My TSA approved improvised weapon choice.......

[Kung Fu Wang]

I like to carry 2 Baoding balls with me. I can hold in my hands to make 2 solid fists. I can also throw at someone from a far distance if needed (I was a junior high school baseball team pitcher).

I'm pretty sure it's 100% legal to carry it.

When you hold it like this, your opponent will run away.

 

[Jared Traveler]

You are assuming the one uses the cane is not as good as you. But what if the opponent uses the cane is an expert also, you think you can get in and do grappling that easy?

The way I see it is you have to compare two people with similar skill. Then the one with the cane will have a much longer reach than bare knuckle or even a knife, that the one with the cane can hit the bare knuckle before he has any chance to close in. It's no point talking about two people with very different level of skill.

That's the reason I made it very clear that one cannot just carry a cane and assume they can fight. Like I said, I've been practicing for a year and half already. I am no where good, but at least I paid the dues and keep practicing. The worst is someone carrying and don't know how to use it.

I am not trying to convince you one way or the other. If you don't like it, it's your choice. I just cannot imagine two people of same skill level, one either bare hand or even a pocket knife can win over one with a cane. REMEMBER, they are at SAME skill level.

If it's two people with similar skills, in my opinion it's going to quickly turn into a wrestling match over the cane. Or one person is going to nullify the cane, and use their free hand to strike the opponent who has both hands on the stick. I'm not saying you can't damage somebody with it, you certainly can. I once saw someone get five or six stitches, because their 12 year old daughter sitting in the backseat of the car hit them in the head with a plastic toy from McDonald's. So you can certainly do damage, but having both hands occupied holding a stick is not the best way to grapple. For me it's more of a liability than an asset, because it's not a good grappling weapon or a great striking weapon. I also think most people that carrier came for self-defense are not super confident fighters. I don't mean that as an indictment I just am talking in general terms.

 

[Alan0354]

If it's two people with similar skills, in my opinion it's going to quickly turn into a wrestling match over the cane. Or one person is going to nullify the cane, and use their free hand to strike the opponent who has both hands on the stick. I'm not saying you can't damage somebody with it, you certainly can. I once saw someone get five or six stitches, because their 12 year old daughter sitting in the backseat of the car hit them in the head with a plastic toy from McDonald's. So you can certainly do damage, but having both hands occupied holding a stick is not the best way to grapple. For me it's more of a liability than an asset, because it's not a good grappling weapon or a great striking weapon. I also think most people that carrier came for self-defense are not super confident fighters. I don't mean that as an indictment I just am talking in general terms.

I for one is not confident, that's why I carry a cane. But what is the chance the attacker is an expert of grappling like you? For someone with only my skill of bare knuckle fight, I am sure I can beat him with my cane.

The one with cane can move, not just being grab by you. I particular practice striking at the knee instead of to the head just to prevent the guy from grabbing the cane. I try to hit low, beyond the reach of the hands. Using the extra reach to hit the knee or calf. I want to slow down his mobility.

I might be wrong, try to hit the head entails a lot of risk. It's natural for him to reach up to block and grab the cane, then it will go into tuck of war or worst. Go for the knee, slow the mobility, then worry about other things, or just run away.

I also practice hit low then hit the head. Idea is when I hit the leg, the natural reflex of him is to reach down, the head will be open for me to strike. I don't have people to practice, I keep my practice very simple. Just hit, hit HARD. No fancy stuff, just hit hard. I mix in kicks also as my legs are free.

 

[Jared Traveler]

I for one is not confident, that's why I carry a cane. But what is the chance the attacker is an expert of grappling like you? For someone with only my skill of bare knuckle fight, I am sure I can beat him with my cane.

Perhaps you can. Certainly not saying you can't, I'm just saying I don't find it to be an efficient striking weapon myself.

Regardless if they're skilled grappler or not, if I'm using it as a striking weapon, I think there's a high probability I'm going to end up in a grappling match, even if I'm the superior grappler.

This leaves me with a weapon that I don't really prefer to strike with, and don't prefer to grapple with either.

 

[Alan0354]

Did you see my post about using the same idea as padlock and cloth, but instead to be so obvious, use a set of keys on a chain. Hook to the belt of the pants like in the older days people hang a watch and put in the pocket. You put enough keys, it's going to hurt hitting. AND more importantly, that will NOT draw attention. It's so obvious if you carry a padlock on a cloth!!!

If that suits you, it's definitely better than tactical pen or brass knuckle. I still believe in longer reach means everything. Grappling can only work one on one, what if there are more than one attacker?

