Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-99.164.4.58-20130406020916/@comment-173.81.113.201-20130410082455

the tessen is actually a highly regarded Samurai weapon. it allowed the samurai to go armed into a place where a sword would be conspicuous, it was a signal device used to direct troop movement in combat, it could be thrown, or used defensively to block weapon strikes, or even arrows if you used it right. all told, it's the perfect tool for the ninja: versatile, deadly, and non-obvious, and it fit in perfectly with what Splinter said about her mind being her most important weapon, as it's the weapon of a thinker, a strategist and a tactician.

personally, I was wondering why in the world Splinter offered her a German Morning Star as a contender for her ninja weapon, as the thing was at least as big as she was, probably weighed more, and had no connection to ninjutsu whatsoever. the chigiriki was clearly too big for her, too, but at least it was Japanese. the manriki was a better choice, given her stature, but I fail to see the wisdom on starting a newcomer out with a "soft" style weapon ( basically, anything with a rope, chain, or whip-style component. they are notoriously tricky to operate ). the kama would have been perfect, if she'd been able to keep a grip on 'em.

all-told, the tessen should really have been the first choice, but then there'd've been no weapon fail montage, and I think that may have really been the whole point of the April's Training subplot.