When teaching combative skills I tend to follow the basic philosophy of 'weapons first'. In other words, we should always strive to maintain the tactical advantage by using modern and improvised tools when the situation warrants the use of such tools. One of the tools I like to promote is the tomahawk, a uniquely Americanized tool originally designed for utilitarian purposes as well as warfare.

A common question I get asked when discussing the tomahawk is "a tomahawk isn't practical to carry, so why teach a weapon that most of us don't own and that we are unlikely to have on us when it's needed for self-defense?" That's actually a good question. The tomahawk is a pretty unique tool and weapon and most people aren't likely to own one. That being the case, few of these people appreciate what a tomahawk has to offer in the way of practical application for self-defense. They don't recognize it's value or or it's need. I get that. However, there are people out there that own and utilize tomahawks for various utilitarian purposes. This can range from the weekend camper/hiker to the life-long hunter. The carrying of a tomahawk is even more common amongst US soldiers who carry them into battle. Although, the use of the tomahawk for self-defense is not limited to just these particular groups. Anyone that would like to have a simple but effective tool for personal protection should take a look at the tomahawk.

I agree that even if we own a tomahawk there is a chance that we won't have it on us when we need it most. While walking around the streets with a tomahawk strapped to our side isn't illegal, it would definitely be frowned upon. However, we need to look at the big picture. We could very easily find ourselves protecting our family in the confines of our own home. A firearm would be a suitable defensive choice in such a situation but it may not always be ideal. A tomahawk could fit this situation nicely if there is the potential to injure family or neighbors through friendly fire. A tomahawk can also be kept in a vehicle within arms reach if needed. So, while a tomahawk may not be the ideal tool to carry on our person, it makes an excellent tool for home and vehicle protection for those who prefer not to use firearms. It's also a very useful defensive tool for campers, hikers, and members of our armed forces.

However, tomahawk training is about more than the tomahawk itself, it's about the underlying concepts and principles that form the foundation of the training. I call one of these concepts "universal adaptation". In motor skill research this is similar to what's referred to as 'transference'. This is essentially taking a specific movement pattern and it's underlying body mechanics and applying them to another activity. In this case we take the movement patterns of the tomahawk and apply them to other similar tools like common hatchets and hammers as well as empty-hand techniques. In other words the skills we practice are not restricted to the tomahawk. This basic idea isn't new and it's found within many Filipino and Indonesian martial arts. The point is, we shouldn't get so caught up in the literal application of the weapon but instead focus on the concepts behind the training. It's these concepts that will save our lives, not the weapon.

So, if you have an interest in a relatively simple but effective self-defense tool, a tool that is strong, inexpensive and easily obtainable...look to the tomahawk.

Steve Zorn, ICPS