Cane as a weapon?

[Ron Klein]

I would also like to extend a bit the legal perspective posted by Alan K. Michigan statutes also have a laundry list of what we would consider typical weapons in addition to the carrying or use of something with “intent.” In my brief time in the local Prosecutor’s Office I prosecuted a juvenile for home invasion. The MO was to enter the homes of elderly and vulnerable (disabled persons) and rip them off. An elderly woman who was totally dependent on her cane for mobility recognized him in her home. While interviewing the victim prior to trial I appreciated the necessity to mold self-protection training and skills to the individual client. Her cane was light, of composite material and could be used with great effect-especially given the assumed vulnerability of the victim.

It is truly incredible the number of disabled and elderly persons who are preyed upon. Working with these victims can be life changing and both enrich and give a deeper meaning to your martial arts.

Although the basic tool for self-protection should be as Alan K. described, a cane of significant heft is not appropriate for most cane users. Thus, I encourage those interested in teaching self-protection (and providing a community benefit) to pick up a stack of used rehab. canes and explore their utility in self-defense situations. Wear a gauze blindfold, tie an arm behind your back or tie your lower or upper legs together and explore technique.


It also important that we should not underestimate the power and comfort provided to an individual by martial arts training. A crippling helplessness can turn to empowerment.

As too the case mentioned earlier, I still don’t know what is more satisfying, convicting some punk or seeing the gleam in the eye of a formerly helpless person when begin to fondle their cane with an awakened spirit.

Also remember that “intent” can be demonstrated by the physical nature of the instrument, your words (prior to and during an incident) and, of course, your actions. Practice involving restraint, verbal commands and submissive-humble posturing should be included in training.


I should also add that I will recommend disabled persons consider obtaining a Concealed and Carry Weapons (firearms) permit, depending on their particular situation. An appreciation for this is one of the reasons a firearms class is a requirement for earning a black belt in my Dojo. Candidates also must demonstrate the utility of any common instrument in the "weapons at hand" segment of their exam.

The cane is really an important SD tool.

Ron

[RACastanet]

Ron said: 'An appreciation for this is one of the reasons a firearms class is a requirement for earning a black belt in my Dojo.'

That is certainly an interesting requirement. I offer firearms training to anyone interested (I'm a certified instructor by the NRA in pistol, rifle and shotgun, as well as a range safety officer). For the last 5 years we have had at least one cross training day offering an afternoon session at the range followed by an evening session in Arnis taught by Raffi Derderian sensei.

Also, once or twice a year I bring in my 'force continuum' toolbox to explain the concept to students. That is always fun. I have some slick soft air pellet pistols to use in practicing disarms. You miss, you get stung.

A few months ago I was using these pistols at Quantico during a close combat disarm practice session with a few high ranking Marines. They loved the concept of 'positive feedback' and purchased 20 or so of them to be used as part of the official Marine Corps Martial Arts Program.

Come visit some day and we will have some fun at the range! Bill G. would love that.

Rich

[Ron Klein]

Rich:

The requirement is specifically for revolver and pistol and only for the students who train at my studio. I recommend a home protection/CCW certification class taught by several retired Michigan State Police (MSP), though the NRA courses are acceptable. The ex-MSP taught class is a reality check and gives hands-on exposure to a wide variety of pistols and revolvers. I also require being "conversant" with edged weapons as a BB requirement.

You have planted an idea here. I probably should blend more of the law enforcement training with the civilian classes. I only have a few students which would make it fairly simple. Understanding the "use of force continiuum" is important. Do you have any specific reference materials that you require or use?

Thanks---


Ron

[RACastanet]

Hi again Ron. I own a wide array of firearms. There are so many different styles and operating features one needs to cross train in firearms. I'm fond of Glocks and revolvers as they are simple to operate and have few external controls.

My Marine friends come down a couple times a year to fire other than their issue weapons. Most of them have never used anything other than an M16 variant and the Beretta 9mm. It is fun to see their eyes open wide when they get to fire an M14 (7.62mm) or a pistol in .45 ACP.

The NRA course are good as they are readily accepted by Virginia for a CCW permit application. The Virginia code actually states 'any NRA course' as meeting the training requirement. It also states 'any course taught by an NRA certified instructor' as meeting the requirement. For first timers, the NRA 'First Steps' course offers a nicely structured class.

