The Mistake of the Duel
Stick fighting is growing in popularity. This is a good thing, because the stick is an easily used and readily found weapon. Classically, baton-style sticks are used, but a stick can be fashioned from a length of pipe, a broken chair leg, a bottle, a bat, and more. The growing popularity of the Filipino Martial Arts has spread stick training (one of the core elements of most Filipino styles) far and wide.
One aspect that is spreading unchallenged is the training method by which stick fighting is usually taught (not all fall victim to this criticism!). Here, the instructor equips both students with sticks and introduces them to stick fighting, including strikes, blocks, and disarms. While initially good, it promotes the idea that each student should continue to train “stick against stick.”
The fallacy with this notion is that while it can be possible to fashion a stick-like weapon quickly, there is little chance that your opponent will do the same...and less chance that, if he attacks you spontaneously, you will be able to fashion and use a stick in time to prevent his initial onslaught.
This fallacy stems from an antiquated notion of duelling. Many of the Filipino styles stem from training drills introduced by the Spanish: indeed, the very name of the Filipino art of Escrima comes from the Spanish escrimar, the word for “scrimmage.” Elements retained from duelling include a mutually similar start time and equipping both contestants with identical weapons.
Today, duels are rare in the Western hemisphere. Instead, violent attacks with little warning are commonplace. In such cases, the victim must respond to the advanced start of the attacker, and certainly may not have a weapon at all, let alone the same type as the attacker.
Students of the stick should progress their training by replacing early introductions to duelling with more practical scenarios: using the stick against various types of weapons, and using various weapons against a stick. On at least one occasion, a group of students in the Filipino arts engaged in a spirited debate as to whether a person with a stick would fare better against a knife, or whether a student with a knife would be victorious against a stick. Given that most Filipino arts teach both weapons extensively, it seemed a strange argument. This could be easily solved in class by pitting students of various skill levels with each weapon against the others.
Our opinion is that it does not matter. The stick has longer reach, and can deliver lethal blows at speeds of 80 miles per hour, which is faster than the 20-30 mile per hour striking speed of a knife. However, the knife is usually used as a surprise weapon at a range too close for the stick to manuever in time. Ultimately, the stick fighter has an advantage only if he sees the knife in time; otherwise, the stick fighter loses.
No duel required.