Next to a pistol or rifle, which is a more formidable weapon... a walking cane or a knife? With a couple of exceptions, I posit that the most effective self-defense weapon is the one that you have with you when the threat appears and that you know how to use.
Plus, my cane is protected under the 1994 ADA Act, and authorities can’t even inquire about the nature of my infirmity. I carry my cane on every flight here and abroad, inside government buildings, court rooms, etc.
I’m 74 years old and very fit. I earned my black belt in Tae-Kwon-Do while serving with the Korean marines in Vietnam in 1969. Three years ago I began training at the American Cane Self Defense (ACSD) school in Miami under Grand Master Joe Robaina.... one of only two grand masters active in the US. I train 3 hours privately each week with GM Joe, and another hour nightly in my gym. I am already certified as a cane instructor, and expect to receive my “black sash” in freestyle cane fighting this year.
Our canes are formidable weapons/works of art, are carved from Hickory or Oak, and weigh a bit less than two pounds. When the cane is spinning over your head, the tip is moving st 200 MPH. Even casual contact with bone... wrist, fingers, hand, elbow, knee, or ankle breaks bones instantly. A defensive strike to the head or groin could be fatal and must be avoided. Though it may not appear intuitive, the bent horn of the cane is what provides the ability to spin it at such high rates of speed. The same can not be said, for a walking stick, and as such it is much less useful.
A bad guy misidentifying an elderly person with a cane as a soft target will be surprised and find himself walking into a hardened oak buzz saw.
One of the most inciteful demonstrations by GM Joe is when he pitts a new student wearing a white tee shirt against a seasoned instructor armed with a broad tip Sharpie. It only takes a few seconds for the student to be covered in simulated puncture wounds. Then, the same student, who has never held a cane, is given a three minutes of private instruction to perform a simple figure-8 defensive movement with the cane.
When placed back in the ring, the student is almost always able to hold their own and fend off the attack long enough to get away.
I’m including a couple of links to GM Robaina, and another to Mark Shuey who runs an equally respected school for cane self defense in Nevada. The difference between the schools is essentially that GM Joe has a tactical street-wise approach throughout his training… where GM Shuey focuses on using the cane in martial arts exhibits, etc.
See GM Joe:
See GM Shuey in a longer, but excellent cane overview:
In closing.... I’d prefer a cane over any bladed weapon, short of a sword... but with the impracticality of walking around with a sword, it’s not a fair comparison. Where he gets murky… would be if going against a machete.(Recent London machete attacks?) A machete can be wielded in a very similar manner to a cane, and when it comes at you in a figure 8 pattern it would be scary sight. However, your purpose is to defend yourself and get out of there. And once again, it’s highly unlikely anyone would be walking around with a machete other than in “Londonstan”.
I welcome any thoughts or questions. Thanks,
Keith
Plus, my cane is protected under the 1994 ADA Act, and authorities can’t even inquire about the nature of my infirmity. I carry my cane on every flight here and abroad, inside government buildings, court rooms, etc.
I’m 74 years old and very fit. I earned my black belt in Tae-Kwon-Do while serving with the Korean marines in Vietnam in 1969. Three years ago I began training at the American Cane Self Defense (ACSD) school in Miami under Grand Master Joe Robaina.... one of only two grand masters active in the US. I train 3 hours privately each week with GM Joe, and another hour nightly in my gym. I am already certified as a cane instructor, and expect to receive my “black sash” in freestyle cane fighting this year.
Our canes are formidable weapons/works of art, are carved from Hickory or Oak, and weigh a bit less than two pounds. When the cane is spinning over your head, the tip is moving st 200 MPH. Even casual contact with bone... wrist, fingers, hand, elbow, knee, or ankle breaks bones instantly. A defensive strike to the head or groin could be fatal and must be avoided. Though it may not appear intuitive, the bent horn of the cane is what provides the ability to spin it at such high rates of speed. The same can not be said, for a walking stick, and as such it is much less useful.
A bad guy misidentifying an elderly person with a cane as a soft target will be surprised and find himself walking into a hardened oak buzz saw.
One of the most inciteful demonstrations by GM Joe is when he pitts a new student wearing a white tee shirt against a seasoned instructor armed with a broad tip Sharpie. It only takes a few seconds for the student to be covered in simulated puncture wounds. Then, the same student, who has never held a cane, is given a three minutes of private instruction to perform a simple figure-8 defensive movement with the cane.
When placed back in the ring, the student is almost always able to hold their own and fend off the attack long enough to get away.
I’m including a couple of links to GM Robaina, and another to Mark Shuey who runs an equally respected school for cane self defense in Nevada. The difference between the schools is essentially that GM Joe has a tactical street-wise approach throughout his training… where GM Shuey focuses on using the cane in martial arts exhibits, etc.
See GM Joe:
See GM Shuey in a longer, but excellent cane overview:
In closing.... I’d prefer a cane over any bladed weapon, short of a sword... but with the impracticality of walking around with a sword, it’s not a fair comparison. Where he gets murky… would be if going against a machete.(Recent London machete attacks?) A machete can be wielded in a very similar manner to a cane, and when it comes at you in a figure 8 pattern it would be scary sight. However, your purpose is to defend yourself and get out of there. And once again, it’s highly unlikely anyone would be walking around with a machete other than in “Londonstan”.
I welcome any thoughts or questions. Thanks,
Keith
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