I don't like Kali Sticks

[SummerStriker]

I did kali for about 5 years, and continued to do the hand trapping and trying to work it into MMA sparring for a long time after that.

I don't feel like the stick fighting is applicable to very much. It doesn't seem like people get attacked by anything either as short or as light as a kali stick - that can be handled like a stick.

You know, the ancient Roman soldiers used to train with swords that were twice as heavy as an actual sword, to build up their ability to handle the force of a real fight. It seems like modern kali is the opposite of that.

A kali stick is about 6 inches shorter and about 1/8th the weight of a baseball bat. Any sort of retrada footwork you do based on your training distance is just going to walk your face into the sweet spot - not to mention that no one is preparing for anything close to the weight of a bat swinging around.

Opinions? Solutions?

 

[Big Dick Cheney**]

Get a bigger stick.

 

[SummerStriker]

Get a bigger stick.

Ha well, I did used to have a great loner stick where I was training - "The Bathroom Bar." It was clear plastic, about 4 times as heavy as a normal kali stick. I did all of my shadow boxing with it and I'm sure it made me much better.

 

[Winbot]

There are very few things that can prepare your hands for the actual forces involved in a fight with melee weapons. These days you really cant argue for the benefit of training with them as a real means of self defense, its purely a hobby and I would concur that it translates to little else unless sheer grip strength is what you are looking for. I guess if you were to learn to use any of them I would recommend a baton because its more of a speedy offensive weapon that isn't really meant to be used for any sort of parrying so the philosophy and design of the things is probably more relevant these days.

 

[barnowl]

The stick was used as a saftey replacement for the light fillipino swords. And is a still a good replacement for alot of the tac. folders if you use shorter sticks. Kali/escrima is an edge art not an empty hand art.

 

[JusticeMonkey]

The hand-eye reflexes translate to other things. You are training the neurons in your brain to be faster, kinda. The same way fencing kinda relates to boxing (the way Bruce Lee and other turn of the century boxers wrote about it).

So, NO, it's not really practical in and of itself. Sticks/ Weight/ Foot work; all you say is true.

It can still be fun, though. And it relates more to fighting than throwing a Frisbee does.

 

[Fire of Youth]

I have kali sticks made out of Spotted Gum. They are much heavier and very solid. They could block a baseball bat easily.

 

[SummerStriker]

I have kali sticks made out of Spotted Gum. They are much heavier and very solid. They could block a baseball bat easily.

I would LOVE to see that. If you have a camera, can you get one of your friends to close his eyes and t-off with the bat like he's breaking a pinata. Then you step in and block it on the sweet spot, holding the kali stick with both hands.

 

[cajun2099]

Kali has different ranges and different weapons varying in length and weight I dont see how you can say you dont like them when you must have only done a small percentage of whats out there? Its like only learning jab cross with linear foot work and saying I dont like boxing

 

[Winbot]

I have kali sticks made out of Spotted Gum. They are much heavier and very solid. They could block a baseball bat easily.

I have seen people with similar sentiments about their swords, usually a swift blade on blade with a 1.5 meter long sword shuts that notion down pretty quick. When it comes to striking weapons the heavier weapon will almost always win in a situation where blocking is necessitated. Light weapons generally were not designed for blocking, the Gladius, the rapier etc were all designed as fast weapons to be used to strike an enemy before he could get an attack off, not to parry an enemy attack. The rapier's slim profile for instance was designed partially to make the blade very difficult for an opponent to parry offensively, its comparatively light weight made it so the user could get his blade out of the way of another quickly to allow for quick follow up thrusts.

 

[tstriker]

I have several pairs of sticks that range in weight and function. Ironwood sticks are heavy and can be ordered long for training. The dog brothers have thicker and longer sticks available. A buddy of mine uses cut down axe handles. Don't limit yourself to sparring sticks.

 

[Munki Fist]

Try a set of Kamagong or Bahi sticks.

 

[computer fogie]

Someone (I don't remember who) makes sticks out of very heavy and strong exotic woods. The strongest wood of all, as far as I know, is Lignum Vitae. It's also the heaviest, and would make a fantastic defensive weapon in the appropriate length and thickness.

 

[D Train]

My stick is thicker and longer.


















Come on, someone had to say it.

 

[pseudo genki]

Keep in mind that a lot of the Kali/Escrima masters who brought the art over from the Philippines were around 5' and 100 lbs. The optimal size stick for them isn't the same as for you (I'm guessing low 200s based on a vague recollection of F11 posts). Something like this might be better suited to your frame.
http://dogbrothersgear.com/Tools-of-the-Trade/Salty-Dog-Model.html

That said, for self-defense purposes, I pretty much agree with this rant about sticks vs clubs.

 

[CarbonFistprint]

I have a Kali background. All things considered, I'll carry a knife most often.

I like stick training because if I'm caught without a weapon, whatever junk laying around will have to do, and it may take the form of a stick. I have four sets of escrima sticks, carbon fiber (super light but really just for demonstrating moves at high speed), rattan for practice (go through sets of them about twice a year) waxwood for seminars and such, they're prettier and not too heavy, and a pair of ironwood ones I could crack a skull with.

I also made some training sticks out of PVC filled with lead shot. Heavy as hell and a really good upper body workout just swinging them for a short time.

And I keep a billy club turned from a two-foot chunk of cocobolo by the door, in case of unwelcome visitors. I could bash in a car door with it.

I think stick work is lke knife work or open hand work. It improves your coordination, speed, and strength in general, and also specifically with the weapon form you're training. I suppose stick work could be dropped from my training but I think it's nice to be well-rounded.

An added plus is watching someone who is really good working with a tool like a pair of escrima sticks. I've taken seminars from teachers like Dan Inosanto and it's cool just as an art form. I'm not nearly on that level but it's fun just to drill something and get better at it, even if it's not the most practical in the real world.