"Hitty end?" Thought I was watching Lindybeige there for a minute. :)

Love the effort put into avoiding saying the phrase "knob end"

I carry a walking stick regularly. It has several advantages:1. ALWAYS at hand! You never need to draw it.2. Visual deterrent. People see you walking with a big ugly stick, and know that you are armed. A knife or concealed pistol doesn't offer this advantage. 3. Greater range than a knife. 4. Harnesses the power of both of your arms (when you wield it two-handed).5. Wider force-continuum than a knife. The best way to use a knife is to make the person suffer a potentially deadly blood loss. The stick can crack bones, leave bruises, be used to grapple, or kill if need be.6. Culpability. You will fare better in court after whacking someone with your walking stick than you will opening his face with your knife. 7. Security friendly. You can manage to get a walking stick into places that disallow knives. 8. Style. A walking stick can be a dapper accessory.9. Good against aggressive dogs, if that is a problem in your area. I have a Beagle, and have had to use my stick to fend off other animals who wanted to rip his little Beagle throat out.Get the type which has a ferrule on one end, and a weighted ball on the other. These have distinctive handling characteristics, and can be used either very fast, or with a massive pendulum effect. Excellent, practical weapon.

Does anyone else have a "holy shit" moment anytime they see how fluidly Matt can move a sword or club?

I have carried and used a walking stick, aka 'whacking stick', since 1990. My first stick, now retired, saved my life! It has a gouge in it from where I parried a knife attack. I carry a stick still, now for the duel purpose of support first defense second, as my knees are problematic. A good stick can be helpful in climbing stairs, opening doors, pressing elevator buttons, & can be carried pretty much anywhere, even airports and the like. I highly recommend getting and training with a good stout stick. not to light but not sluggish. Most sword techniques can be easily adapted to a stick, or there are many systems specific to walking stick (Irish and French come to mind. With French look pre 1980's as the sport has gotten very acrobatic and showy but lost much of it's combative structure in my opinion)

in addition to self defense, these sticks are also good for putting on the ritz.

"In this way, blows from a simple malacca cane can be delivered with enough force to sever a man's jugular vein through the collar of his overcoat." Thats from an online "print" of s cane fighting manual from Victorian Britain, that I have unfortunately since lost.

I inherited my Grandpa's Shaleighleigh he god from ireland back in the day. He always just called it a walking stick and I'm just like "but grandpa, it looks like a spiked mace". Nice to have my suspicions verified

"The hitty end" That terminology is a bit too esoteric for us laymen, Matt.

'more hity' - the technical term

The walking stick... Crafted over weeks by only the most skilled of carpenters... formed by folding blackthorn in on itself millions of times to create a rock hard surface... capable of breaking through a tank's armour with a single hit... Truly, the most devastating weapon* known to humankind. *Except the thrown pommel, of course.

The "hitty" end. I love the technical talk here. Subscribed.

Never underestimate the power of a humble wooden staff/stick...

Hi Matt I like the new picture. You could set it a little bit brighter for my taste. The sound is good but you are picking up some sort of low humm that i could do without. thaks for the excellent videos please keep them comming

Hi Matt I'm from germany (sorry for the bad english)and i like your chanel very much. But this time you make a mistake. The first stick is obviously not made out of blackthorn (prunus spinosa). Because the branches of the blackthorn don't grow in regular circles around the stem. Working sticks made out of blackthorn are one of the haviest you can use, compared tho other sticks in the same size. You say that the stick is not heavy, that is an other indication for that this is not blackthorn. It looks more that someone use an old Christmas tree (fir tree or norway spruce) to make this stick. The spikes on this stick are leftovers from the small brances comming out of the main stem. They used this natural whorls in history as some kind of whisks in the kitchen or for cooking the laundry. The name blackthron actually comes from the long black thornes wich grown all over the branches of this bush and there is no chance to preserve them in the working process if you are making a walking stick. It is very common here in germany and i like to use it for woodworking because it is hard and very dense wood. Because of the thornes and the impenetrable growth of the bush the where very common used in history as border fortifications in our region.

