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Martial Arts Topics / Damage Potential of Stick -vs- Light Protection
« on: March 07, 2011, 07:05:39 PM »
Searched through the topics and did not see this one out there. My past experience in full-contact fighting with sticks led to a pretty healthy respect for the weapon. It is elegant, fast, agile, and capable of delivering and focusing force with extreme efficiency. I remember some time ago reviewing the series 1 vids with a sparring partner and we both left with the same thought; why are not more folks severely maimed or flat-out killed given the extremely light gear that you guys wear?
I definitely admire the work that the Dog Brothers have done but still look at this issue with some degree of wonder. Even with a relatively light (3/4" to 1" x 30") stick, I am pretty sure my buddy could fold a three-weapon mask around my face like it was a wet-paper towel with a simple jab. Even with splinted body armor, broken ribs, separated cartilage, and sternal dislocations are not too hard to accomplish. When you add to the list the all too common fractured ulna/fingers/stripped thumbs and concussions that occur when using MUCH heavier armor, I have to ask how folks deal with this.
I am in no way trying to be provocative with this question, but am seriously interested in how many serious (like hospitalized) injuries occur during your guy's work. It is a bit hard for me to get my head around a low-incidence of crippling injury in lightly protected stick fighting. If I were facing some of the folks I used to spar with as lightly protected as you guys seem to go, it seems probable that one of us would leave the fight on a gurney and the other would likely have broken bones.
Interested in any feed back or comment on this issue.
I definitely admire the work that the Dog Brothers have done but still look at this issue with some degree of wonder. Even with a relatively light (3/4" to 1" x 30") stick, I am pretty sure my buddy could fold a three-weapon mask around my face like it was a wet-paper towel with a simple jab. Even with splinted body armor, broken ribs, separated cartilage, and sternal dislocations are not too hard to accomplish. When you add to the list the all too common fractured ulna/fingers/stripped thumbs and concussions that occur when using MUCH heavier armor, I have to ask how folks deal with this.
I am in no way trying to be provocative with this question, but am seriously interested in how many serious (like hospitalized) injuries occur during your guy's work. It is a bit hard for me to get my head around a low-incidence of crippling injury in lightly protected stick fighting. If I were facing some of the folks I used to spar with as lightly protected as you guys seem to go, it seems probable that one of us would leave the fight on a gurney and the other would likely have broken bones.
Interested in any feed back or comment on this issue.