Guns, Cars, and Tech

Kilted to Kick Cancer Week 3

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oddball

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Ok, so we’re into week 3 of Kilted to Kick Cancer, and you guys have donated… nothing.

I’m going to blame myself for obviously not promoting it enough, and not having anything nifty to give away.  A few folks on GBC have suggested that I threaten you with pictures of me in nothing *but* a kilt, But… uh… I think Wizard would hurt me for scaring off the few regular readers we have.  That, and I’d rather not break one of my cameras.

So, if I’ve guilt tripped you into donating, you can do so for Livestrong here, or the Prostate Cancer Foundation here.  Of course, you could always donate because you’re good people and their good causes.  Right?

Ok, enough of that…

Here I am in my more dressy kilt.  You can’t really see it, but the kilt and vest are pinstripe.  I’m also carrying a cane that can be used to defend myself.  This particular one would not be my choice for defense (I prefer something in oak with a crook), but it is, when it comes down to it, an aluminum pole that no one will question you carrying around.  This is especially useful when you’re, say, in downtown Atlanta attending a convention with roughly 52,000 other geeks and the rules say no guns.

It’s interesting that the cane as a defense tool seems to get rediscoverd ever-so-often.  While I was at Dragoncon, I attended a panel discussing Bartitsu and A.C. Cunningham’s thoughts on the matter.  Of course, any proper fan of Sherlock Holmes has heard of Bartitsu, but A.C. Cunningham was an American Naval officer that wrote about adapting spear and saber techniques to the cane.  Of course, during that time, most gentlemen carried canes as a fashion item whether they needed it or not.  Something I don’t think I’d be upset about should it come back into fashion (although I doubt it will).

While, sadly, both Bartitsu and Cunnigham’s teaching have faded away, there are a couple options for the modern gentleman to learn how to effectively use the cane.  There are a few traditional martial arts that have used the cane for some time.  The most prominent in my mind is Hapkido.  For a modern art dedicated to the walking cane as a weapon, I’d have to go with the Goju-Shorei system.  Of course, the fact that my instructor is the director of the weapons system might make me a little biased.

Comments

6 responses to “Kilted to Kick Cancer Week 3”

  1. Dan Avatar
    Dan

    What about kali/escrima?

    Reply
    1. oddball Avatar
      oddball

      I guess I should have specified *walking* cane. Kali, escrima, Arnis and the other Filipino stick fighting arts are highly effective, but the sticks they use are typically much too short to be used as a walking cane. The sticks that are typically used in those systems are about the length of a short sword, large knife, or machete. This, of course, is due to the fact that the systems have their roots in blade fighting, and the Filipinos switched to sticks in part for training purposes, but also to hide the fact that they were training in a martial art to the Spanish. They would tell the Spanish “oh, we’re not learning how to fight, we’re doing traditional dances!”

      The advantage of using a walking cane in modern times is that it serves another purpose other than defense, and therefor is more acceptable to the public at large. You can carry a walking cane just about anywhere (especially if you’re willing to abuse it’s label as a medical device), while, in many states, you need special licensing to even carry an escrima stick in public.

      Reply
  2. Bob S. Avatar
    Bob S.

    Oddball,

    Sorry but I threw a little cash at one of the attendees of the Dallas Area Blog Shoot who is participating. Pat St. Jean wore the kilt both to the dinner the night before and the blog shoot. With temperatures in the 70s, in a constant rain that went from a drizzle to showers all through the day.

    Have to go with the home boy in cases like that.

    Keep up the good work. You are definitely raising awareness.

    Reply
    1. oddball Avatar
      oddball

      No need to be sorry. I’ve been telling myself that the most likely explanation is that most folks have done what you’ve done and given elsewhere, and given the reports of other bloggers, that’s definitely the case. It’s still a bit depressing to look at my stats and see the little amount of cash that I threw in at the beginning of the month.

      Reply
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