Lovely fluid movement there. The thought that struck me about the second stick was that, when you put a heavy weight at the end of a flexible shaft, you’ve basically made a blackjack. The shaft will act as a spring and accelerate the heavy weight even faster. Very subtle. Bone breaking, though.

Hi Matt Sorry in advance for the stupid question, but I'm writing a novel and I'm looking for a type of armor that doesn't look like much in medieval(13th century Europe) standards but it could possibly be made of some special material like kevlar or something. What do you think could I use? Any pointers would be appreciated.

I can imagine that stick, on seeing Matt walking into the shop, start pleading please by me, please take me home.

While camping in Australia I use a fishing hand spear to walk with and put plastic drink bottle top on end or chair leg knob on end! Or when walking on rivers i dont cover it -The chair leg cover can be easily pushed off if u see a snake or something bigger ! Use two in snow for walking with and if in bear country u might have a fighting chance! My dad made me a hand spear from steel pieces at end for home invasions and it had two aholes bleeding out if my home on two different times! My dad was red beret in Ww2 from UK and I bless him for sharing this but his wood stick broke recently as I have been walking many times along rivers with it and am so glad I found the fish spear!

Matt! The audio! the picture! YOU'VE DONE IT! IT NO LONGER SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE IN A BATHROOM!

I love when he uses such technical terms as "the hitty end."

I got an Ash walking stick-Like a john bull from smiths umbrellas in London after being attacked with knives. Ash is very light and springy and suited my skinny frame. It has a ball end of knotted wood and is legal and has backed off Bandits on two occasions. Also in Smiths at the back of the shop on top of a cupboard is a huge African War Club from Malawi well worth a look, made from some type of Ironwood/ebony and would need a big warrior to bear it (It is a shame that it is almost hidden and forgotten) phenomenal piece of kit.

That second mallaca walking stick is really tasteful, you found a great piece for your collection! It's subtle, but deliberately effective for both purposes.

Everything looks great. I've loved the channel for a long time. Congrats on the new gear as well as breaking 100k subs!

As usually, great vid Matt. Those two pieces can indeed be sinister weapon in capable hands, especially that second whippy steel-caped one.

Just purchased a large diameter heavy duty Crooked Cane from local store Tractor supply( farm supplies). . purchased a rubber tip for it at pharmacy...I can use it to jab ..strike ..& use hook to grab a perps leg & pull it out from under them ! Really inexpensive! I am impressed !

Great video and great quality Matt. Keep them coming.

The sound is excellent. My Brother used to show hogs when he was in the Future Farmers of America. He used a heavy ash cane to maneuver the hog around the show ring. It was about 3 1/2 feet long and 3/4 of an inch thick. I always thought it would make a good self defense weapon especially if you used the crook end to strike with.

Well, i can say just one thing: This was the video i was expecting, walking sticks. Ahhh, i love them, not sure why but i really love them so im very happy to see this video and very happy to know that tehre will be more coming. As always, great video and keep it to the max Matt, you are awesome!

Cool stuff!!! Ive carried a walking staff for several years now and wouldnt be without one (I have several self made ones). The obvious walking aid over rough or uneven ground has save me from knee/ankle twists on more occasions than I can count! The self defence benefits are also there of course. Theyre a bit like a small version of a fighting staff. I love walking and am out a lot in the forests around where I live. The wildlife includes wild boar so having a staff with me gives me at least a small percentage chance of getting away uninjured should I stumble across one of these notoriously bad tempered beasts 😊

yes, more videos on the use of the walking stick would be awesome and appreciated!

The round part on the end is for swinging it around and using it like a spear.

please do make more videos regarding this topic of walking canes and self defence. Your right there are many ways to use the W-cane single and double handed grip. for some reason it's died out in UK to carry a walking cane in public, unless your old and in need of it as a medical device. I'm a practitioner of Diwang Panlaban System UK, And EDC of such walking cane items is standard for us to use with using lots of different styles, crooked, Balled, Flexible. it's very rare to see anyone EDC these days. Yes I'm a expert in how to use in many ways in defence & offensively. The problem is most people refuse to carry this in public because of the social stigma attached. if used correctly a walking cane can be ultra deadly and awesomely practical. welcome to the world of walking sticks as one of the best Self defence tools ever.....its a equaliser! Any questions just ask.

