Weapon based sparring

Tony Dismukes

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We use commercial padded sticks. I'll check with my instructor where he got them. They are stupid simple (and thus cheap). A plastic tube surrounded by maybe .25 to .5 poly foam. The good things about them are that they STING and will leave a mark, but not injure. I like that aspect because it forces you to, as we chant constantly, "zone, evade, deflect" as well as attack.
Let me know what your instructor says. I'm in the market for a pair of good sparring sticks and most of what I've found are either expensive or of questionable sturdiness.
 

Gerry Seymour

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We use commercial padded sticks. I'll check with my instructor where he got them. They are stupid simple (and thus cheap). A plastic tube surrounded by maybe .25 to .5 poly foam. The good things about them are that they STING and will leave a mark, but not injure. I like that aspect because it forces you to, as we chant constantly, "zone, evade, deflect" as well as attack.
That's what I'm looking for. My current object in that capacity is one of those foam-covered kids' bats. I use it primarily so students will give me a real attack. I let them hit me solidly on the shoulder with it, so they can see it won't actually damage me, then have them attack with some reasonable intent when I'm demonstrating. The aim is to get them all willing to take that same shot (they get those and rib shots from me early on) and to give it to each other, so they can practice with more realism than they'll get when using the old-style police batons or rattan sticks.
 

Dirty Dog

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Let me know what your instructor says. I'm in the market for a pair of good sparring sticks and most of what I've found are either expensive or of questionable sturdiness.

It's not super sturdy, but a piece of PVC pipe stuck in a pool noodle is effective, and cheap enough that you won't really care about replacing it. It's too thick to use on something like a staff, but if you're trying to simulate a bat or asp or something of that sort, it works very well. Just leave the noodle off the handle area.
 

Tony Dismukes

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It's not super sturdy, but a piece of PVC pipe stuck in a pool noodle is effective, and cheap enough that you won't really care about replacing it. It's too thick to use on something like a staff, but if you're trying to simulate a bat or asp or something of that sort, it works very well. Just leave the noodle off the handle area.
Does that hold up under normal sparring?
 

Gerry Seymour

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It's not super sturdy, but a piece of PVC pipe stuck in a pool noodle is effective, and cheap enough that you won't really care about replacing it. It's too thick to use on something like a staff, but if you're trying to simulate a bat or asp or something of that sort, it works very well. Just leave the noodle off the handle area.
Nice. Hmm...maybe a piece of foam pipe insulation for a slimmer (and less "nice") version.
 

Dirty Dog

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Does that hold up under normal sparring?

Reasonably well. It's used by a lot of LARP groups for sparring. Personally, I find the cost vs longevity acceptable. Use thick wall PVC and it'll hold up better. The PVC will usually fail, and in doing so it'll tear the pool noodle. And nobody wants to spar with a floppy pool noodle...

Nice. Hmm...maybe a piece of foam pipe insulation for a slimmer (and less "nice") version.

That works too. I currently have two of these that are reasonably close to the sort of sticks used in Escrima. We use them with adults and (with parents permission) older teens to practice defense against a club. They sting a fair bit, but not too bad, and you can grip them anywhere.
This is not a large part of our curriculum by any means, and certainly someone with real Escrima (or similar) training would consider our skills really really basic. But lacking an expert, we make do with what we have. I think familiarity with even the most basic of skills and concepts is better than no exposure at all.
 

jks9199

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I think the problem with the 10 point must system is that most of the range of scores are never used. Most rounds are 10-9, with only the rare 10-8 and even rarer 10-7 for completely dominant rounds. Thus the fighter getting "destroyed" in the first round is only down one or two points. If getting completely beat up resulted in a 10-6 or 10-5 round, things would be rather different.
That's how 10-point must runs. Winner of the round gets 10, loser 9... unless someone's lost a point from the ref along the way. There are generally additional point deductions for knockdowns or rarely in the case of massively dominated rounds -- but generally, the only way to go below 9 is deductions from the ref.
 

Gerry Seymour

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That works too. I currently have two of these that are reasonably close to the sort of sticks used in Escrima. We use them with adults and (with parents permission) older teens to practice defense against a club. They sting a fair bit, but not too bad, and you can grip them anywhere.
This is not a large part of our curriculum by any means, and certainly someone with real Escrima (or similar) training would consider our skills really really basic. But lacking an expert, we make do with what we have. I think familiarity with even the most basic of skills and concepts is better than no exposure at all.
It sounds like you have a similar approach. My stick skills are pretty thin (some private lessons, but nothing long-term), but they make a nice complement to our defensive work. Better attacks -> better defense. And I want my students to not have the thought I had at brown belt: "If I have a weapon other than a gun or knife, I'm throwing it far away, because I am better equipped for empty hand."
 

Brian R. VanCise

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Okay, pvc with foam padding will eventually break. A lot of FMA padded sticks from the Philippines utilize pvc with thin rattan as the core with foam on the outside. I have had good results with this but eventually they break as well. Just an fyi...
 

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Okay, pvc with foam padding will eventually break. A lot of FMA padded sticks from the Philippines utilize pvc with thin rattan as the core with foam on the outside. I have had good results with this but eventually they break as well. Just an fyi...

Pure rattan will break, too, given time. At least the pool noodle version won't hurt so bad when you're training. :)
I can see how a rattan core would reinforce the PVC, and make it last longer. It will also make it heavier and increase the impact. That may or may not be an acceptable trade off for the longer lifespan.
 

Gerry Seymour

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Okay, pvc with foam padding will eventually break. A lot of FMA padded sticks from the Philippines utilize pvc with thin rattan as the core with foam on the outside. I have had good results with this but eventually they break as well. Just an fyi...
I was thinking of spraying Great Stuff (expanding foam) into the PVC for stability. What think you?
 

Anarax

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Keep in mind you're going to have to purchase stiffer padded sticks if you want to be able to execute disarms, chokes and locks, in sparring.
 

Gerry Seymour

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Might work but I would probably just buy a product as I feel it would last longer in the end and save you money that way.
Yeah, but where's the fun and adventure in that, Brian??

Seriously, I'm mostly thinking building a few would let me try some different sizes and see what seems best suited. Then if there's a good product about that size, that's perfect.
 

Gerry Seymour

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Keep in mind you're going to have to purchase stiffer padded sticks if you want to be able to execute disarms, chokes and locks, in sparring.
Yeah, I've even considered just putting pipe insulation around rattan as one option.

I really need a location with in-room storage. Sigh.
 

jks9199

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Even the actual commercially made stuff, like the foam batons for police training, can break. Those are usually a fiberglass or something similar rod inside layers of foam. Personally, pipe insulation or the pool noodle (kind of thick, though, for gripping) around PVC and or around the wooden stick to best I've found if you're going to work sticks with each other. Also... armor. It's hard to work a really long stick, but you have to kind of have some sort of trade off. If you want it soft enough not to do serious damage, you have to make it thick enough for the phone to do the job, but you want to keep it thin enough to handle almost the same he can't cover was much foam.

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Juany118

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Okay, pvc with foam padding will eventually break. A lot of FMA padded sticks from the Philippines utilize pvc with thin rattan as the core with foam on the outside. I have had good results with this but eventually they break as well. Just an fyi...

They all eventually break I believe, that's I believe the cost of having something that is intended to be used at l, or near, full speed but not injure your partner.
 

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