free sparring with weapons

[Tom Bayley]

How do you practice free sparing with weapons ? In my club we currently use plastic piping padded with foam for sticks and swords. Its fine for an introduction but clearly lacks the weight and balance of the real weapon.

I have in the past done some medieval weapon sparing with blunted weapons made from weapons grade steel – something I wouldn’t really recommend.

I suppose a good half way house would be wooden weapons and armour as in kendo. Has any one tried sparring this way ? Can the kendo type armour be used for hung keun movement, is it too restrictive ? Can it be used for spear work ? Or pole work ? Will it provide protection against something with the force of a pole ?

Does anyone have a tradition of free sparing with weapons within their club ? If so id love to hear how you do it.

Tom

[Sifu at Large]

[HungFamilyFist]

[TenTigers]

My training bro/SiHing(who shall remain annonymous) has the Phillippino stick fighting gear. When we had one of our first "gatherings," he decided to "weed out" the talkers from the doers. He felt Many people claim to know how to fight with their weapons, but how many actually can, or are willing to put themselves out there? So our crafty friend breaks out the gear, and has shinais cut to various lengths to duplicate whatever weapon one prefers-dao, seurng-dao,katana, wu-dip dao,whatever. A few of us had a blast, whacking the sh** out of each other, while the rest stayed in the backround trying to be invisible. Most of them did not return.
I strongly reccomend this gear, and method. A few words of caution-Murphy's law rules in this arena. If there is an inch of unprotected area-you will certainly get hit there. If you are not wearing a cup-you will be at the recieving end of an ill-placed uppercut strike.(in my case, from Si-Hing's 16yr old kid...his day will come, I can assure you....)

[vaulander]

Very early days of training

From our latest Viking games at the Golden Shield Kindred. Unfortunately nobody filmed Derrick and I going at it with staff and thrisection staff, or unarmed. (bugger.)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Tu1Z53-G1Q&feature=related[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSVvjNJcCSk&feature=related[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hNf8_J5jgM&feature=related[/youtube]
Make DAMN sure you have some sort of face shield or cage for this. Hand protectors are highly recommended too.
V.