There are several ways to spin a staff. When I first visited WKSA HQ I realised that I had been taught a different way by Master M.Y. Kim to the way they did it at HQ. So I learnt their way too. Here is a video clip of someone spinning a staff: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkbSqyDJ82s"]Staff spinning tutorial 3 - YouTube[/ame]
Or this one: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=dP6mUbDTZEA"]Basic Mace Tutorial 1 - YouTube[/ame]
ROFL Thanks, Pugil. I needed a good laff. While "airspins" may look cool, it's a great way to lose your weapon ('nuff said). The second video (despite targeting drum majors as its audience) is more akin to how I like to see it done, but there was too much hand separation IMO (i.e. I prefer to have my hands closer together when doing the pass-off). Here's another video that MAists ought to consider, especially when it comes to learning the danbong (aka: short stick/staff): [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ8DSFbLcu4"]DRUMSTICK SPINNING, LESSON ONE![/ame]
First of all: Why? Secondly, drumsticks are much thinner than my danbong. Maybe if I hands like a gorilla then I could get that to work, but I've got wee stubby fingers so my danbong is as thick as the hole if I touch the tips of my forefinger and thumb together. I'd end up breaking something if I were to try that.
Yes of course, I totally agree. But spinning it in front of you like an old prop airplane won't exactly stop rocks being thrown at you either. Spinning is more of a weapon handling, familiarisation and dexterity exercise, for solo training, than a combative two or more man fight scenario. I simply posted it for the attention of those people who like to juggle, but who have got fed up with the balls! (Yes! I did it!)
Rather than spending too much time spinning your staff, you'd be better off doing something like this with it: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQTTF2DuXIk"]Silat Suffian Bela Diri - Short Staff (Buluh Runcing / Sibat / Spear) - YouTube[/ame]
Sorry if I confused you there, weegee, but I posted that drumstick twirling video as a joke. :evil: Whenever did I try to pass off such hogwash WRT staff spinning? You must have me confused with someone else. That depends... While I don't think standing there spinning the staff waiting on your opponent to engage you is the way to go about it, staff spinning could be useful for transitional moves (even the guy in the video you posted swings his staff in a circle over his head to gain speed & momentum). Can you balance the stick vertically too, one end placed on either the chin or the forehead? :happy: Going with the concept of "longer is better" I can see how some of the techniques demonstrated in this video could be useful, but handling a longish staff from the middle is not only a traditional method found in the orient, but in europe as well (IIRC, one method for using the quarterstaff suggests manipulation in this fashion, right?).
No, I certainly didn't try to pass that off as having been said by you – although I have heard it said by some KSW people. I think you missed my point. When I said "I did it", I meant that I was able to combine a pun with what could be seen to be a rude word! Regarding the Quarterstaff: There was/is no right or wrong way to use it. And neither is there a specific length for it either. The length could be anything between 6 and 9 feet, but was reckoned to be commonly about 7½ to 8 feet. So an 8 foot long staff, when quartered by the hands, would have a butt of 2 feet, and forepart of 4 some feet. When fighting at close-quarters, the butt end became the more usable end. As for your assertion "longer is better", I thought that was ascribed to the Actress when talking to the Bishop! There is some speculation about where the name 'Quarterstaff' comes from. Probably the most popular version is that it's due to the manner in which is is commonly held – one hand in the middle, and the other between that hand and the 'butt' end of the staff i.e. the length of the staff is quartered with the hands. As time moved on, and firearms with long bayonets became the norm, the rifle would be held by the right hand (usually) on the 'neck' of the butt, and the left at about half way along the weapon. So bayonet play also featured a weapon which was held more-or-less 'quartered' by the hands too. Obviously the point of a bayonet is going to be somewhat deadlier than a staff, but as it was not uncommon for Quarterstaffs to be 'shod' with iron at the ends, you wouldn't want to walk onto a thrust from one of those either!
If you watch Maul Mornie you'll see that he has his right hand towards the centre, and the left towards the butt. This is the way a right-handed person might use a Pick-axe or a Sledge-hammer. With the right hand held initially towards the middle of the staff, or the front end of a Sledge-hammer, it's easier to pick the longer and/or heavier end up in the first place. As the blow is struck, however, the right hand is allowed to slide back towards the left. This changes the fulcrum point and (potentially) the reach of the weapon/tool too.
I've just been practicing No. 4 again, but I'm still having issues. To be honest, I didn't really understand what you were saying, Unk. You wouldn't be able to upload a video would you? (Maybe just showing your hands on a danbong to preserve anonymity ) I perform a butterfly pass on both sides, with the receiving hand on top, but because each pass moves the receiving hand slightly further up the staff my grip inevitably drifts.