I'm actually pretty excited for some more videos on walking sticks.

love this channel, keep up the good work Sir.

I'd like to see more videos about walking sticks. Seems like it would be one of the very rare kinds of self defense items you are legally allowed to carry. I think you could use similar techniques with a sturdy umbrella or a crutch as well. The new camera seems fine, I don't really notice any difference while watching on my phone though., the sound is a bit tinny, but slightly louder than before, which is great for the small speaker on my phone but might be less good when you watch on a computer with a good sound system.

I have always liked a hallow bat, baseball or softball, that can be filled,but a pool cue is great. It can be a club or a cane with slight modifications

a good stout stick is a hugely useful defensive tool that can be carried almost anywhere with out causing a stir. I carry one almost daily. Thanks for the Vid.

Nice chat! Learned quite a bit. Thanks

Don't forget the "penang-lawyer", famous in literature. I found one at an antique show, many years ago: a rattan shaft (from which it gets its name: _pinang liar_, a species of rattan vine), slightly whippy, with a knob made from a piece of lead shot covered in knotwork...

Wow, you hit 100,000! Congratulations man. The new picture looks incredible, too.

THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I am a huge fan of the walking stick as an accessory and self defense choice. In today's society, they are offer a non threatening option one can carry in many more places than you can with a legally concealed weapon. Again thanks for covering these and am looking forward to more.

Make sure to practice your limp.

really like the new look! the shadows are indeed a bit hard, but you are already aware of this, and it's not such a big deal for me. Keep up the amazing work, Matt!

Blackthorn is another name for sloe which are everywhere in the wild and there was an extremely interesting article somewhere about Irish stick fighting. They would hold it two thirds of the way down with the club pointing forward and the last third reaching down your forearm protecting it. Then you punch and strike while quickly moving around as with most martial arts. There is obviously little Irish combat treatises but I think there are a few illustrations and descriptions.

Hey Matt, i found ur channel probably 6 months ago and have watched alot of ur vids, and think ur doing great job. So keep up the good work. I wish more people my age would be into this stuff

Thank you Matt, now I know what to hunt down when I get much older, I have a Spine Condition so I have come to terms with the fact that I may end up needing a Stick as a support sometime down the line. As a swordsman and as someone who believes in justifiable defence; I want a Stick I can also use as a Weapon, may even commission one to be custom made.

The visual is good. Great presentation. Cheers from California, Nathan

speed, mass, momentum, no mention of energy; at least someone seems to understand physics here. Thank you Matt!

As always superb content Matt, informative and fascinating. A small note on sound - the closer the microphone is to your mouth the better, as it will reduce the reflections from the rest of the room (though there are obvious restraints with regards to the kinds of demonstration you perform), and as others have noted there is a small hum from your computer as I assume your microphone is on you desk. In an ideal situation you might use a dedicated microphone stand so as to position the microphone *just* out of frame so it is as close to you as possible, thus solving both issues I have outlined. Again, really enjoy your content and look forward to consuming more.

my dad colected walking sticks . he had sticks with flasks inside for the gentlemen that liked a tiple whilst walking . hed had knife / dagger sticks . [he had about a dozen of thease ] a walking stick with a conseald blade within the cane section . the one walking stick i always admired was a single shot gun with a conseald trigger whtch the trigger deployed upon pressing a button on the top of a cobra snakes head . whch released the trigger . i used to play with it just like a cap gun when i was a kid :) sadly i don't know what happened to it . i moved away when i was 16 years old and only came back home when my mam was dieng . by then my dads collection of old walking sticks had gone . [ i think he sold them all off to buy booze ] but i still remember the awsome history behind walking sticks he taught me as a child . PS ! i coluld spot a stick gun from a street away even now ,

Excellent video 📹 thank you!! I carry a walking (stick) in Brooklyn......very handy.

Speaking as an Irish man who sometime needs a cane I think I should get a nice lump of blackthorn.