But again, you need even more practice swinging the keys than cane. I just afraid it might hit me back if I don't know how to swing the key(or the padlock). Do you know how to do it?

Maybe I should wear a helmet and try hitting the heavy bags with keys on the chain and see.

 

[Jared Traveler]

Did you see my post about using the same idea as padlock and cloth, but instead to be so obvious, use a set of keys on a chain. Hook to the belt of the pants like in the older days people hand a watch and put in the pocket. You put enough keys, it's going to hurt hitting. AND more importantly, that will NOT draw attention. It's so obvious if you carry a padlock on a cloth!!!

If that suits you, it's definitely better than tactical pen or brass knuckle. I still believe in longer reach means everything. Grappling can only work one on one, what if there are more than one attacker?

But again, you need even more practice swinging the keys than cane. I just afraid it might hit me back in I don't know how to swing the key(or the padlock). Do you know how to do it?

Maybe I should wear a helmet and try hitting the heavy bags with keys on the chain and see.

I think it's worth exploring. I think it would take a lot of keys to have the same hard hitting impact as a padlock. Probably more than I would want to carry. With that said, I have never chosen to carry a pad lock in this fashion, I'm just aware that it exists as an option. A pretty simple and brutal option.

 

[Alan0354]

I think it's worth exploring. I think it would take a lot of keys to have the same hard hitting impact as a padlock. Probably more than I would want to carry. With that said, I have never chosen to carry a pad lock in this fashion, I'm just aware that it exists as an option. A pretty simple and brutal option.

Yeh, it's just compare between padlock and keys.

I edited my post #23 on cane after you responded. Did you see the part I practice hitting the knee on my first strike instead of the head and the upper body? What do you think the way to avoid people grabbing the cane.

 

[Jared Traveler]

Yeh, it's just compare between padlock and keys.

I edited my post #23 on cane after you responded. Did you see the part I practice hitting the knee on my first strike instead of the head and the upper body? What do you think the way to avoid people grabbing the cane.

My thoughts on the cane would be, if you're carrying a cane for legitimate health reasons, by all means learn how to use it as a defensive weapon as best as possible. I think that's just smart.

Regarding carrying it when you don't need it, I think it's important not to overestimate the utility, and superiority that the cane might hypothetically give you. Again I think it has serious limitations. One limitation being how much room you need to swing that thing, and how you typically have very little room when fighting in hallways, living rooms, airplanes, wherever you're in a real self-defense situation.

Understand that you are now employing a lethal force weapon, that changes the dynamic of when the cane can be used, and when it can't be used. But now you have it so it's a factor in almost any engagement you get into. In some ways turning every confrontation into a situation where it's potentially lethal. Or at least it may legitimately be viewed that way by law enforcement.

If you're going to use it I would make a serious study of kendo or kenjutsu. I think that would be the best way to employ the cane myself. As far as hitting the knee, this could certainly be done precisely, using blade deception found in kendo training. Of course this requires a lot of room to swing a weapon like that, you're just as likely to hit an innocent person nearby trying to employ these techniques on an airplane or any type of space in a real environment. What happens after you hit somebody in the knee, depends on multiple factors.

You might cripple them, or you might be off by an inch, but still cause enough pain to get them to back away. Of course that pain could also motivate them to move forward and grab a hold of the cane before you have a chance to retract it for a second strike.

So many factors here, but I think the main thing would be if I personally was going to carry a cane, I would seriously study how to use it, avoiding almost all of the fancy grappling techniques, although I'm sure some of them could work. And I would rely on my grappling skills to retain the cane, and or get it back if someone took it from me.

I think someone holding a cane could be a legitimate deterrence, and cause someone not to attack in the first place. This I believe.

 

[Alan0354]

You confirm a lot of my fear and where I concentrate in practicing. I practice a lot in hallway and in room with a lot of furniture. I learn how to change the length of the cane by holding it more towards the middle and change the length of the cane to suit the situation. I even hang a weighted and deflated speed bag and practice hitting at the very bottom. When it swing, it is hard to even hit it so I miss on and off. The point is to learn to hold onto the stick if I miss and not let the cane fly off my hands. I don't practice any fancy moves, just hit the bottom of the heavy bag, concentrate in using body and arm to hit as hard as possible with a heavy cane and pull back quickly after hitting.

For close distance, I practice a lot of poking instead of swinging. It is hard to grab the cane when I do poking straight in and out. Also, I combine kicks to the knee, WC step kick to the knee to add to the cane. So in case the cane got grabbed, I kick to the leg.

