Kubatan

Does anyone carry a 'Kubatan' keyring or used one in a live situation? how effective is it as a self-defence tool in todays violent society?

Marc

Hi marc i have never used one as i feel that relying on weapons gives a false sense of security, I mean what happens when your weapon is no longer availible/lost/taken away.

firstly most Police Forces now recognise this as an offensive weapon and you can be arrested simply for having it..
and using it without some REALLY good causes will get you arrested for USING an offensive weapon

second its not very good as such as it limits itself.. lots of better things to carry

Thanks Peter and Dave for your views.I remember reading an article in MAI magazine in 1996 about Al Peasland and Geoff Thompson attending an instructional course in the use of the PR-24 side handle baton and the defensive flashlight,i remember Geoff stating that he was very impressed with the defensive flashlight and it's use's-can Al remember that far back to give his views regarding such weapons.

Marc

Hi Marc

Yeah, it's been a while since I did anything with the PR24 or maglight but I do remember the training we did.

We trained with a guy called Dave Hastings and spent a days private training with him looking at the uses of the PR24, but predominantly the maglight, various sizes (6 cell, 4 cell, mini mag)

This was in the days when I was working the doors and it seemed like a good idea at the time to learn to be a bit more skilfull with something that I could carry in my car legally.

As Dave T has aleady said though. Whilst technically you may be within the law to have a large 6 cell maglight in the back of your car, the moment you decide to use it for anything other than shining light is when you have to consider your actions and decide if they are lawful.

The session itself was great, looked at ways to hold the various maglights, attacks, defence, weapon retention, etc etc

But in reality, it was just something to tick off a list, and not something that we took too seriously.

As Peter has already said, it's best not to rely on weapons because you start to become dependant on them, you start to need them to boltser your confidence and I can guarantee that sods law will step in and mean, when you most need the weapon, you won't have it to hand

Train your hands and feet so that they become your own weapons. They go everywhere with you - even through customs!

Take care

Al

Personally i like to train with weapons like the kubaton and sticks of various sizes.

As Dave T. mentioned there are better options to the Kubaton, namely the Yawara Bo (small stick), sometimes called a palm stick in the Filipino Martial Arts.
I have dome some Yawara Bo training with Dave T. and think it is a great little tool which can easily be translated into other items.
The main problem with the kubaton is you are restricted to what you can do with it due to your keys being attached to one end.
The Yawara is more versatile, can be gripped in a variety of different ways giving you a host of striking options.

However, it has to be said this type of training should not replace your empty hand training. For me it is just another addition to my peronsal combat arsenal.

If you want to see a decent dvd on how to use the Yawara Bo, get hold of a copy of Kevin O'Hagans Fistful of Dynamite. Great introduction to this tool.

cheers stuart i will take a look at that..

Admittedly i've had some basic training with my instructor and substituted the kubatan with a mini-maglite on some of my doors a few years ago. As i've found out it's a sticky legal situation that can evolve from using such a "device". It's illegal to carry one but the legality of having one as a keyring is a bit of a grey area it seems. But then again, kubatan, torch, pen..........improvise, adapt, overcome is what i live by.

I used to have one of these types of mobile phone..



Ideal as I always had it with me.

Arial for soft parts, bottom for bone.

Alas, it died a long time ago and I now have a more modern one.

But I thought it was great as, if feeling unsure about a situation, it could be taken out and held (as if checking messages for example) without looking out of the ordinary. I never had cause to use it thankfully.

Hold the phone in your hand and hit something with it hard, the chances are the phone will shoot out of your hands you may as well practice a good right hander instead of relying on anything.

Peter Skillen wrote:Hold the phone in your hand and hit something with it hard, the chances are the phone will shoot out of your hands you may as well practice a good right hander instead of relying on anything.

Perhaps it's a good thing I never had cause to use it because I never really tested it properly (being my phone I didn't want to risk breaking it).

Also agree with your point about the best weapons being the hands, feet etc, those tools are always there and easier to justify using should the need arise.

Also agree with your point about the best weapons being the hands, feet etc, those tools are always there and easier to justify using should the need arise.

They also go with you everywhere - even through customs

Incidental weapons are useful - but I never base my strategy around them.

I had a forum chat with a guy sometime ago who talked about his various personal artillery, steel toe-capped boots, mini-mag, etc etc.
He must have looked like dog the bounty hunter shopping on a saturday.
He seemed to be reliant on the extra strength these implements gave him.
I asked him if he took all of this with him when he was out jogging, do his daily road-work - which I'm sure he obviously did
because, lets face it - sods law will show you that the time you need to fight will be when you are least prepared and least "up for it" - perhaps at the end of a long run for example.
If you learn to rely on these things, you are left wanting when they are not there to hand.

I used to carry one and used it a few times to great effect !

Got to the point where it was a pain in the arse to carry around and just masked my main fear of being taken to the ground (someone i decked grabbed my legs i panicked and smashed him over the head and in the ribs with it), i stopped carrying one years ago(weapons are just a form of insecurity and i think i'm much 'nicer' and less ruled by my ego these days) and tried to overcome my fear of ground fighting .

Imagine caving someones head in with one of those and the sentence that would follow ? ; ditch it and save yourself years in the nick.

A kubatan can be usefull, but instead of buying one, I buy a good quality steel pen... Then it doesn't necessarily attract attention from law enforcement and it has a practical use, rather than carrying something 'just in case'.... I would agree with an earlier comment, that training with a weapon can cause issue when you find yourself without it... However, cross training should ensure that you are proficent with whatever is to hand... Be it an AK, a PR24, a kubatan, an ashtray or yourself...

I used to carry one and used it a few times to great effect !

you'r 'avin a larf?

Quite frankly it's the most ridiculous 'weapon' that has ever been made 'popular' within the MA/SD community.

The obsession with oriental 'super ninja magic weapons' really came to ahead when this 'Stick' became the vogue. I'm all for a weapon of choice when in dire situations, but this thing is farcical beyond belief - leave it in the memory archives and laugh about it where it belongs... it deserves no more!