Tonfa Thursday

 I got home with a terrible headache, I took some aspirin and passed out on the couch with the children bouncing up and down all over me. Fortunately the pain subsided by the by the time I got up to get dressed for class. I knew that it would probably be a relaxed class in comparison to Tuesday’s class so I was quite confident that I would be able to handle any remnants of my sinus headache.

I got to class with about ten minutes to spare and I wanted to free style a bit with the Tonfa. I swung it around as fictitious assailants attacked from all angles. Here and there I was interrupted by reality as a fellow student greeted me and cracked a joke. I will have a more serious session this afternoon...

We started class with the plank as usual and then some push-ups and bicycle crunches. I was already sweating by the time we stretched, but I decided to keep my Gi on and sweat out my cold for good. We did a bit of body conditioning and my partner was trying to soften me up as he attempted to cave in my ribs. I pictured my chi moving around with his strikes. When it was my turn, I moved my chi to my hands and tried not to do too much damage.

The Sensei asked me if I am ok with my level and I told him I would like to go over it once more. I got my wish and soon my partner was cringing with pain from the jo, but it wasn’t till I picked up the Tonfa that I really got into the swing of things. The tiger was loose and it felt good. I swapped the natural grip for the multiple grip and went on a rampage. I enjoyed the extended reach the Tonfa afforded me and leveraged its versatility to experiment with locks and defensive strikes.

I played a bit with one of the juniors and he tried to retain the Tonfa from me. I lost my concentration for an instant and aimed a strike for the midriff and he managed to grab the weapon from my grip. I scrambled to get the weapon back but fumbled. My friend intervened and showed us how I should have done a pressure point takedown.

It is important not to lose your mind when you lose your weapon. Redouble your efforts and go over to hand to hand techniques as your opponent focuses on retaining the weapon. This might be a good exercise for class, how to retain a retained weapon, definitely worth practicing...

Embrace the shadows.