The
tonfa (
Japaneseis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family. There are a number of proposed relationships with other languages, but none have gained general acceptance...
: トンファー), also known as
tong fa or
tuifa, is a traditional Okinawan weapon from which the modern side-handled police baton is derived.
The origin of the tonfa is debated but experts believe it either originated in
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
or
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. It is used in both
Southeast AsiaManila
Bangkok
Ho Chi Minh City
Kuala Lumpur
Singapore
Yangon
Bandung
Hanoi
Surabaya
Taichung
Kaohsiung
Medan|-|}...
n and
Chinese martial artsChinese martial arts, sometimes referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu , consist of a number of fighting styles that were developed over the centuries. Those fighting styles can be classified according to common themes that are identified as "families" , "sects" ...
and was possibly brought to Okinawa through their influence. A similar weapon called the
mae sun sawk is used in
ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
.
The
tonfa (
Japaneseis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family. There are a number of proposed relationships with other languages, but none have gained general acceptance...
: トンファー), also known as
tong fa or
tuifa, is a traditional Okinawan weapon from which the modern side-handled police baton is derived.
History
The origin of the tonfa is debated but experts believe it either originated in
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
or
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. It is used in both
Southeast AsiaManila
Bangkok
Ho Chi Minh City
Kuala Lumpur
Singapore
Yangon
Bandung
Hanoi
Surabaya
Taichung
Kaohsiung
Medan|-|}...
n and
Chinese martial artsChinese martial arts, sometimes referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu , consist of a number of fighting styles that were developed over the centuries. Those fighting styles can be classified according to common themes that are identified as "families" , "sects" ...
and was possibly brought to Okinawa through their influence. A similar weapon called the
mae sun sawk is used in
ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
. Tradition holds that during the reign of Okinawan ruler
Shō Shin' was a king of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, the third of the line of the Second Shō Dynasty. Shō Shin's long reign has been described as "the Great Days of Chūzan", a period of great peace and relative prosperity. He was the son of Shō En, the founder of the dynasty, by Yosoidon, Shō En's second wife,...
, restrictions were placed on the use of weaponry in order to stabilize the country after a period of civil war. This restriction is said to have favoured the development of unconventional agricultural tools as weapons of self-defense. In this context, it is believed that the tonfa was developed from a wooden handle of a
millstoneMillstones or mill stones are used in windmills and watermills, including tide mills, for grinding wheat or other grains.The type of stone most suitable for making millstones is a siliceous rock called buhrstone , an open-textured, porous but tough, fine-grained sandstone, or a silicified,...
, a common agricultural implement much like the
kamaA is an Okinawan and Japanese traditional farming implement similar to a sickle used for reaping crops and also employed as a weapon. Before being used in martial arts, the kama was widely used throughout Asia to cut crops, mostly rice. It is commonly used in martial arts from Malaysia, Indonesia...
.
Technique
There are numerous ways to defend and attack with the tonfa. In defense, if the handle is grasped then the shaft protects the forearm and hand from blows from the opponents and the knob can protect the thumb. If both ends of the shaft are held, the shaft can be used to ward off blows and the handle can be used as a hook to catch the opponent's weapons.
In attack, one can swing the shaft to strike the target. Large amounts of momentum can be imparted to the shaft by twirling the tonfa by the handle. The tonfa can also be wielded in such a way as to use the knob as a striking implement, held either by the handle or by the shaft. One can also stab one's opponents with the shaft of the tonfa. By holding the shaft and the handle of the tonfa together, one can use it for holding or breaking techniques.
Tonfa are traditionally wielded in pairs, one in each hand. This is unlike police nightsticks, which are generally used alone. 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.
In popular culture
In video games, tonfas are the weapons of the characters
Talimis a fictional character in the Soul series of video games. Created by Namco's Project Soul division and designed by Aya Takemura and Takuji Kawano, she first appeared in Soulcalibur II and its subsequent sequels with the exception of Soulcalibur Legends, as well as on various merchandise related...
in the
Soul CaliburSoul is a weapon-based fighting game series by Namco Bandai Games. The series revolves around a sword that, after years of bloodshed and hatred, gained a soul of its own, the Soul Edge, and the sword forged to counter it, Soul Calibur...
series, Orchid in the
Killer InstinctKiller Instinct is a fighting game developed by Rare and published by Midway and Nintendo. Initially released in arcades in 1994, and rumored to use an "Ultra 64" hardware engine, in reality the proprietary arcade hardware was co-developed by Rare and Midway. The game received a high profile launch...
