Single Stick Defence (diary entry)

28.07.15 The seventh lesson in the CCMA course on weapons for martial artscross-training looked at some stick-on-stick defensive work. This was not only from an artistic perspective but also addressing the likelihood of fending off an attacker who has a blunt weapon. Before I teach unarmed responses against armed attackers I teach self-protection clients the use of incidental weapons with a preference for the long range blunt weapons, so this is a natural layering of this basic skill. Rather going the Filipino route we looked at the European/American single stick defence, which begins with a reverse grip facing forwards on the centreline. Here we struck at the incoming attacks around a proverbial clock face. The angle the stick is held in the “guarding” position lends itself well to fast actions and reactions.