Tonfa

A pair of tonfa
A pair of tonfa with a rounded body throughout.

The tonfa (Okinawan: トンファー tonfā, Chinese: 柺; pinyin: guǎi lit. old man's staff / "crutch", also spelled as tongfa or tuifa, also known as T-baton[1]) is a melee weapon with its origins in the armed component of Okinawan martial arts where it is known as the tunkua. It consists of a stick with a perpendicular handle attached a third of the way down the length of the stick, and is about 15–20 inches (380–510 mm) long.[2] It was traditionally made from red or white oak, and wielded in pairs.[3] The tonfa is believed to have originated in either China, Okinawa or Southeast Asia, where it is used in the respective fighting styles.

  1. ^ "Rare Kung Fu Weapons | Specialty Weapons".
  2. ^ "Weapons – Tonfa". Lyon Karate. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  3. ^ "Tonfa history". Tonfa.org. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2017.