tonfa blades" which are similar to tonfa with a blade along the outside edge of each shaft. Also, one of her additional weapons is a pair of regular wooden tonfa.
• In the Front Mission series of games, mechs can be equipped with a rocket powered tonfa to add power to punches.
• The Hero of Suikoden II uses a pair of Tonfa.
• In the Dynasty Warriors series, Sun Ce wielded upgradable Tonfa, which is seemingly kept true to the original design, due to the apparent lack of blades or guns, but the character is able to execute techniques much more quickly than would be possible in reality.
• The weapon of Strider Hiryu called the Cypher (or Cipher) is a bladed tonfa.
• The Recoil Rod of Mega Man Zero 3 resembles a set of energy tonfas.
• Maki Genryusai of Final Fight 2, Capcom vs. SNK 2, and the GBA and PSP version of Street Fighter Alpha 3 fights with a tonfa.
• The character Jax wields a blade tonfa in the games "Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance" and "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon".
• In Death By Degrees Nina can wield one when dropped by an enemy.
• Apharmd from Virtual On series has a pair of beam tonfa as its primary melee armaments. Later subsequent generations have variations that are also manufactured with beam tonfa as melee armaments. However, they are referred to as "Tongfers."
• Proto Eagle and Eagle Robot from "Gotcha Force" wield laser-tonfa as melee weapons.
• One of the later weapons of Josh Calloway from EOE: Eve of Extinction is a pair of energy tonfa.
• In Super Robot Wars Alpha3, Ryuusei's R-blade Custom's most powerful move is called Blade Tonfa.
• Orchid from the Killer Instinct series wields a pair of tonfas in the games Killer Instinct 2 and KI Gold.
• Aya Brea, main character from the Parasite Eve series, uses tonfas (called Clubs in Parasite Eve 1) as her chosen melee weapon
• Eri Kasamoto and Fio Germi, from the Metal Slug series, utilize a one-handed tonfa during a melee attack.
• Mr. Big from the Art of Fighting series uses a pair of tonfas, but then switches to kali sticks for The King of Fighters games.
• Rody Birts, from Art of Fighting 3, utilize a tonfa in each hand.
• Both Yoko and Redeye of Last Bronx use tonfa's,
• The 'Missionary' Boss and the 'Scrapper' enemies from Silent Hill 3 both use a type of bladed tonfa, the tips of which can extend like Stiletto blades. The Missionary can use them to block bullets. (even close-range blasts from a Shotgun)

Talim is a fictional character designed for the Soul Series of fighting games. ... Soul Calibur is the second game in the Soul series of fighting games developed and produced by Namco, consisting of Soul Edge (Soul Blade in the US), Soul Calibur, Soul Calibur II, and Soul Calibur III. Originally an arcade game, Soul Calibur was ported and released for the Sega Dreamcast... Front Mission (Japanese: フロントミッション) is a series of turn-based tactical strategy video games produced by Squaresoft, now Square Enix. ... It has been suggested that Anita (Suikoden) be merged into this article or section. ... The Logo of Shin Sangoku Musou 4 (Dynasty Warriors 5) Dynasty Warriors ( 真・三國無双:Shin Sangokumusou in Japan and 真•三国无双: Zhen Sanguo Wushuang in China; literally meaning True Three Kingdoms Unrivaled) is a series of video games created by Koei based loosely around the Romance of the Three Kingdoms epic, and is a... Sūn Cè (175 – 200) was a military general and warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era in ancient China. ... Strider Hiryus lastest rendition in Namco x Capcom Strider Hiryu (ja. ... Mega Man Zero 3 is the third video game in the Mega Man Zero subseries of Mega Man video games from Capcom. ... Maki Genryusai Maki Genryusai, (源柳斎真紀 Genryūsai Maki) is a video game character in both the Final Fight and Street Fighter series. ... Final Fight 2 is a 1993 beat em up for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the second game in Capcoms Final Fight series. ... Capcom vs. ... The Street Fighter Alpha (in Japan and other parts of Asia, Street Fighter Zero) series of fighting games is part of the Street Fighter series developed by Capcom. ... Major Jackson Briggs, better known as Jax, is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance is a video game developed and produced by Midway. ... Death by Degrees is a Tekken spin-off released by Namco in 2005. ... Nina is a given name. ... Originally a game for the arcade, Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast/Sega NAOMI, then the PlayStation 2. ... Gotcha Force is a game for the Nintendo GameCube. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Parasite Eve is a survival horror RPG video game published by Square Co. ... Metal Slug is a series of shoot em up video games first released on the Neo-Geo game console created by SNK. It was also ported to other consoles, such as the PlayStation, the Sega Saturn, the Neo-Geo Pocket Color and more recently, the Game Boy Advance and Xbox. ... Art of Fighting ), in Japan and in video game music archives), or AOF (or RnK in video game music archives) for short, is a fighting game series created by SNK. It is one of the many SNK series that ties into The King of Fighters. ... The King of Fighters (or KOF for short) is a Japanese fighting video game series by SNK that debuted in 1994. ... Art of Fighting ), in Japan and in video game music archives), or AOF (or RnK in video game music archives) for short, is a fighting game series created by SNK. It is one of the many SNK series that ties into The King of Fighters. ... Last Bronx ~Tokyo Bangaichi~ (ラストブロンクス -東京番外地-), is a 1996 realistic 3DCG street figthing game developed by Segas R&D Dept. ... Silent Hill 3 is the third installment in the survival horror series. ... A stiletto is a long, narrow-bladed dagger. ...

