Rattan vs. Hardwood vs. Wax Wood vs. Etc. (Escrima Sticks)

[chazlink]

Hello All,

I have recently started training in JKD/FMA and I am having a blast. I am a bit confusted, however, on what type of escrima sticks are best for training.

Is one better than the other for any reason? Every site I go to seems to say something different about each one. I like the look of the burned Rattan ones, and I really like some of the hard wood ones too, but do they splinter easily? And I know wax wood seems cool (I used to have a waxwood Bo staff - that thing rocked) but I am not sure if it is the best to train with.

Can anyone shed some light? Any information that can provided would be a great help. THank you all for your time and assistance!

-chazlink

 

[tshadowchaser]

I'm sure you will get different answer from different posters but I like to train with Rattan ( first because I can buy it all over the internet or in almost any martial art store)
I like hard woods for solo practice because they weigh a little more
Wax wood I like in long staffs

My favorite sticks are the ones I cut and use from the local woods and discard at the first sign of them cracking or breaking I get to know the stick better by handling it while trimming, shaping, etc.

 

[Carol]

Personally I perfer rattan over hardwood for a few different reasons. Rattan is traditional, easily available, and not as heavy as hardwood. This makes it a little easier to train with and also makes injuries slightly less likely in case of a training "oops".

Rattan can absorb more impact than the hardwoods, which transfer the impact in to your body. As a result, hardwoods tend to be a bit jarring to practice with where the rattan is not.

Hardwoods will also be a bit rougher on rattan, so a good choice may be to follow the lead of what the other students in your school are using.

 

[Kenpodoc]

another advantage of rattan is that it is a vine and tends to get stringy rather than chip when it breaks down. Hardwood chips can cause eye damage as flying projectiles. Now if what you want to do is sneak up behind someone and pop them on the head Hardwood would be the material of choice amongst (waxwood, rattan and hardwood.)

Jeff

 

[chazlink]

Awesome thanks for all the help guys. Some much needed and appreciated info. I think that I will go with some regular Rattan sticks to train in class with, and then grab a set of hardwoods for solo practicing...so I can get used to a heavier weight.

Plus that means I get to pick out two cool pairs of sticks

ANyway, thanks to you all again!!!

-chazlink

 

[Carol]

Awesome thanks for all the help guys. Some much needed and appreciated info. I think that I will go with some regular Rattan sticks to train in class with, and then grab a set of hardwoods for solo practicing...so I can get used to a heavier weight.

Plus that means I get to pick out two cool pairs of sticks

ANyway, thanks to you all again!!!

-chazlink

Sounds like a good plan Chazlink! Hope you enjoy your training, you are in for a great time

 

[Dave Leverich]

I think I third, or fourth, what the rest have said. One thing I would add is to NOT get the carved end rattan sticks, unless you plan on using them soley for solo practice. They will fray more and tear on the hands more than the un-carved sticks will.

I personally use all rattan, but wouldn't mind a heavier set of hardwood sticks for solo use, simply for arm conditioning.

I do find that I get to know the feel of the sticks better as I clean them, sand them, and burn them. I'm not sure if there's anything to it, but I find that time shaping them into the final product... almost spiritual. Chipping back the joints, sanding them smooth, then that time as you warm them up and being to raise the oils, the color comes out and you discover what it was meant to look like...

But then, that could just be the artist in me.

 

[Flying Crane]

I wouldn't recommend waxwood for this. It is fairly tough and flexible and great for a spear or a Chinese staff, but if you are constantly striking them, they tend to splinter and shred over time. A good hardwood would be my choice.

 

[arnisador]

Rattan for training!

 

[shrapnel]

For regular practice, rattan is good enough. However, for solo practice I would also recommend that you get a hardwood that we call bahi (made from the coconut tree or any palm tree). Bahi is about 5x the weight of a rattan stick of the same dimensions and is extremely durable.

Part of our conditioning exercise involves doing full power, continuous strikes on bundled rattan poles (sort of like a makiwara for arnis). I've seen rattan sticks disintegrate after a few powerful blows but the bahi sticks we use can take the abuse easily. Even kamagong will eventually fail under such abuse, so bahi would be the better choice.

The other advantage of using hardwood is that it will condition your arms, particularly your wrists, so that when you pick up a blade, the weight is already comfortable. Or, if you pick up a rattan stick, it's already light on your hands because you're used to greater weight.

 

[LocknBlock]

Rattan is good for training but try to get the rattan with multi-rings say 10 or more un-peeled it is a harder rattan. It is good for training and fighting, Try using the un-peeled rattan for training, burning makes the stick harder but eventually through training the sticks will splinter and on occasion you will smell like the 'olisi' is burning. Hardwoods are also great for training, I was told that rattan shatters the bone & hardwood like kamagong breaks and cracks bone. Good training to you.

 

[Cebu West]

RATTAN - It's traditional, absorbs the shock and I just love the smell of it when you get rockin.

Hardwood is durable but destroys rattan, so your training partners will not be happy. It's great for building hand speed while training solo.
In a real fight, Absolutely.

Waxwood - sorry, but it looks weird.

Sal

 

[arnisador]

Waxwood - sorry, but it looks weird.

Heh, I agree!

 

[Salagubang]

BAHI = for solo training
Labsica = for class training
Rattan = for Demo/Seminar

 

[Robert Klampfer]

I was told that rattan shatters the bone...[/quote]

Negative. I've seen and experienced many full-power strikes to various parts of the body from rattan sticks. No shattered bones or deaths to report. Nor have I ever heard credible reports of any. Rattan is a fibrous, flexible vine. Technically speaking, it's not even a stick but rather, a stem.

I consider any training stick to be disposable. At some point they're going to wear out. When it does, I throw it away and grab another from the locker. No mourning and certainly nothing spiritual about it. It's only a stick.

Why use rattan? It's inexpensive, readily available, and much more safe to use in training with other people than hardwood. Rattan will flex, or give on impact; hardwood won't. Besides which, it's very difficult to find high-grade kamagong or bahi in the 'States nowadays. For hardwood, I've taken to using North American hickory.

Robert

 

[arnisador]

I consider any training stick to be disposable. At some point they're going to wear out. When it does, I throw it away and grab another from the locker. No mourning and certainly nothing spiritual about it. It's only a stick.

I try to take this attitude, but I have one pair of rattan sticks that are past their prime but they're still my favorite...I can't give them up! I just like their feel.

 

[Dave Leverich]

I hear you, I burn my sets each with a different feel and such, never had a pair feel exactly the same. I get kind of attached to them too.

 

[Robert Klampfer]

I try to take this attitude...

Do, or do not. There is no try.
:jediduel:

Robert

 

[UrBaN]

What's Labsica ?

 

[Dave Leverich]

First hit on google
http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/search/topic/13365-1.html