Self Defense and the Power of the Staff

Self Defense and the Power of the Staff

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Self Defense and the Power of the Staff

Self-defense, involves defending oneself, one’s property or the well-being of another from physical harm. Many styles of martial arts are practiced for self-defense or include self-defense techniques.

Some styles train primarily for self-defense, while other martial art styles can be effectively applied for self-defense. Self-defense for many modern day martial arts schools now use a combination of martial arts styles and techniques, and will often customize self-defence training to suit the participants’ lifestyles, occupations, age groups and gender, and physical and mental capabilities.

Self-defense, involves defending oneself, one’s property or the well-being of another from physical harm. Everyday objects, such as baseball bats or aerosol spray cans, almost anything can also be used as improvised weapons for self-defense, but these weaponsse are not as likely to be as effective as weapons made for this purpose.

Some non-lethal weapons as the Kubotan have also been built to resemble everyday objects, such as keychains so they can be carried on you at all time. Let’s face it, it is a little hard to walk around with a sword or a pair of nunchaku and not draw attention from the law.

This article is about the grandfather of all long weapons, the staff. A staff is a large, long, thick stick or stick-shaped object that can be used as a weapon. Learn this weapon and you can improve your martial arts empty hand techniques and when uses can increase your odds of surviving an attack on the street. So grab a pole, broom handle or any type of long object,it does not need to be round, and improve your odds.

The Chinese martial artists of old had a saying that “When fighting with only the fists, be concerned about running into someone young and strong. When fighting staff against staff, worry about an opponent who is old and wise.” When it comes to strenght against strenght, the younger and stronger of the two will often defeat an older,less powerful adversary.

A staff changes everything. The older ,more experienced staff fighter has the upper hand and he wins not because of his physical condition, but by his knowledge of staff techniques. In the old days,in northern China,empty hand training was the most important form of training, follow by staff training.

The chinese in the southern part of the country placed more emphasis upon staff expertise. Kung Fu schools were run by martial art instructors,in the old days, who were hired by the village by judging both his empty hand fighting ability and his staff fighting knowledge. The basic fighting knowledge of a possible instructor for the school was apparent by his empty hand fighting techniques. If he was an expert with a staff, that showed the the poeple of the village the instructor had overall experience and proficiency at focusing power through a weapon that lacked a cutting edge and this was much desired.

The staff requires powerful swings and jabs to be effective as a weapon. To use a staff for self defense effectively, a martial artist must know how to use his body to produce sufficient power and be able to tranfer that power through the staff. Mastering the staff makes learning all other long handled weapons easier to manage.

Training with the staff build’s forearms muscles and teach full energy extension. Being good at staff fighting means you should be able to knock any weapon out of an opponents hand. The staff is an extension of the martial artist’s hands. So staff training will benifit your empty hand techniques.

True staff power is expressed in whiplike strikes, with the tip of the staff vibrating as the power travels throught it’s lenght. When staff techniques are performed right the staff will make a humming sound. When using the staff to jab at your opponent the power should travel through the staff like a solid straight punch.

Training with a staff isn’t limited to only forms. After learning a form, using a staff, you can then take a partner to practice full power contact training. The two person form method demonstrarate the application of techniques using one technique at a time. This practice involving striking the staff against staff to train both martial artist to both give and take the force generated by a properly wielded weapon.

Staff contact training, which is different than two person form training, is the actual practice of using the staff at full power using 3 or more techniques. The martial artists practices until they can use the staff techniques at full strenght against each others staff and be able to perform the combination.One person attackes the other defends than returns an attack ,going back and forth through the techniques.

Another staff training method is called internal staff training and involves two person contact training. With this type of training the staff is used using smaller circular striking patterns and the actual strike to the body is more of a push than a strike. This type of practice is designed to make the martial artist more sensitive to the weapon and give him a higher level of expetise at using it.

No matter what martial art you study a background in staff techniques will improve your empty hand techniques. From your fist training you learn to use your hands, from the staff you learn to use your body and natural power.

Retrieved from “http://www.articlesbase.com/martial-arts-articles/self-defense-and-the-power-of-the-staff-3636410.html”

(ArticlesBase SC #3636410)

Jerry –
About the Author:

To learn more about self defense techniques and how you can protect and defened yourself on the streets, click “Street Fighting Uncaged” for more infomation pertaining to the above article or for general informantion about martialo arts go to “http://tinyurl.com/3xjydmv” and read articles like the one above.

To learn more about self defense techniques and how you can protect and defened yourself on the streets, click “Street Fighting Uncaged” for more infomation pertaining to the above article or for general informantion about martialo arts go to “http://tinyurl.com/3xjydmv” and read articles like the one above.
Article Source