Black Belt Magazine: Tonfa - Karate Weapon of Self Defense

It`s okay. But nothing that I did not already know. For beginners only.

I think that this book is both well written, and instructive in it's information. I find it to be a good instructional reference.

The tonfa is my karate weapon of choice. The idea in training is that the weapon is an extension of the arm, and you use many of the same techniques with weapons that you would use in open-handed karate. This disk helps one to understand those facts. Almost everything is covered in the DVD from the history of this Okinawan kubudo weapon, its selection, and its use. I especially liked the inclusion of an intermediate level tonfa kata among the material. In the past year, I have won two trophies for my tonfa kata in a karate tournament, so this DVD was an excellent purchase for me. It has permitted me to go to a higher level of understanding of the weapon and offers me the promise of a more advanced level of performance with this weapon in competition.I have pre-registered to attend a karate workshop taught by Grand Master Fumio Demura next year, and I look forward to this as another element to "fine tune" my skills.

A very cheesy and general book. You can find a lot better info online elsewhere for less.

EXCELLENT book. I highly recommend it. Am using this as a guideline for my 3rd Dan specialty test

I participated in a series of kobudo seminars in which Fumio Demura taught his Kobudo Kihon Kata. Readers will need a little context to understand what is going on here.Master Demura decided that kobudo was not being taught intelligently, with too much emphasis on learning just one weapon and only two or three kata for the black belt. He also thought the Okinawan kobudo kata were too long for the common purposes of testing and competition. He said he can judge your performance in the first five seconds, so why wait three minutes for a 200-step kata to finish?For these reasons he created six "Kihon Kata" for kobudo. They are beginner kata, exactly like the Heians (Pinans). The six kata cover the basic moves of bo, tonfa, nunchaku, sai, kama and ekubo. Each kata is about 20 moves long. Short and sweet. Perfect for beginners; perfect for contests and testing.Add these katas to your Shotokan curriculum, one per kyu rank parallel to the Heians. Your students will be greatly enriched.It is a pity that Demura marketed the Kihon Kata as six separate videos. Their special utility cannot be appreciated until you see the entire curriculum. The set of six kata is a milestone in kobudo teaching, but presented one-by-one the kata naturally disappoint kobudo experts. This is a set for beginners, and for people who teach beginners. In that light, these six kata are absolutely outstanding.

I have a pair of Tonfas that I bought from my Martial Arts class. No idea how to use them but I thought they look cool leaning up against a wall. Well this video shows you how to use them. The instructor seems like a very stern, serious, man and he certainly knows how to teach. Basics, like footwork are broken down nicely and the dvd is easy to follow along with. There is also a short, basic segment on Karate strikes and blocks shown without the Tonfas and then shown with the Tonfas and this is a nice addition because it reinforces the idea that the Tonfas are an extension of your hand when you are blocking and striking.There are also katas with the Tonfas at the end of the dvd so you can put your movements together and develop some flow with your Tonfa practice. In a nutshell, a good, instructional dvd, especially if you have no idea (like myself) how to use the Tonfa. I would also say that with any of these martial arts weapons dvds, make sure that you have high enough ceilings when practicing indoors. I myself, go in my backyard and practice while I follow along with a portable dvd player.

There is very limited basic information. Too much of the drum work and too loud takes away the instruction of the Tonfa . It was a waste of my money.I do not recommend it at all.

琉球式トンファーの入門用DVDです。トンファーや空手の未経験者でも充分に付いて行けると思います。実技が中心ですので、日本語でない点はあまり気になりませんでした。後半には套路（型）が収録されていますが、トンファーの動きが速過ぎる部分もあるので、スロー再生バージョンもあれば更に良かったです。