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.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.