The growing interest in tomahawks over the last several years means you can find them everywhere these days.
The thing that makes the tomahawk a great tool AND weapon is that it is gives you lots of power and lots of leverage.
When you’re training with your ‘hawk, though, you still need to know:
Which CQC techniques should I be drilling?
Recently, I talked tomahawks with the American Tomahawk Company’s Eric Fehrman.
Here’s a summery of what he told me about using the tactical ‘hawk.
The Best CQC Techniques For The Tomahawk!
From a historical warrior’s perspective, the tomahawk was one of the earliest close quarter combat weapons.
It really has been a feared weapon in many battlefields, from Vietnam and even now in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Those with training and experience in close-quarters combat know that certain techniques with the tomahawk can prove very effective…
…no matter what the battleground.
#1: Most Stick Fighting Moves Work GREAT
The tomahawk is uniquely American.
The beauty of the weapon is its simplicity.
This is a striking weapon.
You don’t have to be a samurai warrior or a martial arts master to use a ‘hawk effectively.
Put it in your hand and you immediately have an extra foot or foot and a half of reach, depending on the handle, and that means an advantage over your opponent.
Where specific techniques are concerned, however, the tomahawk can be used in the same way that any stick or hammer can be used.
If you have any training in stick fighting, such as in Filipino Martial arts, you can use the tomahawk in much the same way.
Any baton technique can generally be applied to the tomahawk as well.
#2: Techniques With Other Weapons Work GREAT, Too
This tool is very intuitive because it is shaped like, and weighted similarly to, a hammer.
Most people have swung a hammer before.
The weight of a tomahawk naturally brings the hammer to mind.
If you swing a tomahawk in the same fashion, you can do serious damage with it when fighting an opponent.
In the news recently there have been a number of high profile hammer attacks.
These could just as easily have been conducted with a tomahawk as with a common claw hammer.
Because the ‘hawk is both simple and also compact and light enough to be used in one hand, it can be wielded in conjunction with many other weapons.
These include handguns and knives.
You can easily carry a tomahawk in one hand and another weapon in the other while using both effectively, in other words.
#3: It’s Fantastic For Hooking Techniques
The tomahawk’s design makes it naturally useful for both hooking and pushing. That is its T-shape.
Using the hook of the tomahawk, you can grab an opponent, pull him toward you, pull him to the side, disarm him, deflect a strike, or just push him off.
The tomahawk makes a whole variety of drawing, manipulating, and disarming techniques available to the user.
Because you can potentially catch or deflect something coming at you, the tomahawk is also a great blocking tool.
To sum up, then, the ‘hawk is a very useful close quarters battle weapon.
It can be used easily and intuitively.
It can be used in conjunction with another weapon.
It is also, thanks to its design, a natural hooking and blocking tool.
These features make it a valuable component of your survival arsenal… and one you should explore if you don’t have it already.
