The Blunt Weapons Training section will give concepts of motion for the use of blunt man-made weapons used in American Kenpo Karate training.  The two weapons which will be discussed most often will be kenpo clubs and the kenpo staff, both of which are offered specially made to fit the technician through Martial Fusion.  Initially, I must request that before reading or trying any of the concepts discussed in this section that you use these weapons with great care so as not to injure yourself in any way, and do not over train in these concepts.  Either of those would be detrimental to continued training and to the safety of the practitioner.  One suggestion to aid the student from injury would be to work basic drills with clubs and staffs would be to work single club, double clubs and staff in basic motions found in the Universal Pattern.         The first installment in the Blunt Weapon Training section there will be a discussion on the basics involved in using kenpo clubs and kenpo staff found in the forms and sets used in American Kenpo Karate training.  This will more than likely be the shortest installment in this series, due to the fact that the studying done will be made by you, the student.  Club and staff training, at it's core, revolves around knowing how to move with the weapon safely and with maximum speed and power in a live situation.  No matter which system of Kenpo you study, or any style of martial arts for that matter, almost everything begins and ends with the forms and set designed to analyze motion.  This fact makes it important to translate those forms and set into club and staff concepts.  To make the transition easier for self-defense techniques and live situations, I would suggest working forms and sets with Horse Stances initially, then using a Neutral Bow more often once you become more comfortable with the movements.         Sets are the best place to start for the beginner who has rarely used or picked up a staff or clubs.  To make the transition easier for self-defense techniques and live situations, I would suggest working forms with Horse Stances initially, then using a Neutral Bow more often once you become more comfortable.   Blocking Set 1 and 2 would give a student methods of blocking and master key movements used to defend against aggression with either single, double clubs, and staff.  Striking Set 1 and 2 can be used to study methods of striking both upper and lower case with clubs and staff.  Experimentation could even be done with Stance, Kicking and Finger Set to become more familiar with these weapons.  Although the set that will aid you the most in gaining more skill with blunt weapons would be Coordination Set, due to it's relation with Forms and self-defense techniques in the American Kenpo system.         Forms are the encyclopedia's of motion for the Kenpo system, therefore they will be the most beneficial to the novice or the advanced club and staff student.  Short Form and Long Form 1 will put both Blocking and Striking Set together, and will greatly aid the understand and retention of the master key movements necessary to execute explosive and powerful techniques for both staff and clubs.  Short Form and Long Form 2 will combine the same principles with added motion in Finger Set and Striking Set 2 and more accelerated stance movements.  Short and Long Form 3 are the first forms that involve actual self-defense techniques in more depth, and also methods to decrease down time in techniques using more circular motion.  Long Form 4, once the concepts in the form are understood, is the most fun to work with clubs and staff.  After Form 4, all the other forms are straight technique forms, until the last Forms which are genuine club and knife forms.         While working on these forms and sets with clubs or a staff, always keep in mind the principles of motion that make Kenpo or any martial arts system work.  When training with clubs and staff work slowly at first to get the basic movements down before working faster, more whip like aspects inherent in these weapons.  And, like with any other aspect of learning to defend yourself, work on the specialized movements in the training hall.  Just like with the first ten yellow belt techniques in Kenpo, keep things in a live situation simple, direct, and effective.