The Cane: Part 1 – Types of Canes

My favorite weapon is the crooked cane. It’s legal to carry and it’s more acceptable to carry as you age. It’s also very effective.

There are many kinds of canes. Although crooked canes are the most versatile weapons, most of the canes you see on the street have straight, often padded, handles. Lengths vary with the height of the person using them and many canes are adjustable. Some canes have three or four tips. All of them can be effective weapons.

I’ve experimented with several styles of crooked canes and I recommend the wide-crook canes sold by Cane Masters. The wide-crook makes it possible to hook your opponent’s neck, calf, or thigh. Canes available in pharmacies and medical supply stores generally have crooks too small for these targets but they can be used to hook a person’s ankle.

Canes from Cane Masters also feature grooves cut in the neck, the transition area between the crook and the shaft. Since the neck and the crook are the most common gripping points for one-handed techniques the grooves improve your grip on the cane.
Cane Masters also offers instructional material for using the cane as a weapon which I found of little value.

Although you have to hunt for them there are many books, some very old, on using the cane for self-defense. From a number of these books I’ve developed a personal cane system compatible with Neko Ryu Goshin Jitsu philosophy and principles.

The crooked cane is an effective legal personal defense weapon. I‘ll describe my cane system that I call “Neko Ryu Cane” in future blogs.

Link to Special Report Topics: The Neko Ryu Cane