The Tomahawk - by Snake Blocker

The TOMAHAWK
By Snake Blocker
Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas

Any serious martial artist, survivalists, fighter, law enforcer, security officer, or self defense practitioner must add a level of knowledge of the tomahawk along their journey in life.  Many versions of the tomahawk have been around since the first people in ‘time-in-memorial.’  The tomahawk (hawk) is merely a tool.  Its use is determined by the hand, or hands that wield it.  For a survivalist, it can cut timber to feed a fire.  It can chop a tree to build shelter.  It can cut the limbs of a trophy Elk to transport section by section back to base camp.  For a martial artist, it can defeat a larger opponent, or several larger opponents. 

 

For Ted Bundy, it aided in providing more than one human meal.  The tomahawk is neither savvy, nor cunning.  It is neither righteous, nor wrong.  Its fate is in the use, or misuse of its holder.  Its fear-factor is in the eye of its beholder or receiver.  I can write a volume of books on the many uses of the mighty tomahawk, but no need to state the obvious applications.  If you aim to learn self defense, you must learn the tomahawk, because violence has been around since Cain killed Able.  You can learn the way of the tomahawk from thousands of teachers (some self proclaimed) around the world… but why travel, when you can flip the pages of a tomahawk book (or watch a video), and get an idea of the variations that surround this tool.  No one teacher has all the answers, nor all the drills, exercises, forms, or tactics that encapsulate the hawk, therefore, learn from the respected instructors, then battle-test what works for you.

What worked for Goyathlay (Geronimo) may not work for you, my warrior friend.  What works for you, may not work for Justin Beaver.  Everyone must take a drill and make adaptations to meet their own individual skill set and limitations.  Everyone has a different range of motion; a different arm length; different wrist strength; a different walking/running gait; different mobility, and a different speed.  Add a variety of tomahawk books and videos to your library of weapons and you will be leaps ahead of the average Joe.  The hawk, like the knife, has always been around, and it is not going away.  Most assaults around the world are not the result of firearms, but rather a result of hand held weapons, which include: knives, sticks, clubs, bats, and tomahawks.  No great library is complete without including some material to cover this topic.

I lived in the Middle East for over 3 years and I saw tomahawks in Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan.  I lived in Los Angeles for over 30 years and the tomahawk was among the street gangs as well.  My friend Shark was with a group of new friends that invited him to a restaurant club on the weekend.  This group was what many would consider the ‘nerdy’ group.   Shortly after they arrived, there was a confrontation with these ‘nerds’ and some slightly intoxicated ‘cool’ guys over something meaningless, so one of the ‘nerds’ pulled out two compact tomahawks from of his back (under his jacket) and he was ‘ready to rumble.’  The ‘cool’ guys didn’t feel so ‘cool’ anymore and ran outside to ‘cool off.’ 

 

At the Apache reservations I visited, most household had tomahawks in their living space. I spent a couple weeks at Firebase Chamkani when I lived in Afghanistan.  A few weeks after I left this base, the local village across the street from the base brought in two family members that had just been attacked by the Taliban.  The Taliban had taken a tomahawk and chopped the two men up and down, then left for dead because they had good relations with the US Army base.  One man still had the tomahawk lodged into his spine which got stuck.  He was pronounced dead on arrival (DOA).  The second man was still breathing.  My buddy was there at the time.  While the US Army medics were trying to save the 2nd guy, the DOA guy with the tomahawk in his back came back to life.  They tried to keep him alive but he had lost too much blood and died a second time after a few minutes.  I have heard many more tomahawk stories over the years and it does not surprise me to hear about them.  Military troops in almost every country around the world still carry tomahawks or other wielding weapons in similar size.

Learn what you can of the hawk.  Learn its ways--for its ways are many.  The tomahawk can be made from stone,bone, metal, plastic, wood, or composite.  Regardless of the material it is forged from or assembled from, you must always respect the hawk!  I carry one in my car, in my house, and in my studio.  The hooking power and blunt force produced from a hawk can be fatal.  Use only the force necessary in any situation. 

 

Avoid conflict as much as humanly possible but when no other options are available, you must use the hawk my friend—to serve and protect.    I started researching Apache Knife Fighting & Battle Tactics from various Apache tribal members around 1993.  I taught my first of many seminars on the topic in 1995 and I've been teaching since then.  A few years after I began teaching, there have been many others that came around and began to teach. 

 

They teach what they know (or think they know) on such topics.  I learn more every year and continue to add to the Apache History books.  Like the cunning Apache Raven, continue to learn from both the past and the present.  Enjoy your journey!

 

Snake Blocker