"Falcon" walking cane defense

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f3lvBY8y7Q"]Falcon defensive stick fighting - YouTube[/ame] . One of the links says it's based on bayonet fighting, which seems like a sensible way to use a walking cane. The "attacker" in these clips looks like a bear.

Devon

 

I appreciate they are trying to flog it to the general public, but the attacker is a bit incompetent, eh?

Dunno about bayonet fighting - sounds a bit like overglorifying what is in essence poking someone with a stick.

 

The thing that puzzled me was why give away the advantage of a longer weapon?

The Bear.

 

I'm with Scott, except I thought both the attacker and defender looked pretty incompetent. I would think that if someone is trying to sell video training, they would at least try and look like they weren't flailing wildly.

 

Everything in that video looks total crap.
Sweet Christ... hope they never have to try and use that.

 

Never mind walking sticks, are walking naginata legal?

 

Swmming against the tide, I'd say that it looks like a decent basic self defence system. I'd like to know how much of the demos are staged vs. freestyle, though.

Devon

 

Questions:

Do you usually carry a cane?
Do you regularly get attacked where you live?

 

Hi Scott,

I regularly carry a cane when I'm traveling in Europe, and occasionally at other times. Umbrellas, likewise.

I do my best to avoid physical confrontations under all circumstances (last time I came close was in a smalltown pub in Australia, several years ago), but then, insofar as I study martial arts for self defense, I'd be happy to use whatever I was holding at the time to give me an edge.

Devon

 

Well, that's peed on my chips, as they say...

 

I've been studying the cane for a while (Hapkido style cane) and I must say that the video clip is very much different from my philosphy on cane use.

The two handed grip shown in the clip is good in many cases (and the use of a two handed grip to hit someone when they grab your cane one-handed is good as well).

One concern I see in the clip is that I don't see him using the cane one-handed to strike (poke, slash.etc)... the one handed strike gives good power and excellent reach. I also notice that even though the cane user has a cane, he generally chooses to close with a bigger man and try to push him around with the mid part of the cane. Granted, I like the knee strikes thrown while pushing the guy with the cane but I would see that close style of fighting to be more of a last resort.

Overall, I can see the influence of bayonet training... with the two handed thrust, using the stock to push with and so on but I think treating a cane like a non-pointy bayonet is overlooking a lot of the benefits of the cane while using a tool that has few of the benefits of a bayonet-tipped rifle.

That said, the training looks decent... with some resistance and the chance to hit each other with some force. In my opinion, I don't find the techniques shown to be my "cup of tea" though. For myself personally, I'd be more apt to look towards other sources of cane training than the clip shown. Check out Canemasters, ICHF Cane, or other Hapkido cane sources (I hear Mr Alain Burrese has a new Cane DVD out - and he is known for excellent quality material)

 

Hi Thomas,

I studied Hapkido cane way back (early '80s); as with just about eveything, I'd say it has strong and weak points. I had no strong objection to the techniques themselves but the training method left a bit to be desired, re. realism, resistance etc. Things have probably changed, though; do you know of any modern HKD-based cane training systems that allow for realistic contact and resistance?

Re. the "Falcon" clips, my impression is that it's based on the bayonet-style thrust and that they close in when the attacker grabs the cane, rather than closing in as a matter of tactical preference.

Thanks for the link to Mr. Burrese's material.

Devon

 

Well with the size of a walking stick you would be better basing your training on a sword art rather than a bayonet art. Single stick teaches locks with the stick in case someone grabs the stick.

The Bear.

 

One problem with using the heavier "Canemasters" style cane that I prefer at our school is that we have to be real careful with heavy contact on our partners. That means using shields, paddles, and heavy bags for a lot of the striking drills. For hitting people, we use lighter contact and helmets/chest guards/etc. I look at striking as the most likely use of the cane (even though I like the Hapkido throws/locks/etc with the cane, I practice it but focus on striking).

There are lots of videos out there, like the ICHF and Canemasters material which is quite good but I think individual schools have to devise ways to make the training realistic and practical (with safety as well). We don't have a big cane program (just a few who study it) so we have a bit more latitude on hitting and such than if we tried to have "everyone" do it.

I watched the clip pretty quickly. My impression was that holding the cane in a double handed grip seemed to lead to lots of grabbing and closing the range quicker (in my opinion) than using a one handed strike to keep the attacker away.

I haven't seen the DVD yet but I love his other material... really "instructional" with loads of tips, insights and solid material... and usually ideas to help train it.

 

I Googled this and found an excerpt from the "Falcon Guidebook" - http://www.lulu.com/browse/preview.php?fCID=999427 . It only details the bayonet thrust with the stick against a grabbing attack but the index headings give some sense of the system as a whole.

I'll pick up a copy and post if there's anything worth mentioning. I'd still like to know whether they were actually sparring in that video.

Devon

 

I've received a copy of the Falcon defense cane book and here are my thoughts on it.

Firstly, the YouTube clip gives the impression that they're all about closing in to almost grappling range with the stick, and this is not quite the case according to the book. The (very simple) system is actually based on the double-handed bayonet-style guard and thrust. Basically, the premise is that you're using a strong walking stick against a single, unarmed attacker.

First up is a quick section on general self-defense awareness which includes some good advice about how to carry yourself to avoid being targeted as a victim. Then they move into body mechanics. There's a decent, not particularly in-depth discussion about using the stick as an extension of your body, as in maximizing the impact of strikes and pressure techniques by using body weight and skeletal structure rather than pure muscle power.

The Falcon system is extremely simple and consists of two basic techniques (the thrust and the shield) backed up by low kicks, headbutts and palm-heel strikes in close. There are no throws or jointlocks.

The basic strategy is to keep thrusting and if the attacker grabs the stick, go into a shield to either side, which is essentially a bar strike/shove with the shaft of the stick held between your hands aimed at the nearest upper-body target. The idea is that the shield is simultaneously a counter-attack and a defense. The unarmed combat techniques are backups to free your stick at close quarters, at which point you start thrusting again.

The training system consists of a set of full-contact striking drills against a heavy bag followed by a longer series of drills using a padded cane against a partner wearing body armor. There is a good mixture of pre-set and more realistic, resistance-based drills. The booklet ends with some basic instructions for making your own padded cane and suggestions about the armor, but they don't go into much detail on this.

The Falcon booklet is fifty pages long, includes a lot of pix and IMO was worth what I paid for it. However, I do think that they should have gone into more detail in some areas.

Devon

 

Nice review - sincere thanks for sharing.