Movies

• Kroenen from the Hellboy movie uses bladed tonfas.
• In its mae sun sawk form, it was used in the Thai fashion in Ong-Bak, Tom-Yum-Goong, and Khunsuk.
• Mel Gibson's character Martin Riggs used two police batons as tonfa in Lethal Weapon.
• "Wins without a knife", the Japanese fighter from the cult classic Kung-Fu film "Master of the Flying Guillotine" uses a pair of tonfa with hidden retractable blades that extend from the shaft.
• In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Sarah Connor uses a security guards' Tonfa when escaping from the Pescadero State Hospital.

Professor Doktor Karl Ruprecht Kroenen is a character in the Hellboy comic book, created by Mike Mignola, and in a 2004 film, played by Ladislav Beran. ... Hellboy is a Dark Horse Comics character. ... Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior (2003) is an action film from Thailand in the mold of old school Jackie Chan-styled kung-fu flicks. ... This article is about the 2005 Thai action film. ... Lethal Weapon is the first of a series of American movies that were released in 1987, 1989, 1992, and 1998, all starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a mismatched pair of Los Angeles police officers. ... Terminator 2: Judgment Day (commonly abbreviated T2) is a 1991 movie directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, and Robert Patrick. ...

Comics, Anime, and TV Shows

• Elie, from the popular comic and anime series Rave Master, uses tonfas that are fitted with a system that allows it to fire explosive bullets, thus named "machine-gun tongfa".
• In Mai-HiME, Higurashi Akane uses a pair of Tonfa with a second rotating shaft mounted parallel to the first one.
• In the manga and anime series Rurouni Kenshin, the ninja Okina uses a pair of steel tonfa against the Oniwabanshu Leader, Shinomori Aoshi.
• Kamen Rider Psyga uses a pair of energy tonfas called Psyga Tonfas which can cut through an enemy when the weapon is charged.
• The GF13-021NG Gundam Spiegel mecha from Mobile Fighter G Gundam uses a tonfa-like weapon.
• Prometheus, a DC Comics supervillain, uses an extremely powerful, high-tech tonfa.
• In the South Park episode 'Good Times With Weapons', Stan Marsh wields the 'Tonfa of Takinawa'.
• Gin, from the manga and anime series One Piece wields a pair of tonfas that has been fitted with cannonballs on the ends for extra weight and crushing power.
• In the anime and manga series Naruto, the ninja Tenten occasionally wields a pair of Tonfa, along with an extremely large arsenal of other weapons.
• In the anime, Angel Links, Valeria Vertone wields a pair of tonfa when she joins Meifon for combat.
• 2 of the Sentai characters, Blue Mask from Hikari Sentai Maskman and OhBlue/Zeo Ranger III from Chouriki Sentai Ohranger/Power Rangers Zeo both wield tonfa weapons.
• In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, Michelangelo's nunchucks are replaced with twin tonfa batons.
• In G.I. Joe: Sigma 6, member Snake Eyes uses a Tonfa Sword, which the handle with the press of the green button turns into a tonfa handle, allowing him to hold the sword in a tonfa position. And his apprentice Kamakura uses a Tonfa Staff, and the staff handle can also be put into a tonfa type handle position
• A summoned "fox woman" in Negima uses a pair of bladed tonfas.
• In Star Wars: Darth Maul Sinya uses a pair of Tonfa-style lightsabers.

Rave Master, known in Japan as RAVE ) or Groove Adventure RAVE, is an anime and manga series by Hiro Mashima. ... Mai-HiME (舞-HiME) is an anime series produced by Sunrise, Inc. ... Rurouni Kenshin ), a manga and anime series created by mangaka Nobuhiro Watsuki, is set during the early Meiji period in Japan. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Shinomori Aoshi is a fictional Okashira, or leader, of the Oniwabanshu in the anime and manga series Rurouni Kenshin. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The GF13-021NG Gundam Spiegel was a Mobile fighter from the anime series Mobile Fighter G Gundam In the US dub the name was changed to Shadow Gundam Spoiler warning: The Gundam Spiegel. ... Mobile Fighter G Gundam, or G Gundam for short, is an anime series set in the Future Century timeline of the Gundam metaseries. ... Prometheus is the name of 2 fictional characters from DC Comics and supervillain. ... DC Comics is one of the largest American companies in comic book and related media publishing. ... Doctor Doom, one of the most archetypal supervillains and his arch-enemies The Fantastic Four (in background). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Good Times with Weapons is episode 801 of South Park. ... The following is a list of minor characters in the manga and anime series One Piece: // The elderly gatekeeper of Skypiea. ... One Piece ) is a manga and anime series created by artist Eiichiro Oda. ... Naruto romanized as NARUTO in Japan) is a manga by Masashi Kishimoto with an anime TV series adaptation. ... Tenten ) (romanized as Ten Ten in the English anime) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto. ... Angel Links is an anime series. ... Hikari Sentai Maskman Hikari Sentai Maskman ), translated as Light Squadron Maskman, was the Toei production and the 11th entry of the Sentai Series. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Power Rangers: Zeo (often abbreviated as PRZ) is a continuation of the television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. ... Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (March 6, 1475 – February 18, 1564), commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter,architect and poet. ... A nunchaku (Chinese: 雙節棍 shuāng jié gùn, 兩節棍 liǎng jié gùn, or 三節棍 sān jié gùn), also called nunchucks or nunchuks (sometimes hyphenated as nun-chucks or nun-chuks or spaced as nun chucks or... This article is about the comic book character. ... Kamakura can refer to: The city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan The Kamakura Shogunate period in the History of Japan The Kamakura family name in Japan This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Negima: Magister Negi Magi ) is a manga and anime series by Ken Akamatsu, known for his best selling title, Love Hina, which contains a large amount of Fan service/ecchi scenes. ... Jedi activate their lightsabers in the Battle of Geonosis. ...

See also

• Okinawan weapons
• Krabi Krabong
• Muay Thai