I spent a lot of time practice casting where I hold the cane close to body, I swing at the same time reach out to hit. Then I pull back fast. I actually practice hitting with the same strike repeatedly. Meaning say I hit the right knee, I put back the stick quickly and hit the right knee again repeatly. I don't just swing from right to left, then left to right. I practice hit and pull back hard so I don't over reach.

Yes, confined space fighting is the key. I decided not to go learn like escrima or other stick fight because their techniques are for competition that you have a wide space and you can swing wild. That will not work in real life situation. I concentrate on fighting in confined space.

I am glad you mention these, that I am concentrate in the right place.

as for lethal force, hey it's better than using a knife. That is more lethal. I am not going out to look for a fight. If I have to use the cane, it's for self defense. At least it's not as lethal as knife.

 

[Jared Traveler]

You confirm a lot of my fear and where I concentrate in practicing. I practice a lot in hallway and in room with a lot of furniture. I learn how to change the length of the cane by holding it more towards the middle and change the length of the cane to suit the situation. I even hang a weighted and deflated speed bag and practice hitting at the very bottom. When it swing, it is hard to even hit it so I miss on and off. The point is to learn to hold onto the stick if I miss and not let the cane fly off my hands. I don't practice any fancy moves, just hit the bottom of the heavy bag, concentrate in using body and arm to hit as hard as possible with a heavy cane and pull back quickly after hitting.

For close distance, I practice a lot of poking instead of swinging. It is hard to grab the cane when I do poking straight in and out. Also, I combine kicks to the knee, WC step kick to the knee to add to the cane. So in case the cane got grabbed, I kick to the leg.

I spent a lot of time practice casting where I hold the cane close to body, I swing at the same time reach out to hit. Then I pull back fast. I actually practice hitting with the same strike repeatedly. Meaning say I hit the right knee, I put back the stick quickly and hit the right knee again repeatly. I don't just swing from right to left, then left to right. I practice hit and pull back hard so I don't over reach.

Yes, confined space fighting is the key. I decided not to go learn like escrima or other stick fight because their techniques are for competition that you have a wide space and you can swing wild. That will not work in real life situation. I concentrate on fighting in confined space.

I am glad you mention these, that I am concentrate in the right place.

as for lethal force, hey it's better than using a knife. That is more lethal. I am not going out to look for a fight. If I have to use the cane, it's for self defense. At least it's not as lethal as knife.

I think the more striking and grappling skills you have, the better your chances are of using the cane successfully. Cane retention would be a major focus of my training, until I was confident I could keep the cane if someone wanted to take it from me.

Also if I'm confident at disarming someone with a cane and mitigating their attacks, then it's unlikely they can hurt me with my own cane.

I just feel this all requires a higher degree of training and skill than people realize. I think many people chose the cane because they think it is a shortcut, or a simple solution to having a solid tool to defend themselves with.

I honestly wish them the best of luck, I hope they are able to disable an attacker easily using their cane if needed.

 

[Alan0354]

I think the more striking and grappling skills you have, the better your chances are of using the cane successfully. Cane retention would be a major focus of my training, until I was confident I could keep the cane if someone wanted to take it from me.

Also if I'm confident at disarming someone with a cane and mitigating their attacks, then it's unlikely they can hurt me with my own cane.

I just feel this all requires a higher degree of training and skill than people realize. I think many people chose the cane because they think it is a shortcut, or a simple solution to having a solid tool to defend themselves with.

I honestly wish them the best of luck, I hope they are able to disable an attacker easily using their cane if needed.

No, I take it very serious in practicing the cane. I am not that good in MA and cane. I am not a beginner, but nothing like you. I am doing my best. I try thinking of all the real life situation instead of all the fancy stuffs. I am glad I am not out there,that my worry and concentration is valid.

I am too old to worry about being that good, just do the best I can.

 

[Alan0354]

I don't want to hijack your thread. Let's get back to what you want. You have to go through airport, your option is really limited.

Your steel water bottle is one. I still think the keys with chain is a valid possibility. If you have 6 keys, that's quite a bit of weight. Problem is you really have to practice with that. More so than cane. If you are not careful, you can hit yourself!!! You can think also pants belt with a big brass so you can pull the belt out and swing with the brass as the head.

Those tactical pen or even the brass knuckle are not that effective in my book as you don't get extra reach. Pepper spray and stun gun is out of the question for airport. It is kind of funny to carry a long flash light onto the plane!!!

 

[Jared Traveler]

I don't want to hijack your thread. Let's get back to what you want. You have to go through airport, your option is really limited.

