General advice on baseball bat combat?

Zombocalypse

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I don't own a gun, nor do I desire to. For home self-defense, I got myself an aluminum bat. So, I guess aside from flailing it against would-be aggressors in worst-case scenarios, can a martial art be formed around this weapon? Are there guidelines for combat with this kind of weapon?

Honestly, I love my bat. It's my own treasure. It's aluminum alloy and feels like it can crush a tank when it's in my hands. lol.

Thanks.
 
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Zombocalypse

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Learn to use a Bokken like in aikido.

Oh gosh, another possible inaccessible martial art. lol. Maybe if I find an aikido school somewhere close.

In my area, it's really just BJJ, Judo, MMA, and Taekwondo. There is, unfortunately, not much variety. I'm gonna have to really check to see if that's accessible close by.
 
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Zombocalypse

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Yeah. Like Judo is such a viewer draw card.

Oh it is! It's an Olympic sport with Olympic-level athletes competing internationally! As a matter of fact, Ronda Rousey herself was a silver medalist in Judo before she became a force in the UFC.
 
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Zombocalypse

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People.

It would be boring if the folks here in Martial Talk are the only ones to talk to about it. On the other hand, popular sports have a huge fan base. It’s fun watching people argue about popular sports stuff with a passion.

Years ago, people called me a “powerlifter” for doing the Olympic lifts. Nowadays, after Olympic lifting became more popular, people started knowing what I was doing in the gym. It’s progress. It’s also a lot more fun because I no longer have to explain to people that there is no such thing as a deadlift in the Olympics.
 
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Zombocalypse

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I can't tell if you're showing that to me as a joke or as a serious answer. Who exactly is that guy? I can tolerate lack of charisma if the information he's giving is legit. No offense to him, and I do hope he doesn't read this.
 

punisher73

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I can't tell if you're showing that to me as a joke or as a serious answer. Who exactly is that guy? I can tolerate lack of charisma if the information he's giving is legit. No offense to him, and I do hope he doesn't read this.

Not as a joke. He is really trying to show how to use a baseball bat for fighting. He shows ways to use the bat in more ways than just "trying to hit a ball" style two hand swing that most of us would already know.

If nothing else, it should spark some ideas for more exploration.
 
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Zombocalypse

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Not as a joke. He is really trying to show how to use a baseball bat for fighting. He shows ways to use the bat in more ways than just "trying to hit a ball" style two hand swing that most of us would already know.

If nothing else, it should spark some ideas for more exploration.

Yeah thanks.

The first video I watched about this kind of thing actually did talk about the same thing. The lesson of not treating the baseball bat as if you're trying to hit a home run in a baseball game.

It's really really hard, in my opinion, to truly evaluate whether a certain teacher has truly good techniques or not. At least with kendo and other forms of fencing, there are schools and competitions for them. And they have a rich history. But with baseball bats... It's tricky as hell. It's not like we get issued a baseball when joining the military or something. Heck, gun combat probably has better teaching methodologies.
 

punisher73

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Yeah thanks.

The first video I watched about this kind of thing actually did talk about the same thing. The lesson of not treating the baseball bat as if you're trying to hit a home run in a baseball game.

It's really really hard, in my opinion, to truly evaluate whether a certain teacher has truly good techniques or not. At least with kendo and other forms of fencing, there are schools and competitions for them. And they have a rich history. But with baseball bats... It's tricky as hell. It's not like we get issued a baseball when joining the military or something. Heck, gun combat probably has better teaching methodologies.

Agreed. There isn't a whole lot of "codified" bat weapons usage around.

But, it is kind of a combination of a couple different weapons. It is about the same length as a Hanbo (3 ft.) so you could look at some Hanbo striking techniques and see what transfers over with the thicker end of the bat (some of the techniques in the video reminded me of this). Some people compare it to a sword, but that is made more for cutting/slicing. So, you could also get some ideas from that, but understand that some of the more subtle moves wouldn't have the needed force to make it effective using a bat.

Lastly, if you are using a smaller bat (T-ball for kids) for example, the weight and length might allow you to use it more like the FMA's do (Kali, Escrima, Arnis) and use it one handed.
 

Alan0354

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I can't tell if you're showing that to me as a joke or as a serious answer. Who exactly is that guy? I can tolerate lack of charisma if the information he's giving is legit. No offense to him, and I do hope he doesn't read this.
Why you think it's a joke? I've been practicing two hand stick with a 20oz cane for 2yrs. It's very hard to find a style for it, most of what he in the video talked make sense except he only hit on heavy bag that help to stop the swing, try swing in air and see how fast you can recover and swing the second hit. Swinging like him might pull you off balance if you miss. I practice using the butt and all that like he said. I came up on my own, but it's similar. Not just swinging the stick alone.

I watched Japanese katana, bokken, philipino escrima and tapados, irish stick. Other than single handed escrima, this is as good as the others!!!

To me, most are for fighting in open space which is very different from real life self defense. They swing wide. Good way to find out is to practice in living room or other smaller rooms. If you don't hit anything while you really practice, then it's good(good luck with that!!)

I honestly can NOT find any style that I am willing to actually go to school, I ended up taking in techniques from escrima but using two hands, learn some striking moves from Japanese Katana(similar to some of the demo of bokken) but not the slicing moves. For foot work, I just use kick boxing type that I learned before and make it up on my own.

I gave up escrima after I watch a competition video where two guys hitting each other STUPID from beginning to end. No defense, just smacking each other stupid. Both standing at the end!! Yes, they did wear protection, but still standing after 50 or 60 solid landing? I DROPPED escrima since that day and went to two hand with heavier stick.

This is the video I find most useful and I am still practice it. This is by a founding member here Lamont Glass.

It might look very simple, it's been over a year, I am still practicing it almost every day. It's like punching, everyone can punch, BUT to do a really good punch, it's NOT so easy and takes a lot of time to put the legs, waist, shoulders and hands together. With casting, it is A LOT MORE COMPACT, it doesn't swing wild, I even practice in bathroom small space. I pull the stick back after reaching the target instead of letting the stick swing the whole circle. That really make it compact. It always looks flashy and nice swinging wide, good for showing. But if you use it in restaurant of some other confined space, you might end up hitting something on the way instead of the target.

I am not an expert, but I put two years into this already. I hope I can find something I like enough to actually go to school, nothing comes close. I refuse to waste my time doing those forms and stuffs.

JMHO
 

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