Escrima Stick

From MartialTalk Online Martial Arts Encyclopedia Project

Escrima practitioners are noted for their stick work. While many different materials can be used, the most common material is Rattan, a cheap wood from a type of vine found in the Philippines. It is hard and durable, yet light weight, can be fire hardened, and is used to make sticks and staves. It shreds under only the worst abuse and will not splinter like other woods do - thus making it a safe training tool. This aspect also makes it useful in defending against blades.

Another wood, Kamagong (Ironwood) is also sometimes used, but generally not for sparring, as it is dense enough to cause serious injury. Traditionally sparring does not include weapon to body contact as the participants are skilled enough to parry/counterstrike, showing respect in not intentionally hitting the opponent.

The most common size of a rattan stick is about the length of the practitioner's arm, although the length may very from about 45cm to 70cm. Some schools prefer sticks of a particular length, while others expect students to learn which techniques are appropriate for a variety of lengths. Most North American and European schools use hand and head protection when sparring with rattan sticks.

Other sticks used for training and for some duels are made of hardwood, such as Molave or Kamagong (ebony), that is burned and hardened. They can also be made out of aluminum or other metals, or modern high-impact plastics. The sticks can also be padded for training purposes, though this practice is usually only used in schools in North America or Europe.