Your steel water bottle is one. I still think the keys with chain is a valid possibility. If you have 6 keys, that's quite a bit of weight. Problem is you really have to practice with that. More so than cane. If you are not careful, you can hit yourself!!! You can think also pants belt with a big brass so you can pull the belt out and swing with the brass as the head.

Those tactical pen or even the brass knuckle are not that effective in my book as you don't get extra reach. Pepper spray and stun gun is out of the question for airport.

I think the keys idea has potential. I would want to test it, striking something to give me an idea on how much of an impact it will make. I don't think it would take as much practice as you think. Mainly because with a handkerchief, it's such a short rope that you're holding on to. The longer the rope, or the cloth, the more skilled it would be required. But with a handkerchief the striking object should only be hanging a few inches from your hand. As a novice you can choke up on it and make the length shorter.

 

[Alan0354]

Well, if you put it inside the check in case, you can think of a long flash light. Then when you leave the airport, just carry on the belt. Plenty of tactical flashlight around, better than water bottle. Just that if you try to carry it on you, they might question you why such a big flash light. You might open yourself to more option. Things you cannot carry on the plane with you, but in the suit case.

 

[Jared Traveler]

Well, if you put it inside the check in case, you can think of a long flash light. Then when you leave the airport, just carry on the belt. Plenty of tactical flashlight around, better than water bottle. Just that if you try to carry it on you, they might question you why such a big flash light. You might open yourself to more option. Things you cannot carry on the plane with you, but in the suit case.

I have been to some pretty advanced low light courses, regarding using flashlights and a tactical environment. I do carry a tactical flashlight in my bag. And by tactical flashlight I mean one that has enough lumens to get the job done. Also one with a good striking surface. It is not a large flashlight though.

I worked in the dark for many many years doing a lot of crazy and wild stuff. The flashlight was definitely always in demand, and always useful. Without a doubt the best thing to use against an aggressive dog as a first line of defense.

With that said, I'm rarely going to walk around with a tactical flashlight in my hand when traveling. I'm certainly not going to walk around with a large flashlight in my hand in the middle of the day. Or often at night either. However the water bottle blends in no matter where I am, and I would much rather have that in my hand as a striking weapon than a flashlight.

 

[punisher73]

I've always carried something similar to this in my front shirt pocket. I like the flat end so I can hold and place my thumb on top to reinforce for stabbing. Never understood the "tactical pen" trend. It just looked like a weapon that could write.

Water bottle is a great idea (just remember to keep it empty until after the screening process).

Getting a big magazine (harder to get nowadays) and rolling it up tight is another one.

 

[wab25]

Those tactical pen or even the brass knuckle are not that effective in my book as you don't get extra reach.

So, you are basing effectiveness on the amount of extra reach? You should forget the cane, and carry a Jo or hiking stick... more reach. Well, just carry a Bo... it is hard to get more reach than a 6 foot Bo.... The Bo must then be the most effective.

The issue here is that you are assuming the attacker will announce his intentions to attack you from ten feet away... allowing you to begin the fight with enough distance to use your cane... and you are assuming that you will keep your cane, that he won't take it away.

Not every attack happens that way. Many times the attack happens when the attacker is already very close to you... you might not know that you are being attacked until you are being grabbed or hit.

Pens can be easily carried in a pocket. You can easily get one from a pocket and stab with it very quickly, and in close quarters. You can use it to stab the hand that is grabbing you, choking you or trying to take away your cane. You can also stab face, neck, ribs, legs, arms... and the hard pointy pen will do more damage than hitting with your hand.

I am not saying to get rid of your cane. But, its cheap enough to also put a pen in your pocket. As long as it is not a "tactical" pen... security will ignore it, as will your attacker... Start by using your cane, if the attack starts at distance. If the attacker gets inside, grabs your cane or you... stab him with the pen.... repeatedly.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Extra over 10" of reach also. I particularly practice hitting with two hands like the Japanese sword.

No, you do not. You practice hitting with two hands like a baseball bat. Because a cane is a blunt weapon that relies on mass, that is the correct way to swing it. The Japanese sword is a slicing swing. Because that is the correct way to swing it.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I don't like canes for multiple reasons. Primarily I think they are extremely overrated as an effect tool.

LOL. No. They are quite excellent. But you have to know how to use one.

It's a stick. A stick is the oldest weapon known to man, predating everything but maybe a BFR.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

No, you do not. You practice hitting with two hands like a baseball bat. Because a cane is a blunt weapon that relies on mass, that is the correct way to swing it. The Japanese sword is a slicing swing. Because that is the correct way to swing it.

I like poking, tripping, trapping, choking, and dragging the tip through eyes and ears and groins more than swinging a cane like a baseball bat. I love canes.