I have access to two great outdoor ranges so can do tactical shooting as well. Bill G. (and his son) has done quite a bit of that with me.

Here is an outline of the FC. When I demo it I bring in an assortment of weapons to show examples. I even have a dummy grenade!


THE FORCE CONTINUUM

Assaults may begin at any point on the Force Continuum, and may predictably escalate from low forces to high forces, or jump to high force encounters without warning. The self-defender must be prepared to deal with assaults with the level of force appropriate to the situation, and recognize when the level of force required has changed. The prepared defender will have alternatives in place for low force, intermediate force, and high force encounters.


Rich

[RACastanet]

Ron: You may have noticed elsewhere in the forums that I train a bit with the Marines. Force Continuum is something taught early on in the martial arts program and is the foundation for use of force:

1. Compliant (Cooperative): Verbal Commands

2. Resistant (Passive): Contact Controls

3. Resistant (Active): Compliance Techniques*

4. Assaultive (Bodily Harm): Defensive Tactics*

5. Assaultive (Serious Bodily Harm/Death): Deadly Force*

* Martial Arts techniques

Rich

[lookingglass]

My father told me a story:

When he got back from vietnam and the Marine Corp, he was out havimg a good time with a couple of friends.

One guy was a black belt in MUdukwan (today he owns a school in Ft.Worth and it is supposed to be very big)

They were talking about fighting and war, my father did two tours in nam. This guy said that he could take a gun away and if he had to could disarm a man beforet the man could get off a shot.

My father tried to tell him that it was not that easy and the guy got mad.

He unloaded a gun and told my father to point it at him and that he would disarm him...My father was a fighter and hard hitter so he was not afraid and could beat the guy in a battle(fight are for points)

So my dad drew the weapon and jumped over a couch and pointed the gun and said get me now mutha #####,

The karate guy stood there 5 feet away in front of the barrel.

My father told me this story when I was learning self-defence for knives and gun.

He said sometime you never know what is happening around you. You cant trust your technique you have to use your head.

[Ron Klein]

Lookingglass-thank you.

This example would fall within the definition of "appreciation," I mentioned earlier.

RKlein

[Deep Sea]

Hello Ron. It's been a while and now it's good to hear from you again.

On this cane thing. I always have a pair of them in my vehicles for emergencies as supporting devices, and have no choice in the winter time except to use both for trekking across snow and ice because I have no sense of where my legs are, and especially what my feet are doing.

I never, ever, think about using them for self-defense, but I guess in a pinch they could be handy for that purpose.

[Halford]

The MoodooKwan expert had some preconceived notions about how to do things,like disarms, and also as to what people will do. Action is usually always faster than reaction as many have shown. The old example of you can't hit me no matter how close you are to me has two, possibly more, examples. The first is if the guy falls down before the punch(Inoki vs Ali) and the second is when he stands on a threshold and shuts the door(a variation of standing on a sheet of paper). Right now I can't think of other examples of this ability to confound the experts but there are plenty. Maybe some of you can supply better examples of this sort of thing.

[Deep Sea]

Right now I can't think of other examples of this ability to confound the experts but there are plenty. Maybe some of you can supply better examples of this sort of thing.

Gets away from the cane discussion, but since you asked for a few examples, I have some in my bag.

Reminds me of the game I used to play as a kid holding a dollar bill by one end letting it hang vertically. Tell the person who wanted it to hold his fingers open below the loose end and he could have the dollar if he caught it when I let it go. Looks easy but this will test not only reflexes, but how fast the brain can process what it sees. Almost no one ever caught the dollar but once in awhile someone comes along who does, either because they jumped the gun on the release, or they are actually that fast. It "pays" to make the odds 2-1.

