Raising Cane: The Unexpected Martial Art

I was interested in finding some techniques to use with a walking stick when I stumbled on several variations of cane fighting. After some research, I went with this book. I'm not at all disappointed. It very directly and clearly lays down a foundation for using a cane as a fighting weapon. It covers all the basics quite well. The illustrations and directions are informative enough for most of the techniques in the book. I've shown it to my instructors and they were impressed with the material as well. The one shortcoming I found was that the stick figures used to illustrate the techniques couldn't always clearly show what was happening to the cane in the hand. Still, overall a wonderful read providing some great information.

I was diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis) 10 years ago this May of 2021. I was a Kenpo Karate Instructor, 1st. Brown, training for my Black Belt when I was diagnosed, along with a stroke partially paralyzing my right side. Wanted to continue training but didn't know how until this book. The rest is history in the making...

This book takes you through the basic steps. From stances, movements and strikes to the equivalent of strike forms or "katas", blocks and combinations, it takes you through the components you need for a basic, introductory understanding of cane work. As in all martial arts, information is information. It takes a personal committment to practice in order to make that information useful and adapted to one's body condition. A lack of practice is not a "defect" for the book. The diagrams/illustrations are basic - almost rudimentary - but understandable. Overall, it's a good introduction to a difficult subject. It organizes the material well and presents it in a logical sequence.What would have earned 5 stars? Better graphics... or even the addition of "flow or direction of movement" arrows.

Individuals using cane outdoors are prime candidates for theft and other bodily injuries. Knowing how to use the cane defensively may change the superiority of the victim by scaring off the assailant or rendering the assailant injured or unconscious until help arrives.

I had higher hopes that this title would relate cane techniques closely to Filipino Kali. While some connections were made, there is not much discussion of underlying principles. The featureless bubble figures used to illustrate the moves were an even greater disappointment, as it is not always possible to interpret the orientation of a 2-D bubble figure in 3-D space. The accompanying text is lacking in crucial details, so was not much help in that regard. In all, very little was presented that an enthusiastic experimenter would not discover unaided. Too bad such promise & potential was not fulfilled.

I got the kindle edition thinking there were going to be some advance techniques(grapples, strikes with the crook, and basically aikido and hipkido joint manipulations) and found a great coverage of the basic but effective ways of striking and footwork. I like how it covers the basic.If you already know the basics on fencing and staff technique, you will groan at this because it offers only the basics.If you are a beginner, this is for you! Definitely recommend this!

Have to walk with a cane? Make it a tactical advantage. I enjoyed this, but I really hope I don't ever have to use a cane in self defense. I feel like the author overlooked that most people who use canes, need them to stand up. I'll keep up on the exercises just in case, but I need to lean on the cane, not swing it around.

"Raising Cane" documents the pedestrian and much underestimated art of cane defense. What could be more familiar than a crook-necked cane, or as accessible as 36" of hardwood resting at the ready in your dominant hand? Neither a knife nor gun has this advantage and the cane can be taken almost everywhere by old or young.Topics covered: Basic terminology, stances, footwork, power strikes, flexibility (redondo) strikes, thrusts, blocks, use of the crook, use of the live(free) hand, fighting scenarios, combinations and flows, disarms, conditioning/weight room work and a section on cane vs. knife. This is an ambitious undertaking in just 176 pages.My first hours with this text were frustrated by the sometimes confusing illustrations employed to convey technique. I'm not sure if I'm doing the beginning strike series (Cinco Tiros) correctly. No doubt it is a challenging task to portray the dynamics of any martial art with static illustrations. And the style chosen--stick figure drawings viewed from a single vantage point--leave much to be desired. (Many example would benefit from a 2nd point of view.) I simply could not decode some of the drawings, e.g. strong-side high-level strike (p48) and weak-side corkscrew thrust (p50). Both seem impossible as illustrated. In many illustrations there are missing critical frames showing the path the cane should take and the proper orientation of the thumb, thus leaving the reader to guess, fill-in or draw upon previous experience. Some drawings are mislabled (p117) and do not coordinate with text--poor proofing.RC desparately cries out for a companion demonstration DVD. All is not lost, the author does direct the reader to the Canemasters website where one can find instructional DVDs, which are not inexpensive, as well as a selection of robust canes which put to shame anything else I've been able to find.A valiant effort but unnecessarily difficult to decode (4.0 stars).