These three readers have asked me at various times about the utility of the tomahawk in hand-to-hand combat and about it's training method.
First, the casting tomahawk, which I did attain proficiency with before blowing my shoulder out, is not a hand-to-hand weapon. It's iron head is not that sharp and it mounts un-bound onto a tapering haft, which is designed for easy grip release—and we don't want that when hordes of hoodrats are swarming over your paleface den with bricks and bats!
For training and home defense under less than zombie apocalypse conditions, I recommend the Cold Steel polyethylene trainer, which is a nasty war club in its own right and too dangerous to train with in contact sparring without a suit of armor.
Training Evolution
1. Learn knife fighting for range sensitivity.
2. Practice stick fighting for haft handling.
3. Practice shadow fighting with the trainer tomahawk.
4. Practice striking hanging ropes, not bags, posts or tires, or you will blow your wrist out.
5. After some time sparring with knives and sticks, understanding that the hawk is used in the overlap range of these two weapons, cut down a stick to the length of the hawk and then tape-lace-tape a 3-inch section of commercial pipe insulation on the end of it and use that for sparring. This will mimic the balance of the weapon and will limit injury. Be careful not to hit your partner with the haft just below the head, but practice barely missing or hitting with the padded head. Make sure that no portion of the stick is exposed above the padded head. In this way you will practice not landing with the haft below the head, which causes disarms and binds, and will also avoid hurting your partner.
6. The stick work most applicable to this will be the slash, the smash and the Redondo, with the jab being useless.
If you do not have your tomahawk when the world goes to war you may substitute a hammer, maul, large flashlight, hay hook or garden spade.
If you do have your tomahawk, put a knife in your other hand to keep them from closing with you.
Strength, Honor—and Luck be with you!
