Ever since I was a little kid, I've played with sticks. Before I reached double digits - before the Ninja Turtles were a thing - I was dressing up as a ninja. Once the TMNT officially
were a thing, I was thunderstruck. My favourite was Donatello (obviously), since he was the smartest and carried the biggest stick. And he made all their tech. And he was a bookish nerd who also kicked ass. And also I liked the colour purple. I still do. During ages thirteen to fourteen, for not more than eighteen months at a guess, I 'practiced' Ninjukai Taijitsu - now called 'Ninjukai Taijutsu'. A somewhat questionable offshoot of Ninjutsu and ultimately another organisation that, I have since learned, has little to do with 'real ninjas', inasmuch as 'real ninjas' are actually things. The 'Ninja' as a concept is largely a romanticized product of the western gaze and has been greatly popularised by Hollywood. The 'Ninja' of the screen is both pastiche and amalgam: a combination of Okinawan and Japanese peasant resistance, and
the 'Ninjutsu', who were kinda
like modern day special ops and military strategy guys... and also
assassins, occasionally.
If
you don't know what
Tonfa are, they are the implements that the sans
serif lower case 't' looking police baton is based on. The Tonfa are very old, their earliest recorded use as weapons is in
Indochina, though their weaponizing by Okinawan and Japanese farmers
against marauding Samurai began circa 1100 AD. The Samurai -
formerly the imperial military - became provincial tyrants with the
collapse of Japan's feudal system in the early Sengoku
period. The peasant resistance were largely independent, clandestine bands of farmers who would
fashion Tonfa and other basic defensive weapons in order to fight the
Samurai, who ran what were essentially murderous "protection" rackets after the fall of the emperor. Like
the origins of capoeira amongst the African slaves of Brazil and the
ascetic, often spectacular techniques of the persecuted and exiled Buddhist monks, the Japanese
and Okinawan peasants invented ways to disguise their weapons and
abilities. They were not allowed to own or forge good steel, practice fighting
arts, or do anything that might afford them a chance at rebellion. So
they fashioned weapons from the wooden tools and implements they used
every day.
The
use of Tonfa as weapons has, again, been widely popularised and
romanticized by the Western gaze. The exact country of origin cannot be
conclusively determined, as each region has their own name and origin
story, from Indonesia, to Thailand, to Okinawa, to Japan . And while the
myth that they were originally grindstone handles has been refuted, the
Tonfa are considered to be one of the authentic defensive weapons of
the feudal resistance.
It
is true to say that I have an ethos when it comes to human existence
and that ethos extends to my choice of
weaponry: the Bo, Jo, Han bo and now Tonfa, are all defensive weapons.
This piece of information was not something that I was aware of as a
child who liked to play with sticks. But, ideologically, it fits. And now, as a former strength athlete looking to remain strong and healthy while also wanting a new discipline to pursue that won't continue to damage my body quite so much, stick fighting is my go-to and has been before. It improves mobility/flexibility, agility, balance, coordination, and requires a degree of acrobatic prowess, making it great cardio, too. But the reason I first added stick fighting -
in that instance, the Bo - to my rehabilitation routine in 2017 was for strengthening my tendons. Specifically, my biceps tendons, since I'd
detached the left one that February. As soon as I was allowed by my surgeon to return to the gym, I was to lift nothing heavier than one kilo weights with my left arm in as many different ways as I could and take it as easy as possible in every other major movement. I needed something to keep my left arm active and exercise the tendon without overloading it, so I picked up Bojutsu training, which was very helpful at the time. In the COVID climate, however, it wasn't something I could do conveniently as I hadn't the room at home. But I can practice basic Tonfa techniques without needing much space at all.
Though I have only been practicing a few weeks, I've gone from feeling like a novice juggler with a penchant for Clouseau-esque self-harm to someone who more or less has their shit together. I am perfecting my own kata routine and have on order, soon to arrive, a pair of custom-made, 24 inch, solid machined and finished aluminium Tonfa. They were 'bespoke machined', if you like, by the manufacturer in the USA. They are the first Tonfa to be bought from KarateMart by an Australian, in addition to being the only 24 inch aluminium pair they have made to date, though the machinist was so impressed he wanted to show his boss immediately, before they were picked up by DHL that afternoon (Arizona time), and they are now going to make more in that size, I am told. So I am a trail-blazer, of sorts. I like that.
Why this and why now? This time, it's many different things, not least of all: it's made me feel passionate about training again. I have objectives now. They are to:
* 1. focus on Tonfa (and related martial arts) training while I
* 2. follow a squat / press / pull weekly template according to progressive resistance and
* 3. complete and record my kata routine once I believe I'm good enough
MOBILITY & AGILITY Tuesday August 3rd
Stretch & Warmup: spine, adductors, hamstrings, biceps
PRE-TRAINING
Kneeling hip flexor release: 2 p/side
Plank on hands: 2 x 30 seconds
Resisted hip flexion isometric: 2 x 10 seconds p/side
Curl up: 2 x 10 reps
CORE & TENDONS
Axe swings:
31.5 kg x 5 x 10
DB side raises:
10 kg x 5 x 10
super-set w/DB curls:
10 kg x 5 x 10
NINJA 'IN
Forward rolls: 10
TONFA KATA
ACCESSORY & TONFA Sunday August 1st
Stretch & Warmup: spine, adductors, hamstrings, biceps
ACCESSORIES
Good mornings w/axle:
35 kg x 10
50 kg x 5 x 10
Seated rows:
52.5 kg x 5 x 10
super-set w/Face-pulls:
40.5 kg x 5 x 20 TPR
Chest press machine (p/h):
15 kg x 10
25 kg x 10
35 kg x 10
DB front raises (p/h):
10 kg x 5 x 10
TONFA TRAINING
Forward rolls x 5
Short punch (l&r): 20
Long punch (l&r): 20
Diagonal strike (l&r): 5
Grip switch (l&r): 20
CARDIO
Assault bike: 5 mins @ +50 rpm
SQUAT PRESS DEAD & TONFA Thursday July 29th
Stretch & decompress spine, extra work on adductors
Axle squat ATG:
40 kg x 10
70 kg x 5 x 10
Axle OHP:
40 kg x 5 x 10
Axle Romanian DLs:
70 kg x 5 x 10
TONFA training:
Short punch (l&r): 20
Long punch (l&r): 20
Diagonal strike (l&r): 5
Grip switch (l&r): 20
CARDIO
Assault bike: 5 mins @ +50 rpm
EVENTS Saturday July 17th
Stretch & decompress spine
PRE-TRAINING
Kneeling hip flexor release: 2 p/side
Plank on hands: 2 x 30 seconds
Resisted hip flexion isometric: 2 x 10 seconds p/side
Curl up: 2 x 10 reps
PRESS
Viking press:
unloaded x 10
+10 kg x 10
+30 kg x 5
+50 kg x 5
+60 kg x 10, 8, 7
+30 kg x 15
Chest press machine (p/h):
15 kg x 15
Bench press:
60 kg x 3 x 10
ACCESSORIES
DB curls (p/h):
10 kg x 4 x 10
DB side raises (p/h):
10 kg x 4 x 10
DB incline bench press (p/h):
17.5 kg x 3 x 10
CARDIO
Assault bike:
5 mins @ +50 rpm
