# Ironwood or Rattan



## masherdong (Jan 26, 2007)

Hello everyone,

I was wondering which one would be better for stick-to-stick contact.  Which one will hold up longer?  Ironwood or Rattan?  Palm wood or Hardwood?  Any help is appreciated.


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## Carol (Jan 26, 2007)

Personally I like Rattan.

Its harder to maintain, and frays easier, but rattan does a better job of absorbing impact instead of transferring the impact in to your body.  

Plus...nothing beats that really cool "burning rattan" smell when you really get going with it


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## masherdong (Jan 26, 2007)

So, with rattan is it better to get it with or without the skin on?  Burning smell??


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## Carol (Jan 26, 2007)

masherdong said:


> So, with rattan is it better to get it with or without the skin on? Burning smell??


 
I don't understand what you mean when you say skin on?  

As for the burning rattan smell...you'll get to experience it for yourself once you start pounding sticks.  There's nothing else quite like it


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## crushing (Jan 26, 2007)

Carol Kaur said:


> Personally I like Rattan.
> 
> Its harder to maintain, and frays easier, but rattan does a better job of absorbing impact instead of transferring the impact in to your body.
> 
> Plus...nothing beats that really cool "burning rattan" smell when you really get going with it


 

Is there a resource on maintaining the sticks?  I was just reading a Remy Presas book and it looks like his sticks are taped.  Do you tape them?

I bought some cheap sticks, but I would still like them to last a little while.

Thanks!


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## Carol (Jan 26, 2007)

crushing said:


> Is there a resource on maintaining the sticks? I was just reading a Remy Presas book and it looks like his sticks are taped. Do you tape them?
> 
> I bought some cheap sticks, but I would still like them to last a little while.
> 
> Thanks!


 
Mine aren't taped, but one of my pairs is on the verge of fraying.  Once it does, I'll tape it up.  

Brian Van Cise mentioned on a different thread that he still has all of the sticks that he's ever purchased, once they start to fray he just keeps taping them.  I think he said he had several that were taped from end to end      Nothing wrong with that though, they still serve their purpose


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## tellner (Jan 27, 2007)

Tiel has said she's going to bottle the burning rattan smell and sell it to the wives of eskrimadors. Sometimes it's the only thing, she says, that will lure a stick jock to bed 

Back to the original question...

I prefer rattan. The dens, hard woods don't absorb much impact or vibration. They transmit it to your hand. They chip and shatter. Rattan just gets mushy. And a lot of them, like ironwood, african hard wood and makassar ebony are endangered. By buying them you're hastening their extinction.


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## Tarot (Jan 27, 2007)

Rattan for everyday training and stick smacking.  Honestly?  I don't think I would smack sticks against someone with ironwood sticks.  I wouldn't trust them not to hit me in the head or something.  

Skin on, seems to last a little bit longer.  I tape my when they start to get mushy and fray.  It helps them last longer and also for saftey reasons.  I've been in an arm bar with a frayed stick and I can tell you it wasn't the arm bar that hurt.   Frayed sticks can give people splinters.  And if not taped, when doing drills pieces can start to fall off.

I do have a pair of ironwood sticks that I use for conditioning.  They are heavy and using them while going through different stikes help strengthen forearms, wrists, and shoulders.


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## Makalakumu (Jan 27, 2007)

We use rattan in class because it is lighter and safer and it does absorb impact better.  It is kind a pain when it starts to fray, but that just comes with the territory.

When I practice on my own, I use hardwood.  Typically, I try to find something that is twice to three times as heavy as what I'm using in class.  This builds up alot of muscle and it really increases my speed when I go lighter.  

I would NOT recommend using hardwood for partner drills.  If you make a mistake, you'll probably break something.


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## Brian R. VanCise (Jan 27, 2007)

I would not recommend using ironwood, kamagong or any hardwood sticks when doing stick on stick drills. Hardwood sticks shatter when they break potentially having a jagged piece flying through the air. I use my kamagong sticks for condiditioning and work in the air. (they are certainly what I would use in real combat though I probably would choose my ASP expandable baton first) 

Rattan is an almost perfect training stick in that it very rarely shatters and instead splinters. It has great vibrational dissipation and that also helps save wear and tear on your hands, wrists and forearms. Plus once they start to fray you can tape them and they will be usuable for years to come. I personally use renfro cloth hockey tape. It is slightly abrasive on the hands the first few times you practice with them but that goes away quickly. The cloth absorbs the sweat and the sticks are not slippery in your hands. I have done this for a long, long, long time and I literally have tons of sticks. I woud stay away from electricians tape, duct tape, etc as they get slippery and that is something that just is not needed when training. Hope that helps.


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## Rich Parsons (Jan 27, 2007)

Brian R. VanCise said:


> I would not recommend using ironwood, kamagong or any hardwood sticks when doing stick on stick drills. Hardwood sticks shatter when they break potentially having a jagged piece flying through the air. I use my kamagong sticks for condiditioning and work in the air. (they are certainly what I would use in real combat though I probably would choose my ASP expandable baton first)
> 
> Rattan is an almost perfect training stick in that it very rarely shatters and instead splinters. It has great vibrational dissipation and that also helps save wear and tear on your hands, wrists and forearms. Plus once they start to fray you can tape them and they will be usuable for years to come. I personally use renfro cloth hockey tape. It is slightly abrasive on the hands the first few times you practice with them but that goes away quickly. The cloth absorbs the sweat and the sticks are not slippery in your hands. I have done this for a long, long, long time and I literally have tons of sticks. I woud stay away from electricians tape, duct tape, etc as they get slippery and that is something that just is not needed when training. Hope that helps.




I agree with Brian on this. 

For practice and training I really like Rattan. If you have some real nice heavy hardwoods that you use to solo practice with this is fine. When you go back to the rattan it will feel lighter. 


I do not have all of my old sticks. I do tape them. But sometimes even with tape the insides turn to dust so then the bend. I have untaped some of these and burned them in mnemory of the training and those that were able to learn the knowledge before me and then bring to the point where I could learn it.


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## masherdong (Jan 28, 2007)

So, what does everyone think about Bahi sticks?


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## Brian R. VanCise (Jan 28, 2007)

masherdong said:


> So, what does everyone think about Bahi sticks?


 
They are okay.  Good for training by themselves but I do not use them for *hard *stick to stick drills.   However for solo drills they are great!


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## Rattan_Bridge108 (Jan 31, 2007)

I like Smak sticks for sparing and heavy rattan for 2 man.  I really dont care for light rattan at all.  Alot people just swing there limbs with out moving there center.  Bahi wood and cocobolo rock!  The heavier the better.  It really helps you train to use your whole body not just your limbs.  They will crack so 2 man isnt the best idea.  But sometimes you just gotta do it.  Kali crazy, I dont know how to explain it.  Oh yeah I just broke a bahi stick hitting one of those heavy duty boxes that hold Dell network computers.  Who would of thunk.


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## INDYFIGHTER (Feb 1, 2007)

I have a pair of black synthetic sticks.  They seem pretty indistructable.  Other than being heavy which I don't mind so much, they trasfer a little more vibration than the rattan but it's not excessive.  My old instructor really liked them.


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## K Williams (Feb 2, 2007)

Rattan that still has the outer skin on will last longer, and is stronger. Tape the sticks when the inner fibers start to show. This happen when that outer skin starts to break down. Use gaffer's tape, electrician's tape, or duct tape.


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