Topang Silat

Saturday, 16 April 2016 17:46

by Guru Scott McQuaid

Many Silat systems from across South East Asia have adopted the Topang weapon into their arsenal. This blunt design of weapon was designed mostly for blocking against blades; it generally consists of a pair of sticks with a perpendicular handle attached a third of the way down the length of the stick, measuring around 15-20 inches long. The wood differs from bamboo to red or white oak.

The exact origins of this weapon is unknown, but scholars have refined the emergence of the weapon down to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and China. Most of Asia ascribe the topang's origin design to a crutch. Both the Chinese and Malay words for the weapon guai and topang literally mean crutch. In Indonesia the topang sticks are sometimes referred to as 'T' sicks due to their obvious letter 't' appearance. The sticks can differ in length according to the particular style of Silat. The silat practitioner grips the handles of the topang while the shafts of the sticks rest along the bottom of the forearm. This provides protection when blocking opponent's weapons. From this position the topang is swung into strikes using the side of the shaft of the sticks, swung out from the side or inwards as flanking strike or as a direct thrust attack. In the Javanese system of Harimau Berantai Silat the topang is called Pancawangan Sakti (bladed tonfa). This version is made from bamboo with a detachable handle which reveals a 5 inch knife blade hidden inside the bamboo shaft. The Berantai style of silat is heavily focused on blade fighting, so this was the reason for the modification.

Kuntao Silat dates back to ancient times with trading routes noted between China and Southeast Asia. Chinese weapons are often seen depicted in ancient Sumatran art work. This blunt wooden weapon was not particularly dangerous to armored opponents, but its defensive abilities made it popular among monks. In the Pan-Asian art of Kuntao Silat the topang is called Kwai, but it is sometimes referred to as Guai. This model of the pair of sticks is heavier as the wood is oak but the sticks are thinner, so like the applications in Kuntao the pesilat (silat player) moves the kwai evasively, with light deflections but hard on its strikes.

In central Java the Tapak Sutji Silat system re-designed the topang to fit their silat, naming the weapon Segu which translates to "common usage". The style uses only one of the sticks, the material consists of metal with a short flexible metal shaft that is slightly over a foot in length. It targets soft, sensitive areas on the arms and head. The strikes with the segu are used from a distance hence the extended length as the pesilat turns about their own axis constantly moving.

Tomoi Silat dates back more than two thousand years, with its origins rooted in Indochinese history with a cross-cultural exchange through migration, trade and land wars. The earliest structured art of Tomoi comes from the northern region of Malaysia and the petomoi (Tomoi practitioners) had a very different design to their topang. This type of topang is made from wood with flat wider surface. Unlike the Indonesian topang, it is not utilized to swing the length of the stick out in strikes. The Tomoi representation of the weapon requires rope ties that wrap around the practitioner's forearm to better secure its position for its blocking techniques against parangs (swords) and tongkats (sticks). The additional handle in front of the actual practitioner's handle acts as a guard to protect the fighters own hand in battle. They use the wood shaft beneath their forearm to block and elbow strike.

In the ancient Thai art of Krabi Krabong this weapon was called mae sun sawk. The wood or bamboo is much like the Tomoi variety. However the form is shorter, measuring only the length of a forearm and a second smaller rod is optional as it can be attached parallel to the handle to keep the wielder's hand in place. The attacking techniques are much the same as in Tomoi silat. There is a Cambodian version of this weapon that has a large spike on its front end, but little is known about the usage of that variant design in battle.

The most famous interpretation of these pair of sticks are the Japanese Okinawan design, known regionally as Tonfa. The Okinawans note the tonfa asa deriving from a millstone handle. They say the projecting knob that acts as the handle was inserted into a hole in the mill's upper stone and the longer shaft was used as a handle to rotate it against the lower stone. The Okinawan word tonfa, or sometimes tuifa, means handle.

Legend has it that the Okinawan farmers further developed the tonfa from locals in their village. It is said that the handle that was inserted into the shaft often broke in combat. Then a farmer noticed that fishing boats were patched with wooden plugs called fundu, similar in circumference to the knob or handle of a tonfa. The plug was watertight yet still flexible to withstand the motion of the boat. The farmers reasoned that the same method could be applied to the tonfa. So a couple of farmers are said to have gone to the fishing community to ask advice on making the tonfa handle stronger. The fishermen took the farmers down to the beach and shared their method of wood joinery. They used the wood from a tropical tree indigenous to Okinawa known as iju. This tree had been used for centuries by fisherman to make canoes and boats. They cut certain sections of of iju wood, cutting across the grain before soaking the wood element in sea water to make the fundu wood piece fit tight while still maintaining its flexibility. However this folktale is one of many examples of how Okinawa farm tools were turned into weapons, despite the tonfa design existing as a weapon across Asia predating its arrival in Japan.

Another folktale is that the tonfa was designed by a blacksmith named Gokuzi in the Lion city of Tonfajutsen and this is where its name derives from. Gokuzi was said to have some sort of physical conflict with the Emperor's magistrates whereby he used the tonfa to fend off the guards that were beating servants and laborers in the castle. Once the Emperor heard of Gokuzi defiance he was brought up on charges, testified against, and put to death.

The tonfa was originally made of wood from a native type of white oak tree. It measures about three centimeters past the elbow when gripped by the practitioner. It is said by local Okinawans that the tonfa was used by local farmers to protect themselves against the Samurai. However these are all myths and there is no hard evidence to confirm these stories. Today it is practiced in Ju-Jitsu and Karate. Tonfa combatants swing the hard wooded shaft of the sticks out in strikes against their opponents but they also flip the tonfa and grab the stick by its shaft, called tokushu-mochi and then use the handle to a hook their enemy, from around the neck, legs or under the crotch.

In the early 1970s the nightstick named PR-24 made its appearance with the American police force on the streets replacing the cops' original straight truncheons. This police baton was a blueprint obviously taken from the Okinawa tonfa. The PR-24 nightstick was designed by Lon Anderson and marketed by the Monadnock Corporation. Aside from the usual defensive blocking application, the police genuinely used it for leverage-based techniques and control holds. The biggest difference between the tonfa and the PR-24 is that the nightstick is rounded in shape. The materials used to make this style of nightstick is moulded resin, metal. Later they used a hard dense plastic in its manufacturing. This nightstick eventually came to Europe's law enforcement but today the PR-24 nightstick is all but gone as it has been replaced with tazers and aerosol canisters.

The topang, mae sun sawk, tonfa or PR-24 have been adapted over its geographical journey and time-period. These pair of unique sticks have remained an essential part of weaponry within the martial combat and its history reflects its significance on the battlefield. If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday.

Published exclusively for Black Triangle Silat website 2016.