The sound quality is significantly superior to before. I'm not noticing that much of a difference in video other than a wider field of view, but I don't have a fast enough internet to play at any higher than 480p. That spiky walking stick was pretty cool. There are probably tons of interesting designs of sticks you can come acoss that can have very versatile purposes.

This was a very interesting topic and I, for one, would like to hear more about defensive walking sticks: materials and tactics. Thanks a million.

Malacca is a variety of palm botanically speaking, and is a climbing vine. Have a swag of sticks I have collected and made. I walk a lot with a dog and always have a stick. A familiar object/tool is an advantage when in a real scarey or confrontational situation. Many advantages, legally acceptable in most places, visible, lots of range, clears a space. I always use a bandanna/shemagh or similar as a wrist loop, easily moved along shaft for reverse or mid grip, and of course useful for many other purposes.

Hi Matt, in my club we made some years ago a few training sessions after the manual "The Walking Stick Method of Self-Defense" reprinted by Paladin Press. There the author ("an officer of the Indian Police") suggests using "An ordinary Malacca Cane or an Ash Root Walking Stick". In his system a lot of circling motions are used and he explicitely states that you should "Sacrify weight to speed always, for remember that man is an easily vulnerable animal and has many soft spots..." After training this system for a short period of time the most convincing factor of fast spinning motions for me is the deterrence of a very fast swinging object directly in front of your face. You really think twice about whether or not you actually want to attack your opponent without any kind of protection ;D

I'm currently in the process of building a walking stick; utilizing 1/8 strips of Mesquite, and Oak for the core, then laminating 1/8 Hard Maple, and finally 2 layers of 1/8 Mesquite for the finish. I intend to make it based on the African walking stick. I want it to survive a "home run" strike if ever needed.

More stick defense videos please, great stuff & keep Em rolling!

Just started watching your videos. Love 'em. I've done a little fencing at a local club but it was cutting into my ballroom dancing lessons. Some day. In the meantime, I'm really digging your talks and demos. Much thanks! Since you ask for feedback, I can hear you clearly but the sound is tinny.

A pole weapon is your best walking stick. 1. Buy a steel floor scraper with a 5' oak handle at any hardware store. 2. Grind down the square scraper blade into a triangle shape. 3. File the edges of it razor sharp, with the point straight out. 4. Put a rubber tip on the other end. 5. Tape a thick paper shroud over the blade tip to hide it. 6. People will think you have a long walking stick, when in fact you have a very lethal pole weapon spear. This is great for going on walks in urban or suburban environments where you might have to fend off a mugger, or a viscous dog. Because the stick is 5 feet long, you can keep any attacker at bay at a safe distance. Better than a knife or a gun, both of which may end up getting you arrested in many municipalities.

I've read a XIXth century self-defense manual by Montsery, and it actually compares sticks to the use of the sable - though it says some things should not be tried because of the lack of a handguard. But he recommends those sticks with a curved hand end, because you can use it to hook and grapple.

As a professional recording and media specialist, I just want to say kudos for the upgrade. It's a major step forward for you.

Great and unique topic to discuss in depth.

it sounds and looks darker than the last one, might be your settings.

The sound has improved there is no echo like before, and the visuals look clear.

Sound quality tip: you may consider hanging comforters or other thick, sound absorbent fabric on your walls to reduce echo.

Dude! The new camera rocks! Looking crisp!

Nice video quality! it is much warmer and not at cold as you're previous videos. Stick with it!

"The hitty end." That sounds a bit technical. Could you perhaps dumb it down a bit for me?

Thanks for the vid! Stick based self defense is big for us who use a cane daily. Hope to see your expert videos soon.

Nice details as usual.Tyvm.

Looking and sounding good.

Hapkido canes are the base to a deticaded art form of this message. thanks for discussing this. I am disabled and most people dont understand the ability to create a weapon with a simple designed weapon.. I have learned how to defend and kill with this 36 inch aid. The blackthorn canes was used for a weapon as the English outlawed Swords for the outlying kingdom. Look into Hapkido Cane its a unreal form

i would love to hear more about this topic. Baritsu has been a huge interest to me and the cane seems to be a very functional weapon. Not to mention you can carry it just about anywhere.