series, Rachael and Tracy in the
Battle Arena Toshindenis a weapons-based fighting game for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn and PC. It was one of the first fighting games to boast polygonal characters in a 3D environment. It was an early killer game for the PlayStation, and Sony promoted it eagerly. However, they soon left the series, which was published...
series, as well as of Yoko Kono in
Last BronxLast Bronx ~Tokyo Bangaichi~ , simply known as Last Bronx outside Japan, sometimes abbreviated to "LasBro" is a 3D fighting game developed by Sega-AM3 on the Sega Model 2 mainboard. This is one of the first motion captured weapon fighting game released in Japanese game centers in 1996, the other...
and Levin in
Wild Arms XFis the first game in the Wild Arms series for the PlayStation Portable. The game was unveiled at a Media.Vision fan event on September 2, 2006 and was released in Japan in 2007...
. The protagonist of
Suikoden IIis a console role-playing game developed and published by Konami for the Sony PlayStation video game console and the second installment of the Suikoden video game series. It was released in late 1998 in Japan, 1999 in North America, and in 2000 in Europe...
also uses a pair of large, heavy tonfa. Sun Ce, a character in the
Dynasty Warriorsis a series of tactical action video games created by Omega Force/Koei! The award-winning series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, based loosely around the Chinese epic of the same name. The first game titled Dynasty Warriors, Sangokumusō in Japan, is...
series, used a pair of tonfas in the 4th and 5th game in the series (later given a generic spear), while the games
Parasite Eve IIis a survival horror game for the PlayStation. The game was developed by Square and published in Japan in 1999 and in both North America and, unlike the previous game, in PAL regions in 2000. It is the sequel to the PlayStation console role-playing game Parasite Eve.Parasite Eve II is set several...
and
Ninja Gaiden II offer tonfa as a selectable weapons. Mostly we will never forget Riou the main hero of Suikoden 2 used Tonfa as well.
In
mangaManga consist of comics and print cartoons , in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 20th century...
and
animeis animation originating in Japan. The world outside Japan regards anime as "Japanese animation". Anime originated about 1917.Anime, like manga , has a large audience in Japan and high recognition throughout the world...
, one of the protagonists of
RebornReborn may refer to:*Reborn!, a manga series and a character in the manga*Reborn , a novel by F. Paul Wilson*Reborn , a form of Dark Jedi in Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast...
, Hibari Kyoya, uses dual metal tonfa as his weapon of choice. Tonfa are also wielded by the characters Okina in
Rurouni Kenshin, also known as Rurouni Kenshin and Samurai X, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The fictional setting takes place during the early Meiji period in Japan. The story is about a fictional assassin named Himura Kenshin, from the Bakumatsu who becomes a wanderer to...
, Naizer in
Black Catis a Japanese Shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki. It was originally serialized in Japan in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump. It was later collected in twenty tankōbon volumes from January 11, 2001 to October 9, 2004. The series was adapted into a twenty-four episode anime...
(oversized tonfa), Gin in
One Pieceis a long-running shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, that has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 4, 1997. The individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first released on December 24, 1997 and the 55th volume released...
(who is using a customized tonfa with iron balls in its edge) and several
Knightmare Frames, or simply Knightmares, officially designated as the Humanoid Autonomous Armored Knight, are a form of mecha in the Sunrise anime series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion....
in
Code Geass. In "
Rave Master, is a manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. The manga was serialized in Shōnen Magazine from July 1999 through July 2005, and published in thirty-five tankōbon by Kodansha. The manga series was licensed for an English release in North America by Tokyopop until Kodansha allowed...
", Elie uses Tonfa blasters.
In the
HellboyHellboy is a comic book character created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. He has appeared in a number of eponymous miniseries and one-shots, as well as some crossovers.The character is a demon who fights for the U.S...
movie series, the character Karl Ruprecht Kroenen wields tonfa-like swords (similar weapons as wielded by Talim). In the
StriderStrider, released in Japan as is a 1989 side-scrolling platform game released for the CP System arcade hardware by Capcom. It became one of Capcom's early hits before Street Fighter II, revered for its innovative gameplay and multilingual voice clips during cutscenes .-Gameplay:The game takes...
video game series, the main character, Strider Hiryu wields a bladed tonfa capable of generating a deadly
plasmaIn physics and chemistry, plasma is a partially ionized gas, in which a certain proportion of electrons are free rather than being bound to an atom or molecule. The ability of the positive and negative charges to move somewhat independently makes the plasma electrically conductive so that it...
arc; however, the covers for these games' western releases usually depict the hero with a sword instead. In the
Star WarsStar Wars is an epic space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas. The first film in the franchise was originally released on May 25, 1977, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, spawning two immediate sequels, released at three-year intervals...
universe (including in the video game
Star Wars: The Force UnleashedStar Wars: The Force Unleashed is a multimedia project developed by LucasArts along with Dark Horse Comics, Lego, Hasbro, and Del Rey Books. It consists of a video game released in September 2008, a tie-in novel, action figures, a comic book, a reference book, a role-playing game supplement, and a...
