Self defense with a cane or umbrella... 1901

From Pearson's Magazine -January 1901, notes by Ralph Grasso and Joseph Svinth -

Self-defence with a Walking-stick: The Different Methods of Defending Oneself with a Walking-Stick or Umbrella when Attacked under Unequal Conditions (PartI):

It must be understood that the new art of self-defence with a walking-stick, herewith introduced for the first time, differs essentially from single-stick or sword-play; for a man may be a champion in the use of sword or single-stick [EN2] and yet be quite unable to put a walking-stick to any effective use as a weapon of defence. The simple and sufficient reason to account for this is that both in single-stick and sword-play a cut is always taken up by the hilt of the weapon, whereas if you attempted to guard a blow with a walking-stick -- which has no hilt -- in the same way as you would with a sword, the blow would slide down your stick onto your hand and disable you. Therefore, in order to make a stick a real means of self-defence, it has been necessary to devise a system by which one can guard a blow in such a way as to cause it to slide away from the hand instead of toward it, and thus obviate the risk of being disarmed by being hit upon the fingers.

Looks like Charlie Chapman is winning...

hey guys

i love the idea of using a walking cane to defend oneself .. especially as one gets older .... there is a system of MA called 'La Cane' .. it's a french system but is mighty effective ... i have been on the receiving end during friendly sparring and ended up with lots of bruises <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />


cheers

ug

I also like that it can be carried for defense in places conventional weapons aren’t allowed. So you can still have something with you that you can use to defend yourself if needed.

Sounds ideal! We just need Dan to make one with a pop-out spear fitted!

I think it is a great idea. The stance the chaplin guys have is very similar to the style I have seen with irish faction fighting. There the hit is usually taken with the part of the stick below the hand so the other part of the stick is then already in position to attack. There are also things you can do with the hook to trap but they are more advanced.

I was a little disappointed when I got my Cold Steel City Stick. I thought it was solid fiberglass, but it’s not. It’s hollow in the middle. It’s like eleven layers thick total, and supposed to be unbreakable, but I’d feel better about its strength if it were solid. If I’d of known that, I might have gotten the sword cane one instead. But then again, there are places you could bring a regular stick where you couldn’t have a sword, so I guess it’s good I have the one I do.

A Scrap Yard sword cane would be cool. There was someone that was selling CS sword canes for $40 on BF a while ago. I really wanted one but didn’t have the $ at the time. I was always hoping for another offering, but never saw more for that price.

I saw a really neat walking stick on eBay once that I really wanted. The shaft was solid titanium, like an inch thick. But they wanted a couple hundred for it. It would be really cool though. Lightweight and strong.

I think just a nice hardwood stick would be better and look less threatening.
The irish stick fighting site has lots of tips for cane fighting.

I'm always afraid that a wood one will break if hit too hard.

hey Andy

i take my training sticks along to the local pottery cafe and ask them to put em in a kiln for a couple of hours .. you can also flame harden wood and then sand it smooth for appearance <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

some mates and I manage to hit each other regularly <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif" alt="" /> when trying to train MA but still haven;t broken a hardened stick.. lots of normal ones but non that have been treated <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

also if you want to modify a CS hollow stick you can cut one end off, fill it's hollow center with fast drying cement or glue and leave it for a few days next to a heat source (central heating radiator) .. then cap the end and away you go .. i havent done this with a CS stick but have glue filed the center of a bamboo walking stick <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/loopy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
cheers

ug <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Good ideas ugug! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Tom

How about lead shot and epoxy resin to fill sticks? That's got to make them come sharp!