Another "Can’t hit me" is to line your students up in front of you and have them take a shot. Bet they almost can never land one, and when they do there will be no power remaining in their punch, therefore it's fairly safe. There are several secrets to the success of that one, however: 1) You call the shot. This means you know where it goes, therefore are ready for it. For simplicity, have it be a punch to the gut and on a good night if you’re feeling lucky let them tale a poke at the nose. 2) Everyone gives themselves away when they are going to attack. Sometimes it’s in the shoulders and sometimes it’s in the eyes. 3) Even a quick parry often beats a punch because the distance the parry travels is much shorter than the distance a punch needs to travel in order to do its job. This disparity in distances (usually) provides adequate time for the brain to engage. 4) The body can often move out of the way faster than the arm can move the punch out of the way. For a punch coming into the gut merely step back and to the side to make the gut not be where it was, and provided you don’t get tracked, the result is a at worst a glancing blow from a quick punch, even without the parry. 5) The head can move out of the way faster than the body can, and for safety always support with a parry.

That’s what I call a circus trick, like the dollar drop. However, it can be used as a teaching tool, but is it good for anything practical? Analyzing it one quickly realizes that maybe against the first strike if the defender guesses it right, but someone experienced and/or has savvy will figure this one out right away and then Bingo on the next one or the one following that.

A sad example I ran across the other day and can’t find the URL this morning is a woman instructor told a student to fire an arrow or something like that at her and she would catch it. Well…. She missed the catch, and the arrow, which glanced off her forearm put her eye out.

I guess it’s best to not gamble for maybe more than a dollar and not even that where it’s illegal.

[Halford]

I used to do that dollar bill trick when I worked in a plant as most of us were bored at times,etc. We used to do various stunts,etc. to pass the time but to describe all this would take too much time here now. However, be warned not to do the dollar trick too frequently with the same person as your body language will betray you and you will lose.Also, do not let them grab for the bill as it goes to the floor. Make the rules clear, only the thumb and the forefinger are to be used,etc. I lost a few bucks by not doing this and a few other things right. It is a great teaching tool along with other things: like not being able to jump over a dollar or a quarter placed on the floor right here! Most will take you up on this and then you place it in a corner,which despite their objections is still the floor,this floor! Another one and this can backfire, is to have them stand, backs to the wall, and attempt to reach down without bending the knees,etc. to pick up a dollar bill. The force from the wall is supposed to push them outwards,off balance, so they miss the bill. But beware, there are some very flexible contortionists out there! All these stunts may seem foolish but still you can learn a lot from circus performers, acrobats,magicians,etc. Arrow catching is dangerous and other worse examples with swords,etc. also exist as does the old catching the bullet in the teeth act of long-ago magicians. Martial ar tists should look at Houdini more closely, as I have tried to do over the years. Visit some websites devoted to him and see what I mean. Houdini knew jiu-jitsu as you might know and had quite an interesting physique as well, and excelled at muscle control, apparently, something that has been forgotten and revived several times and appears now and then as 'dynamic tension'etc. Well,that's it for now but keep commenting. Although it seems far afield from canes,it may not be when you consider certain types of canes which are,when reduced to basics, akin to magician's wands. l

[LeeDarrow]

Halford pointed out that a book can be used for defense and I'm living proof of that. In the incident where I was almost mugged on my way to a final exam in college, my Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences text took a stiletto through the cover and served as a good disarm for it when I was attacked.

Disarm happened on the second thrust - A sudden twist and presto! Knife gone. Kinda like kote gaieshi in aikido.

Dumb luck on my part, frankly.

Other favorite improvisational weapons include a handful of change. Great to get a flinch response or, if they don't flinch, a blink or eye damage.

Pocket combs make good improv knives for at least one cut, and credit cards likewise.

In an office situation, check to see if your desk drawers come out. Those can be very useful as well. Obviously, office equipment like staplers, desk lamps, scissors, letter openers, handsfull of paperclips and desk chairs are great opportunity weapons as well.

Remember, the new martial art of Chair-Jitsu. You pick up a chair and hit your attacker right square in the Jitsu!

Respectfully,

Lee Darrow, C.Ht.
http://www.leedarrow.com

[Halford]

defense and I don't mean the objects you place in it for such! How about the seat belt buckle,for example,the old cigarette lighter(if you have one, and the floor mats? Anything else? Of course, the old antenna break-off might still work on some models!

[Ron Klein]

Halford:


I like the small fire extinguishers (every vehicle should have one)....we practice with them in our self-defense classes when we get to the topic "vehicle self defense."

Ron