The modern tonfa seems less impressive than an mace, yes. But the
tonkwas, the Okinawan tonfas, were very, very dangerous.
- First, they were crafted in hard wood which made them strike very hardly, especially to the main targets learned for this weapon in kobudo: skull, temple, knee or throat... My masters say that one good swinging blow to the skull is sufficient to kill someone. And the least blow to a bone like a knee would break it very easily.
- Second, because of their quickness. It strikes so fast that parrying a tonkwa attack to the head requires a very specific jodan uke. Without this specific parry, the move is to slow.
Modern tonfas are more soft. They allow policemen, guardians and the likes to use them without risking to kill to easily... It becomes a defensive weapon...
But Okinawan tonkwas were very dangerous weapons. Maybe one of the most lethal in kobudo. Which always teach to use two tonkwas at the same time (one in each hand). It makes them even more dangerous: the foe can't know from which side the attack will come.