DISCUSSION

Stick as a weapon

Stick as a Weapon

A stick, with the amplification created by its whipping action, is extremely fast and elusive. Therefore, you must focus on “moving the target” rather than standing in one place and attempting to block the attack.

Muscles are meant to protect the bones, and make no mistake—being hit on any part of the body hurts. However, strikes to areas with less muscle protection are significantly more damaging. Commonly exposed or “unprotected” areas include the fingers, knuckles, elbows, knees, shoulders, collarbone, neck, ribs, and head. When struck at full speed with a stick, bones in these areas may crack, potentially immobilizing the attacker and forcing them to release their weapon.

Footwork

When training in bare-handed self-defense, many people remain static and rely on arm strength for both attack and defense. However, once weapons are introduced, this approach quickly proves inadequate. The speed and elusiveness of a stick demand mobility.

You must learn to evade, duck, lean, tilt, and keep your steps constantly active. Even if you never engage in stick fighting, this type of training builds strong movement habits that carry over into all aspects of combat.

When moving to the side while striking, aim for approximately a 30-degree angle off-center rather than a convenient 45-degree angle. At 45 degrees, you have not truly closed the distance. A slightly forward-biased angle allows you to both advance and generate more forward force through your step, enhancing the effectiveness of your strike.

Picking Targets

There are similarities yet important differences between bare-hand self-defense and stick or weapon-based fighting. Two of the most critical differences are distance management and target selection.

You must maintain a greater distance due to your opponent’s potential reach advantage. At this longer range, it becomes easier to adopt a “sniper-style” approach: strike, then disengage. This allows you to frustrate an opponent who does not share the same reach.

In bare-hand situations, targeting the opponent’s hand typically does not cause sufficient damage to stop them. However, with a stick, accuracy and speed can make hand targeting highly effective. A quick, forceful strike to the weapon-holding hand—especially the knuckles—can be enough to disarm your opponent.

SCENARIOS

First Disarm Technique

It seems like it is quite complex when you try to the entire move all at once. So we break it into parts. Your opponent is doing a number one strike to your left elbow:

• Block and swipe under his arm to strike at his arm or ribs while left hand grab his stick sliding close to the end of his stick, right after the block
• Snake the stick from under over and across opponent’s forearm forming a cross over his forearm
• Left hand swipe down and around in anti-clockwise, while right hand lift the butt side up slightly to create a pivot point. The resulting leverage will force him to let go of his stick and now you have both stick.

EXERCISES

Swinging the stick is important. You must practice also the stepping, the evasive moves, the level change.

Try to see what you can salvage from memory about the disarm. .

SIDE NOTES

Aside from teaching Seniors’ Self-Defense, I also have a group of students who practice LiuHeBaFa—the martial art I consider my “home” style. As part of our training, we practice push hands to develop sensitivity and refine body mechanics.

We competed in Richmond on May 9th. You can read more about it on Facebook—find me at MartialGym Facebook Page or visit the club’s page at LHBF MartialGym Facebook Page.