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.  The Club and Staff tools available through Martial Fusion come with color coordinated graphics of the Dragon and Tiger to aid in complex movements and demonstration purposes.  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.         As with most Kenpo students, increased training in the use of sticks has a great deal to do with the movie mentioned in the Empty-Hand Training Concepts section.  The Perfect Weapon illustrated many of the tactics and principles involved in the discipline of Kenpo, not only with empty-hand techniques, but also with weapons.  Kenpo Clubs being the predominate weapon utilized in the movies fight sequences, with Kenpo Staff being the wounded younger brother so to speak.  Opinions may very on the usefulness of Kenpo Clubs versus Staff, or of practical use of Blunt weapons versus Edged weapons.  Nevertheless, Blunt weapons do have a place in the Kenpo discipline and have a very special place at Martial Fusion, given that they manufacture all of the Blunt weapons used in Kenpo training for their clients.         The Kenpo Staffs and Clubs made by Martial Fusion can be decorated with the two main illustrative symbols of Kenpo to aid in training (and look cool), as mentioned above.  Graphics and information on these Staff and Club designs are available on the Martial Fusion site, with more in-depth, critical information made available.  These decorations are not only for ornamental and spiritual value, they also make great teaching aides to help students with different drills.  Given that not everyone who reads this page will have the availability to Martial Fusion's equipment, the concepts which will be discussed on this section will have both regular and *Martial Fusion* training explanations.  This way it is easy for everyone to understand.         As far as the first topic to be discussed, we will go over some training concepts for Kenpo Staff to aid in making the execution of techniques more 3 Dimensional.  The concept behind using Staff at it's core is to strike at a distance utilizing either circular whipping action or more of a linear thrusting action.  Given the range that can be used with the Kenpo Staff, training should be geared initially towards the beginning student to keep your opponent out of reach.  In the hands of a skilled opponent though, a staff can be a more than formidable tool.  Most Staff work is done against one opponent at a time, and is generally worked at one or alternating ends towards that opponent.  However, for those of us who study Kenpo, motion would never be that 1 dimensionally challenged.  Another way to view motion as 3 dimensional is to analyze a multiple attack situation.         Contrary to what would be media and entertainment opinion on the subject of a multiple attacker situation, the attacks do not generally involve one person coming at you at a time, and grappling is not going to aid you very much.  Kenpo is actually designed to be effective in this type of environment.  Kenpo Staff manipulation is no exception when analyzed for self-defense against more than one assailant.  Just as with empty-hand concepts, Staff manipulation must be quick, decisive, and powerful in order to be effective.  As a base example from a previous discussion, let's take 4 attackers on the 4 major access points (12, 3, 6, and 9) and look at Striking Set 1 in a different way from a Right Neutral Stance facing 12 o'clock gripping at the center access palms down: 1) As the attackers start to close the gap move the top of the staff towards 12 with a High Right Inward Hammering Strike hitting the attacker with the staff in the neck.  Simultaneous with this, hit the attacker from 6 with the opposite end with a Low Left Outward Whipping Strike to the groin. *Fusion reference:  High Inward Dragon (H) with Low Downward Tiger (W) 2) Quickly ricochet off of the first two strikes and bring the top of the staff back towards 3 with a High Right Outward Whipping Strike to the attackers neck.  Simultaneous with this, hit the attacker from 6 with the opposite end with a Left Middle Inward Hammering Strike to the attackers ribs. *Fusion reference:  High Outward Dragon (W) with Middle Inward Tiger (H)         This is just a basic drill to get timing more in ingrained, some of the real strikes would be to different on the streets to be more decisive to other target areas.  This drill is meant to teach the student that when one end of the Staff is hitting, the other can also be used to strike rather than being "dead space."  The other four basic striking movements within Striking Set 1 work very well with this drill when converted to Kenpo Staff.  Granted, when the What If Phase is brought into the drill, it would need to change to fit the situation.  However, this was only a drill to practice action and movement in the training studio.         When training with Kenpo Clubs to make action more 3 Dimensional, the same principles will apply and can be used in a multiple attack situation with Blunt and empty-hand concepts.  This is due to the fact that Kenpo Clubs are "true" extensions to your natural weapons and are translated easily, and they are Blunt weapons and utilize the same hitting principles as the staff.  As far as hitting with 3 Dimensional action with a Blunt weapon, utilizing all three striking methods at once can help in this direction. And principles involving natural weapons can translated using various parts of the Club instead of just one area on the weapon.         The three striking methods for Blunt weapons are Hammering, Whipping, and Thrusting Movements, and although generally thought of as separate, they can be used all at once to increase the power in your strike.  This theory is similar to one brought forward by the creator of Jeet Kune Do, Bruce Lee (by the way, there are several concepts from Jeet Kune Do that relate very well to Kenpo, but there is a reason behind that).  The theory has to do with using a belt in a whipping type motion, and how the belt unwinds and picks up speed and momentum before it hits the target.  In regard to using a Kenpo Club, an example of this idea can be found in a Right High Inward Strike: Start with your right Club by your ear with your left club as a check (like 6 count or the beginning of Club set) in a Right Neutral Bow.  Move the Club in a Hammering motion as if you were going to hit with a Lower Case strike, or the handle area of the Club.  With this motion, more your wrist downward in a Whipping motion towards your target to build up momentum.  As your strike reaches the target, instead of whipping the Club off of the target upon contact, tighten your wrist and arm in a Thrusting motion to follow through with this momentum.         The quickest way to study Kenpo Clubs as they relate to Natural Weapons was mentioned on an earlier training section, the study of Kenpo Forms and Sets.  Some examples of basics from these Forms and Sets are:  Blocks with either the handle or side of the Club;  Upper Case Strikes with the tip or side of the Club and Lower Case Strikes with the handle;  Finger Set type movements with either tip;  and can be executed in either the Fencing (Long Held), or Cradle (Short Held) position.  Whether you are working Blocking Set or Form 4 with Kenpo Clubs, in order to keep your motion 3 Dimensional remember to keep both hands moving towards your opponent.  If your Right Club (Dragon) is striking, keep your Left Club (Tiger) moving in a checking position, and vice versa.  Regardless of what you are doing, just as with empty-hand concepts, try to keep your momentum going and avoid dead space to keep your 3 Dimensional action going.         While working with Clubs or Staff, always keep in mind the principles of motion that make Kenpo or any martial arts system work.  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.  And always remember the 1st rule in a self-defense situation involving weapons, if there is a means to escape, take it.  Personal safety is always more important than anything else.