Walking Cane

A couple of weeks back I wrote about walking with a stick in the snow. People slip and slide around, curse the snow and even injure themselves falling but the simple expedient of having a walking stick for such weather never occurs to most of them. I have been using my hiking pole in the last spell of snow but since I don’t really like using my traveling gear for everyday use I recently treated myself to a walking cane. I had not expected to get any use from it this year, but this morning there was more snow. It hasn’t settled, but perhaps my cane will see some use this year after all.

Correct length for a cane is determined by standing up straight, arms by your sides and measuring from the crease of your wrist to the floor. Wear the shoes or boots you would normally use. This figure should be at least half your height. If it is lower you may be slouching or leaning so try again with your back to a wall. Your elbow should be bent at about 15 to 20 degrees when using a cane. Interestingly the correct length for a hiking pole is about elbow height, so if you are used these the above recommendation might be taken to be the minimum length. My initial measurements were that my wrist to floor distance was 88cm, which since I am 180cm I now realize that I must have been leaning since I was measuring it myself. I was also bare foot when I did it. I brought a 96cm cane and it actually turns out this was perfect height for me. Sometimes you get lucky.

Here is a photo of my new cane, or a model just like it. The head is silver-plated and 6cm in diameter. It fits the hand nicely and is quite substantial.

Many of you read this blog for the discussions on self-defence, so I do not need to tell you that a walking cane can be a very useful tool for defending yourself. Techniques for using a cane have been covered in some of the previous blog entries and also in my book. Some martial artists like hook handled canes and employ clever trapping and throwing techniques using them. I prefer the knob ended stick for walking and prefer a KISS approach when it comes to self-defence. Effectively I have a silver-plated knobkierrie.

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Bo-shuriken Video

            I recently brought the book “Japanese Throwing Weapons” by Daniel Fletcher. I may post a review of this book once I have found time to watch the DVD that is included with it. I also came across this rather good video of bo-shuriken throwing. The basic throw he uses is the same technique from the Meifu Shinkage Ryu that is shown in the book.

            This method is similar to the push throwing technique I show in my book, but differs in a few details. The technique I show uses a more circular throw and the blade leaves the hand flying point first, the fingertips directed forwards. The Meifu Shinkage Ryu throw is made as a more linear pushing action that swings down to the opposite hip after the blade is released. The fingertips and the spike remain pointing upwards until after release and the missile makes a quarter turn to point towards the target. Both techniques will produce a "spinless" throw, however.

 

            Later in the video the thrower makes both inward and outward horizontal throws and a number of other more advanced techniques. Enjoy the video, he is very well practiced and shows very good accuracy.

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The Flick Kick

            Today’s blog will be about the “Flick Kick”, which is sometimes just called a Boot kick since it works best with a shod foot, particularly one using a boot where the sole projects a little. The Flick kick is used on targets below knee level, such as the shin and calf muscles.

            Turn your lead foot so that its outer edge is towards the target, then swing the leg in an arc to hit the target. The obvious way to use the Flick kick is from a side on stance but you can also deliver a Flick kick to targets that are in front, behind or at your corners. Practice kicking to the eight points of the compass.

            The Flick kick is a low version of the side purring kick we discuss in the book, but can also incorporate elements of the Side Thrust kick. The Flick kick can also be thrown as a low crescent kick if your foot is not directly in line with the target. You can also make it as a variant of Savate’s Coup de Pied Bas that hits with the outer edge of the foot.

            A good way to train for the Flick kick is for a friend to hold a walking stick as a target. Use tape or similar to mark it at knee level and keep you strikes below this mark. Have him move around and kick at the stick whenever it is on the ground and you can manoeuvre to bring it into range.

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Pizza Fights Back!

            A couple of years back I began to notice something. Eating pizza was often followed by a period of what we will politely call “digestive upset”. It didn’t matter what sort of pizza it was or what outlet I brought it from, there was a better than 90% chance that I would be in for a rough night.

            One thing that this could clearly not be was lactose intolerance. My father worked for a dairy during my childhood so I was raised drinking lots of milk, had cream on every desert, yogurt was always in the fridge and he even used to make his own butter. I drink a latte nearly every morning and have no trouble eating cheese or yogurt. Other foods with melted cheese on such as jacket potatoes do not cause me problems either. Bizarre thought it seemed, I seemed to have developed an allergy to just pizza.

            On the one hand, I had always enjoyed pizza. On the other hand pizza is often incredibly overpriced for what is essentially bread and cheese, comes in portions that encourage overeating and is often so full of fat you can squeeze oil out of it. Removing pizza from my diet has probably helped with the new leaner and more muscular person I have become in the last year.

            A few months back the local market had some bacon and cheese ciabatta bread so I treated myself to some for Sunday morning breakfast, warming it up in the microwave. I discovered that my digestive tract considered bacon and cheese ciabatta close enough to pizza to give me grief. This however, was another piece in the puzzle. Talking to the vendor I asked what cheese was in the bread and he confirmed that it was mozzarella.

            Logically, this suggested the possibility that either I was intolerant of cooked cheese, intolerant of mozzarella or intolerant of cooked mozzarella. I could narrow this down further with a couple of experiments but that would involve making myself sick, so I think I will pass on that for now.

            I did some further research and eventually came across websites were other people had problems with food that contained cooked cheese. Seems that if you cook cheese rather than just melt it it goes through chemical changes and some people (including myself apparently) are sensitive to these compounds.

            I had never heard of an intolerance to cooked cheese before, so if, like me you have problems with pizza know that you are not alone and there does seem to be a logical explanation as to why you can eat cheese but pizza fights back.

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