Practical Stick Defense: Training Safety
Michael JanichStick defense training is like other types of training: safety first! Michael Janich advises selecting the proper tools and approaching training with the proper mindset so that you and your partner emerge from a practice session uninjured. What are the advantages and disadvantages of practicing with “live” sticks instead of padded sticks? And how should you train with a “fist load” or short weapon such as a flashlight or kubotan?
Here is another important video, from the Personal Defense Network. As with all training, safety has to be a primary concern when it comes to training with sticks. So what you need to look at is a selection of proper tools and making sure that you approached your training with the proper mindset. You can train with live sticks like this rattan escrima stick. What you need to do is make sure that your exercise proper control.
You can actually make contact with your partner. In many cases, what you be doing is hitting stick against stick. The problem with that is it doesn't always allow you to replicate what you really want to do in a fight which is striking the limbs. So what I recommend is using some type of a padded stick, this can be commercially purchased from a martial arts supply store or you can make 'em yourself. This is simply a piece of 1/2 inch PVC tubing, it's covered with pipe insulation then wrapped in duct tape.
Something like this you can make safe contact with a partner it's not gonna hurt a whole lot but still you have to exercise control in your training. You make sure you train safely with your partner. When it comes to something like a fist load, when you have a short weapon like this flashlight or a kubaton or a yawara stick, something of that nature. Again, you can train with this thing but making contact with a partner is gonna be a risky thing. Even with control, it's very easy for somebody to get hurt with this, so what I've developed is this idea of taking a piece of closed cell foam.
All this is is a piece of foam similar to what you would have for packing of electronics equipment or computer equipment. You cut it into a cylinder, roughly the same size as the fist load that you're gonna be using. This allows you to grip it very firmly, still strike and make contact with a partner. Where you don't have the danger of injuring your partner during your training. So in all your training you wanna make sure that you choose the proper training tools, you make sure that you approached it with the proper mindset so that both you and your partner stay safe throughout your training process.
Check out more videos just like this one at the Personal Defense Network.
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