dchae Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 Hello, I've just recently been thinking that I want to take up some form of martial arts to help get my body into shape. I was wondering if anyone would be able to tell me how much a metal staff would cost? I think I would want it to consist of 3 parts; 2 parts being 24" and the 3rd 48". Design isn't important to me, since the overall weight is what I'm looking for. Could it be possible to have the staff weigh, when all 3 parts are put together, 20 pounds? Then, with additional weight that can be later put into the staff, eventually weigh 50 pounds? If anyone is interested in this, please let me know so I can come up with some more details and someone can tell me if it's even possible or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Dean Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 dchae, as a 2nd Degree Black Belt, I would suggest that you start as everyone else in the martial arts and learn from the bottom up. Weapons training is most usually taught to students that have been training for some time in a particular discipline before introduction to weapons. Also in the discipline I trained in the bow staff is made of wood as you can move wood faster than metal of the same length. weight thing. The martial arts are a great thing and I enjoyed my years both as a student (you will always be a student) and as an instructor. (I taught for 3 1/2yrs) Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Browne Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 Good advice above. I have spent a lot of time in the martial arts as both a student and instructor and the weapons training never comes in till just on the first black belt and that is to show the basics only. Find a good instructor and get a good foundation first then build up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trollhammer Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 You may want to look at a different material for a staff if you're just starting out. When you started smithing, did you go get a 12 pound sledge and start swinging it? Same thing applies with martial arts. A 20 pound metal rod has a good bit of inertia that could end up being pretty destructive to lights, ceiling fans, windows, pets, your skull, etc. If you jacked that weight to 50 pounds, the destruction will be worse...if you can even get a 50 pound staff spinning. Most martial arts philosophies do not teach 'bigger=better' or 'stronger=better'. Brute strength and weight are more often disadvantages. All that being said, the last 2 posts are correct, find a good teacher, build up a good foundation, and then look into weapons training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philip in china Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 I am a judo coach here and wouyld agree with everything that has been said above. If you want to toss iron about then lift weights safely! I have made up a whole weights room here with a forge and a stick welder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironantlerforge Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 First I would like to say that I agree with the above statements however if weapons training is really your aim there are schools that bring that to the forefront early on. Kendo is a good workout but very one dimensional. They use only the sword, no staff. There are also many forms of Kali or Escrima (Modern Arnis, Sayoc) which have a heavy focus on stick and knife fighting. Again no staff but I would highly recommend it as a very practical art both with weapons and without. There are others but I have a heavy involvement the two mentioned above and would recommend them. IAF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Mulholland - Tetnum Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 agreed with above foundation first or bad things will happen more often than not i have a freind who teaches at a mixed martial arts studio an they had a student who on his first day picked up a bow staff swng it around to show off and ended up wacking himself across the back of the head and neck and he was out for a few hours now think if that was a metal staff he would be gone:o(well if he could swing it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchae Posted August 5, 2008 Author Share Posted August 5, 2008 Well, first off, let me thank everyone for replying. I guess that first post didn't really convey my thoughts properly, mostly because I didn't expect there to be so many people interested in marial arts on this site. I've been lifting weights for some time now, always trying to keep in mind a goal of a martial artists' physique: strong, fast, and precise. I figured that if I was strong and fast enough to use a 50 pound staff precisely, I would need to have what I was looking for. Of course, that was the end goal that I had in mind. It wouldn't even have to be a staff, it could be a sword, or a woodchopping axe. I guess the idea of doing swings to perfect form came to mind, such as practicing 100 swings a night in tennis, kendo, golf, or whatever. I'm not really looking to do anything fancy, but I guess my ideas sound like I'm seeking a shortcut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 I have a piece of stainless round bar 6 feet long and 1-1/2" diameter - weighs about 36 lbs. I carry that when I walk in the evenings and swing it for a workout but it is way too slow to be a weapon. When I am concerned about the neighbor dogs, I carry "me wee shillelagh", which is a 5-1/2 foot piece of bois d'arc. I can swing it plenty fast after a few days of carrying the steel shaft. A piece of pipe works too - years ago when we lived in town and I ran for exercise, I carried a 3 foot mace, which was simply a 3 foot piece of 3/4" pipe welded to a 2" ball bearing. It was easy to carry while running and I actually had to thump a big Airedale that came after me one day - he left