Perhaps this is where you're making a mistake, weegee, as the way I do it, the RECEIVING hand is on the bottom (i.e. the knuckles of the hand holding the staff come to rest in the palm of the hand which catches the staff and continues its rotation). When doing #2 or #3, the side which the staff is being spun is the SAME as the hand which is underneath. This should be the same way you do #4 (IOW, aside from the constant switching from one side to the other, the way you spin the staff is the same, i.e. top goes forward as it rotates and bottom goes to the rear).
If I receive on the bottom both sides, do I not just drift towards the other end? Edit: Of course, I can just loosen my grip during the changeover the allow my hands to slip back to the middle, but for some reason I feel like it should be possible without having to do so. Perhaps swapping on top on one side, and underneath on the other?
You're already swapping the movement laterally (i.e. mirroring the motion from one side onto the other side) so there's no reason to "balance it out" by doing any up/down nonsense (i.e. a vertical correction). The trick to not inching your grip towards one end of the staff when twirling it, lies in keeping both hands close to one another when making the pass-off. It couldn't be more simple...
LOL We tried this in class one night (using small foam "dodge-balls" instead of rocks) just for fun. Came to the conclusion that we didn't want to move on to rock deflection practise! Now of course, arrows are a different thing altogether. Being usually over two feet long, they are theoretically much more likely to be deflected by a fast spinning staff than rocks (if you don't take into account the increased speed of aproach)....anyone want to volunteer to try it?:evil: Seriously though...does anyone on here do free sparing with staffs? Would be good to see some.
Well, kiwi, when I was a kid, a friend of mine who lived down the street from me owned a toy bow & arrow set, and a rather daring kid who lived next door to him had my friend launch an arrow directly at him. BION he was able to lean to one side quickly enough to dodge the oncoming arrow, but what I still find amazing to this day, is that he snatched the arrow right out of the air! (note that this is why he was doing such a dangerous stunt in the first place, as no one believed he could catch an an arrow in flight). Whether or not a spinning staff would protect you from any harm in the form of oncoming arrows is still debatable, but I remain skeptical nonetheless. I haven't for several years, but at one time myself and some other industrious fellows took a pair of hardwood staffs, covered the ends with foam pipe insulation (keeping it in place with copious amounts of duct tape) and had at it (we wore protective gear as well, since we weren't completely bonkers, LOL). I believe there are companies nowadays that manufacture much better padded equipment for simulating staff sparring than our make-shift attempt, but I'm too lazy to look it up for you (unfortunately, I don't recall off hand the name of one of the better companies that do produce such equipment, but it's very good quality stuff). On a slightly related topic, I do remember the name of a company that makes very good simulated weaponry with regard to bladed weapons, and rather than elaborate further, I'll just insert a link to their website: www.rsw.com.hk The site has plenty of videos and the company is also on FaceBook. And it's also included in a superb review on sword sparring equipment here on MAP: Capt Ann's REVIEW
A toy bow and arrow set is somewhat different to a full bow. A fairly average bow will launch at around 250 feet per second (around 170 miles per hour) with good quality fast bows you can get up to about 215 miles per hour. A toy bow (being probably no more than about 10-20lbs at most) firing a toy arrow (one with a sucker on it I'm guessing) probably fires around 20-30 miles per hour at most.
Thanks for the input, LBR, but no, the bow & arrow I mentioned was not from a toy set intended for infants to play with (sucker-tipped arrows, ROFL - I doubt the draw weight of a bow sold with these type of arrows would exceed 5 lbs.). Rather, it was of questionable quality with a low poundage on the bow (similar to how most serious skin divers will scoff at the goggle & fins sold for kids, but realizing that such stuff does suffice in bringing "the experience" to children). In retrospect, I suppose "toy" is not the best way to explain the tackle involved, so maybe if I had said, "a 'junior' bow & arrow set" it would've been more accurate. FWIW, the arrows were equipped with field points, and why I felt the kid in the story was so dauntless (even at 20-30 lbs. draw weight, he only stood about 20 or 30 feet away, which would still require VERY quick reflexes to safely react to the oncoming arrow). But it's due to me realizing that the draw weight of the bow in my anecdote wasn't as high as that found on hunting bows, that I remain skeptical about the capability of a spinning staff to deflect arrows efficiently.
Our Canne de Combat members sometimes free spar (fairly light strikes) with the Grande Baton. It's 140cms (4' 5") long, and slightly tapered. When free-sparring with quarter-staffs (which can be anything up to eight feet or more in length), I'd strongly recommend wearing: Cricket or Hockey gloves and shin-guards, an Eskrima or Kendo mask, and a padded jacket of some kind. Alternatively, one of those those Taekwondo-type body protectors.
A few years ago, I heard a story of a young Taekwondo black belt who took the class in the absence of the usual instructor. She thought it might be fun to have one of the others in the class shoot at her with a bow and arrow, so that she could demonstrate her skill at dodging and deflecting arrows - a la Kwai Chang Caine I guess! Anyway, to cut a short story even shorter, she ended up with an arrow in an eye, apparently!