I love the idea of walking sticks and staffs for self-defense. I wish I were proficient with various types of stick self-defense.

I sort of collect walking sticks I guess, have maybe a 100 or so. Good rule of thumb is the longer the tip on the end the older it is, also older sticks usually have a lanyard hole up toward the top. The one with the heavy end probably is weighted with lead and not an iron rod, the lead was poured in when liquid.

As for a Martial Art involving walking sticks, I recommend you look into an intriguing Portugese martial art called "Jogo do Pau" It seems quite unique.

I love using the hitty end

Hi Matt The video is fine, also a tip - Manual focus on something you place where you usually stand otherwise we have this crisp clear view of your wall and you slightly out of focus infront :D but ya thats just nitpicking, its way better than the last camera. It's not really directly connected to this video. I did recently buy a pretty large axe (purely for fun as it looked nice Peter Szablos latest thing) and I was wondering, did something like a 2600g axe head on a 130 cm long shaft ever pop up in any treatises you know of, or have heard of it being used or produced historically ?

The sound is definitely better

Good topic. Cold Steel makes some plastic walking sticks. I have several different ones from them. I most like their one patterned on the African knockberry design. I found it a little heavy though for actually doing summer time 10 mile cross country hikes with, so I ran it though a lathe and thinned it a quarter inch and added a wrist thong at the bulb end. A vast improvement with no noticeable sacrifice.

That's a really great Blackthorn stick!

I live in the the southern us and a popular thing down here is canes with concealed blades or daggers. I knew someone with a collection. Good video.

Awesome. I find wooden sticks practical EDC defense. I'd love to learn more about walking sticks. Really glad you made this video Matt! Nice new camera btw, with the wider view, you probably won't have much trouble showing us larger weapons like Greatswords. polearms, etc. Good day. - Raphael

Very good! Thanks

I have started making sticks for walking etc and I have the Blackthorn straightened etc and I was going to remove the thorny bits but looking at yours I think I shall leaving them on.

Nice! Very eager to see more on cane use.

Seen footage of a straight staff, 2 meters or so, with a martial artist expert in that style (tai chi chuan like me). The "hitty" end (brilliant), hit with a 1.5 ton equivalent. That's literally a car hitting you full on. One of the more underestimated weapons ...

New camera works well, and I would be very interested to see more on the walking stick subject.

As a disabled guy who uses a stick - fascinating video.

wanting to learn how to use a walking stick as a weapon was the whole reason i got into HEMA to begin, after taking a few of the classes i learned to appreciate swords but i've never been a huge fan of using one and besides you'd get arrested walking down the street carrying one.

Brilliant as ever 🤙👏👏👏

Hello, I just started watching your videos and love them. I'm on a binge then will later to back and watch them in detail. The black thorn stick you have is Irish and is called a Shillelagh. They were used in medieval times until the 19th century as weappns. The wood it's made from is blackthorn. It's a thorny Bush and the knob and you hold was actually the root ball. Originally they were usually short and used as a club. Later when walking sticks became popular they were lengthened. At one time they were illegal so people his them in their chimneys hence the black colooration. Now days it's pInt. Yours however is the real deal. Two ways you can tell. One is the size of the root ball knob. These have been so popular and black thorn grows so slowly that the large root balls are gone. Also, it looks by the color to have originally been soot then later painted over. Also the metal tip was put on walking sticks in the 18th and 19th century...perhaps earlier...not as.a.weapon but so the end wouldn't wear so quickly.

I'm very interested in the topic of walking sticks. Please do lots more.

Looks well Matt. Interesting topic.

Malacca / Melaka canes are made of rattan or rotan (in Malay). It is a kind of vine.

it would be nice if you did a new video on this subject. thanks for the intertanment

The sound is very good.

Cool video good sir! I very much look forward to your future videos on this subject! -Cutlass P.S. In your opinion, which is the superior weapon, the swordcane or a weighted walking stick, and why?