Wen Hsiu Quan

Hello, everyone and welcome back. In last week's post I said that we will be looking at yet another weapon that defies logic. Yesterday we looked at the Sai and speculated about why on earth one would want to add prongs to a metal truncheon. Today's weapon is the tonfa or- as it is known in Chinese, the guai. In modern days this weapon goes by the designation PR24 (what that is supposed to mean I do not know at all.) Before I even knew that this weapon had its place in classical Chinese weaponry I have already learnt that it was the handle of a grindstone. Now- Asian grindstones are fairly simple. Two circular stones on top of one another, fashioned so that the one is slightly hollow and the other fits into the hollow. The top stone has a hole in it. A stick (which for some reason is not always attached to the device) gets inserted into the hole to be used as a handle. My friend Leo showing me the hole in the tofu maker where the handle woul...

If it isn't fun you won't feel like doing it, right?

I have bought these new tonfas today. The tonfa is one of those weapons originally used on the Ryukyu Islands (of which Okinawa is one) in the martial arts known to us as Kobudo and Kobujutsu. To me, these weapons are synonym with traditional Karate, which I regard as an unarmed form of  Kobudo. If you really want to know why I say this you can email me at boshoffm3@gmail.com for the explanation. This double weapon makes an effective shield with blocking techniques that can be taken directly from karate. Its attacks include thrusts and swinging slashes when the handles are used as pivots. Pommels on the handle and short end allow for even more short range attacks (not seen in the video). Tonfas today, unlike the traditional version, are made in the fashion of the modern night stick, meaning that the extra handle allows it to be used as a baton. Police training handbooks usually contain arresting and immobilising techniques that can be executed with the night stic...