crying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Falzone Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Hello, I've just recently been thinking that I want to take up some form of martial arts to help get my body into shape. I was wondering if anyone would be able to tell me how much a metal staff would cost? I think I would want it to consist of 3 parts; 2 parts being 24" and the 3rd 48". Design isn't important to me, since the overall weight is what I'm looking for. Could it be possible to have the staff weigh, when all 3 parts are put together, 20 pounds? Then, with additional weight that can be later put into the staff, eventually weigh 50 pounds? If anyone is interested in this, please let me know so I can come up with some more details and someone can tell me if it's even possible or not. Dchae, Good luck with your training. All these people have given really good advice about martial arts, so I won't try because I'm no martial artist. But I am a science teacher and my only advice (take it or not) is that more weight = more inertia and momentum. Whatever form your "swing-training" takes (staff, sword, etc) be careful. All that inertia and momentum can seriously mess up your shoulders and rotator-cuffs - sometimes irrepairable damage, no matter how much weight training you've done. It would be a shame to have trained so hard for a goal only to be stopped short by a severe injury (I don't even want to think about never being able to swing a hammer again). Again, good luck. Have fun. Be safe. Keep hammerin'. Aeneas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddog Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 If you are swinging it just for exercise thats one thing but as weapons training its not worth a lot. A sword is usually under 2#. In a fight speed and manouverability is everything. With a heavy bar you cant swing fast, you cant change direction quickly and you cant help but telegraph your move. When you swing, your opponent will just step out of range till the bar passes by and then step in quick and hurt you. You will be all tied up trying to stop a heavy bar and wide open. Try it out with an empty barbell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Practice with something only a little heavier than the "real" thing so you don't destroy your joints! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryCarroll Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 Martial arts and smithing! Good combo. I'm 67 and still practice a mixed arts exercise routine to stay as fit as an old man might be. Tai Chi keeps me limber. Master John Sharkey just finished a few weeks summer training camp here. Check out his sites at the American Karate Association web page. I dropped out of competition in my 50's--my son Jeff was national champ for 4 years in his teens. Staff kata competition is unreal now. The bo's I checked at the camp probably weigh only a pound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johannes Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 Hello, I understand you want to train your physieke in order to improve your matrial arts, adding extra weith is not the wright way to go. but most competition wapons or training wapons are way lighter then the real deal, so make yourself something blunted with the real weight (you might add just a litle, not mutch ..) and trai with it,.. allot! keep repeating the same movements over and over, faster and faster... improvemt comes from investment in tiome and effort, not from using a bigger weigth, martial arts are about combat ability , so you need to build a strong lean body.. thats fast slender and tough, not just big and muscular.... thats only my opinion ofcourse.. i'm only a green beld in judo, but pretty good in shoy lay fut, and i'v had training with staff (chineese wax wood for competition, seasoned hazel for training) and with the chinese broad sword. Find yourself a teacher and put in the right emount of effort! and enjoy!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meisenmann Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 (edited) Believe these people. I have some experience with Bo training, and a metal rod of that weight will be too slow for any use as a weapon, no matter how much you trained or how strong you are. Additionally, it will be pure poison for your joints and can and will (it will even if your technique was good) damage your physis maybe beyond repair. Start training, use the normal training weapons and do everything under a good instructor that knows what he is doing. There are already enough guys on youtube that show their "skills" in "their own, self created sword/staff style" that they teached themselves.... Edited August 22, 2008 by Meisenmann spelling error Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quenchcrack Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 OOOH yes, Bow D'arc is nice wood for a staff. I have one about 5-1/2 feet by 1-1/2" and I carved a nice little gnome face on the end. There are a number of dogs in my old Dyersburg neighborhood who have that little face forever embedded in their rib cage. Woof Woof Ouch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 may as well add my 2 cents worth, As a practitioner and instructor of Jujitsu, we start with basic weapons at white belt, a 6 inch stick, aka taebo or Kobuton just basics to be aware of them, as we cover 13 weapons before the first black belt exam, Mainly for an understadning of how they can be used against you. The real weapons training for kata and combat doesn't start until brown belt level, and no blades until Nidan (2nd degree blackbelt) We teach that most weapons are an extension of the body, so first learn to use your body. Also please don't waste time trying to reinvent the wheel. Rather than ask invisable/unknown persons on the internet, ask your sensei. Steve Sells, Shihan-dai No Tora Ryu Jujitsu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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