The Palm Stick

Palm Sticks

Many martial arts have their own version of the palm stick.  In Filipino Martial Arts it’s an olisi palad, pocket stick, or palm stick.  In Japanese it’s the kubotan or yawara stick.  A Vienna, Austria based school/organization has a modern website devoted to it, Self Defense Stick Concept International, where they offer classes and seminars.

But even though I’ve trained with palm sticks a good bit (you can see my most easily accessible ones in the picture above), I’m not convinced they’re a great idea…or at least not the most efficient and effective option given the alternatives.  Wikipedia (which I hesitantly mention) claims that Takayuki Kubot developed his version of the palm stick, the kubotan, “as a tool for police officers to restrain suspects without permanent injury“.  Now that, I can understand.  The article goes on to say “It is often touted as extremely effective in breaking the will of unruly suspects with painful locks and pressure point strikes.”  Again, that makes some sense for a police officer who is not acting in self defense, but attempting to get an unruly suspect to comply.  If a police officer was actually fighting for his or her life, they’d be FAR better off using their gun first, baton second, or pepper spray last.  I guess that’s the root of my problem with the palm stick.

"Self Defense Sticks"

Pure palm sticks are made for one purpose, hurting people by hitting, poking, or adding extra pressure/discomfort to a grab, pull, or press.  Without question I’d rather be hit with a hammer fist to the face, or even chest for that matter, than with a palm stick!  Getting hit with a palm stick definitely does hurt more than getting hit with an empty hand.  But does that make them better?

If you’re in a situation where you actually need to physically defend yourself, legally, you’re most likely in a fight for your life…not your ego.  In such a situation your goal needs to be to take your attacker out, not hurt him.  I’m not claiming you necessarily need to kill your attacker here.  But on the other hand, pain is not the goal.  Making him unable to continue his attack is the goal.  And let’s remember that someone who has decided to physically attack you whether that’s for your money, body, or life, is crazy in the first place!  We’re not talking about your training partner, who would rather not be poked in the chest by your palm stick during your evening martial arts class.  We’re talking about someone who very likely has no regard for his life or yours.  Where I come from these attackers are likely to be in their late teens.  They’re stupid, careless, and usually have a gun.  Trying to hit them with a palm stick will most likely result in you being shot dead.

But what about when your attacker does not have a gun, and is not likely trying to kill you?  What if he only wants to rape you, or beat half the life out of you?  Would you be better off with a palm stick, or an expandable baton?  Would you be better off with a palm stick, or a knife?

Knives

A closed knife can be used as a palm stick if you like.  An open one can be used as a tool to cut boxes, open envelopes, or even to cut flowers off a branch.  And if you’re attacked by someone who actually wants to do you great bodily harm or kill you, it can be used to kill them a hell of a lot faster than a palm stick.  I’m not necessarily advocating carrying a knife for self defense…just pointing out that it’s likely a better thing to carry than a pure and simple palm stick.  Most decent knives also have clips to fasten them to a pocket or waistband, which makes them easier to carry and access than a palm stick.

Delta Dart

You could also carry something like the delta dart above, but that’s clearly and obviously only a weapon for killing.  I’d highly recommend against that.

Flashlights

Even a solid flashlight can be used to beat someone with.  And with a flashlight you have the advantage of being able to light up dark places, or temporarily blind an attacker at night…with night adapted vision…provided you have a bright enough light.  So if you’re going to carry a palm stick, why not at least carry one that serves multiple functions?  Getting back to using a palm stick for self defense at all though…

Let’s quickly consider three typical self defense scenarios:

First, the rear bear hug:  You’ll often see people recommending to smash the attacker’s hand with your palm stick against a rear bear hug.  I admit, that would hurt.  Your attacker might let go of you.  Or, he might throw you on your head.  Wouldn’t grabbing and crushing his testicles be a better option?  You wouldn’t even have to reach for your palm stick!

Second, the front two handed choke: I’ve seen people demonstrate striking the attacker in the arms with a palm stick to make him let go, or even jabbing it into his throat.  How about just nailing him in the throat immediately?  Why would you need to first go for your palm stick?  It’s highly like that your attacker is not going to be standing still, just holding your neck.  He’s probably going to be slamming your head into a wall as he chokes you.  If you’re still standing, nail him in the throat immediately, kick him hard in the balls, knee him in the face, elbow him in the head, etc.  All of this is better than trying to smack him with a palm stick.

Third, the punch:  Lots of people who practice with palm sticks train either striking the incoming fist (good luck!) or doing “nerve destructions” on the arm, then moving on to striking the opponent’s head/body with the stick.  I’ve done my share of this kind of practice.  And yes, it hurts a lot.  BUT, imagine you’ve got a real attacker coming at you with a crazy, non-stop barrage of punches…moving forward…not standing in one place so you can practice your fist and arm destructions.  His punches aren’t likely to be coming in on a straight line, just perfect for you to hit with your palm stick.  Just trying to do that in real life is probably going to get your slaughtered! Wouldn’t it be a lot smarter to crash in and take the attacker out?

My friend James Wilson, an eskrima instructor, recently wrote on the subject of palm sticks:

I see pocket sticks as more of a training device for improvised weapons or reverse grip knife. Learning how to move smoothly and generate some power is what the pocket stick is about. Sure you can carry a little stick around, but you’d be better served by carrying a good pen. At least you can use it for something. If you’re carrying a weapon around, it might as well be a knife. A knife is a tool, and a weapon. A pocket stick serves one purpose… As part of a weapons system I see some value in the training aspect of it, but again I think there are better tools out there (expandable batons come to mind).

I do like the idea of the palm stick. It’s a cool tool, and there is some appeal in believing a “little stick” can solve all your self defense problems. I’m still not ready to disregard the palm stick all together, but I think it’s most important to keep in mind what James pointed out…that the pocket stick makes a good training device for improvised weapons, and that there are better tools that serve the same purpose.