), the
Dark JediDark Jedi is the name given in the Star Wars universe to fictional characters attuned to the Force and adept in its dark side. They exist by that name only in the Expanded Universe, including video games such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the Jedi Knight series; the term is never...
Maris Brood uses tonfa-hilt shaped
lightsaberThe lightsaber is a science fiction weapon with a key role in the Star Wars movies and in the novels, games and other forms of media that constitute the Expanded Universe. The lightsaber is a sword with a column of brightly colored energy in the place of a metal blade...
s. In
Star Trek: EnterpriseEnterprise is a science fiction television program created by Brannon Braga and Rick Berman and set in the fictional Star Trek universe created by Gene Roddenberry in the 1960s...
, MACO troops serving on
USS EnterpriseThe Enterprise or USS Enterprise is the name of several fictional starships, some of which are the focal point for various television series and films in the Star Trek franchise created by Gene Roddenberry...
wield steel tonfas with an electrically charged tip. In the Korean drama
IljimaeIljimae, 一枝梅 , is a Korean drama broadcast from May to July 2008 on SBS. It is loosely based on a comic by Ko Woo Yung. It was produced by Lee Yong Suk. The plot is different from the original comic because the production company could not get the rights to the story...
, one of Iljimae's weapons is a tonfa that can be merged into a bow.
In the
Super SentaiThe is the name given to the long running Japanese superhero team genre of shows produced by Toei Company Ltd., Toei Agency and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi...
series
Chouriki Sentai Ohranger, translated into English as Super-Powered Squadron Ohranger, is a Japanese Tokusatsu television series. It was Toei Company Limited's nineteenth production of its Super Sentai television series. Its footage was used in the American series Power Rangers: Zeo...
and
Juken Sentai Gekirangeris Toei Company's thirty-first entry in the Super Sentai franchise. Its themes are those of Kung-Fu, and animals, especially wild cats. Production began on September 29, 2006 with principal photography beginning on October 6, 2006. It premiered on TV Asahi on February 18, 2007, and concluded its...
(
Power RangersPower Rangers is an American entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live action children's television series featuring teams of costumed heroes. First produced by Saban Entertainment and later by BVS Entertainment, the premise for the series originated from the Japanese tokusatsu...
series
Power Rangers: ZeoPower Rangers: Zeo is the fourth season of the Power Rangers franchise that is a continuation of the television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, that aired in 1996. It is based on the Super Sentai series Chouriki Sentai Ohranger...
and
Power Rangers: Jungle FuryPower Rangers: Jungle Fury is the sixteenth season in the American children's television series Power Rangers. Toy merchandising in the U.S. began in November 2007 and the show premiered on February 18, 2008, and uses footage from Juken Sentai Gekiranger, the thirty-first Japanese Super Sentai...
in the American versions), the
BlueBlue Ranger is a title given to several Power Rangers characters. While the original Blue Ranger is a serious team member and represented "the smart one", subsequent Blue Rangers have been pushed to the position of "comic relief". Blue Rangers are generally male, however recent seasons have had...
and
Yellow RangerYellow Ranger is a designation given to one character in all seasons of the Power Rangers TV series. The Yellow Ranger is usually a subordinate member of the team and are usually the teams' morale boosters or level-headed in the time of crises...
s of both series wield tonfas as their main weapons. In the movie
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, the character
Snake EyesIn gambling, snake eyes is the outcome of rolling the dice in a game of craps and getting only one pip on each die. The pair of pips resembles a pair of eyes, which is appended to the term 'snake' because of the long-standing association of this word with treachery and betrayal...
uses wood and metal tonfas; the tonfas were shown as "ninja weapons" also in the
South ParkSouth Park is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become infamous for its crude, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
episode "
Good Times with Weapons"Good Times with Weapons" is episode 112 of South Park. The first episode of Season 8, it originally aired on March 17, 2004, which creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone jokingly referred to in their DVD commentary as "The Year From Hell"...
". In the live action series
Ninja Turtles: The Next MutationNinja Turtles: The Next Mutation or Saban's Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation is a American/Japanese live-action television series produced by Saban Entertainment and Toei, which ran on the Fox Kids network from 1997-1998...
the character of Michelangelo used tonfa instead of the nunchucks used by his character in previous incarnations (mostly due to the ban on nunchucks used in children media at the time).