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By: Dan B.
There are a lot of choices out there when you are talking
about weapons for self-defense. Pepper spray is one of the
best. My personal second choice is an impact weapon such as
the ASP® tactical baton. Like any weapon it has its strengths
and its weaknesses. Unlike some weapons, such as a stun gun,
the baton does require skill to use effectively. The purpose
of this article is to give you an overview of this weapon,
and some of the skills required to use it.
The first important concept you need to know about the baton
is reaction time and distance. As an impact weapon, the baton
requires time to gain momentum in order to do damage. That
time translates into some distance that you must maintain
between you and your attacker, for the baton to be effective.
Ideally, you want to remain about a 1/2 step outside of the
range where you can just strike the opponent, or his weapon,
whichever is furthest. This distance not only enables you
to slip forward and strike with power, it allows you the reaction
time you need to slip back and effect a defense with your
baton when your attacker strikes.
As you might imagine, this distance requirement is both an
advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage, which really
comes from the length of the baton, is that you may very well
be able to stay outside the effective striking range of your
attacker and yet still be able to strike back at him. This
is especially true if you target the weapon, hands, arms,
etc. of your attacker, and he is trying to strike at your
body. That is, if you target whatever part of your attacker
happens to be closest to you, rather than trying to get in
a strike to his body or head, you will have the advantage
in both reach and reaction time. The disadvantage of this
distance requirement is that, for the most part, it is a requirement.
If your attacker can move inside of your optimum striking
range or reaction distance, you are at a serious disadvantage.
There are some strikes and blocks you can use with a baton
when the attacker is close to you and I will describe these
later. I will not go into grappling techniques with a baton
(chokes, arm-locks, etc.), however, as I don't think these
are applicable to typical self-defense scenarios.
The second thing to talk about regarding impact weapons is
what area of the opponent you target. A big advantage impact
weapons have over other types of close combat weapon is that
you can effectively strike at the attacker's weapon, whatever
that may be. This allows you to stop the weapon of an opponent,
something most other close combat weapons can't do. It is
quite possible to disarm an attacker with a good strike around
his grip - although not something you should depend on of
course. Besides the attacker's weapon, you typically want
to target bony areas when striking with an impact weapon.
These include the wrist, elbow, knee, ribs, collarbone and
head. A strike to muscle with a baton will cause pain and
possibly some muscle cramping, but it won't be nearly as debilitating
as a strike to bone. One solid strike to an attacker's knee
will probably end the encounter right there. That is another
advantage of the baton - it has the ability to disable an
attacker without having to kill him to do it. This can be
a legal bonus. The disadvantage of all this is that bony targets
may be difficult to strike in the heat of combat. With a baton,
anywhere you strike will do damage, but bone is definitely
better. Legally, any strike to the head, neck or spine is
considered probable lethal force.
I've talked about where to hit, now let's talk about how
to hit. First of all, you need to grip the baton with your
thumb wrapped around the handle rather than resting along
it. Your grip should be secure but not tight because speed
requires a degree of relaxation, especially in your wrist,
elbow and shoulder. There are four basic types of strike available
to you with an impact weapon. A slashing strike is one that
intersects and then moves across the target to the other side.
These are most often horizontal or downward angled strikes
that, for instance, start on your left side and end on your
right side. Swinging a baseball bat would be an example of
a slashing strike. These strikes tend to be the most powerful
type of strike. They also have the best flow of any strike;
in other words it is easier to flow from one strike to the
next with these strikes because you are moving with the momentum
of the weapon, keeping the weapon in motion, keeping its energy
and power, and simply steering it where you want it to go
next rather than stopping it and starting it again. A horizontal
slash (with the tip of your baton angled up somewhat) is very
effective at striking and deflecting downward attacks.
The second type of strike is the jab. This strike whips forward,
impacts the target and then retracts back to its original
position again. Although not as powerful as a slashing strike,
the jab does have a couple of advantages: it is very accurate
and can effectively strike small target areas, it can be used
effectively in confined spaces.
The downward circular strike is really just a particular
kind of slashing strike. It describes a vertically oriented
circle between you and the target that returns to its original
position upon completion. This strike is very quick and powerful
because it has the assistance of gravity and because in the
typical ready stance, with your baton held vertically in front
of you, you are already chambered to execute the strike. This
strike, although it moves downward, also moves outward as
it describes a circle, especially if you chamber the baton
by angling the tip backward over your shoulder prior to your
strike. Thus, you can use it to strike down onto the frontal
face of an attacker (or weapon) at about a 45-degree angle
of impact. The downward circular strike can be done to any
degree within a 180-degree plane in front of you. It is quite
effective at stop-hitting incoming horizontal attacks as long
as you target the face of the incoming weapon and strike it
away from you rather than trying to strike it downward.
The last type of strike is the thrust. To be effective with
a baton, the thrust must follow a similar line as the uppercut
punch or hook punch (from the side). A thrust straight forward
just doesn't have any real power. The thrust is one technique
that can be used at relatively close range if necessary. If
done to the solar plexus of an attacker, it can be a very
potent strike. One thing to be aware of with a tactical baton
such as the ASP, your weapon is collapsible and a powerful
thrusting strike may collapse it. Even if your weapon does
collapse, there is a good chance your strike will stop the
attacker at least long enough for you to reopen the baton.
In addition to using strikes to stop-hit an incoming blow,
a baton can also block or parry. To block with a baton, you
essentially move it between you and the incoming attack, shielding
yourself. Push into the block with your whole body and keep
your baton close to you, don't try to just extend your arm
out to meet the attack. Use your free hand (the hand not holding
your baton) behind your baton to help support your block against
the impact. Usually, I keep my free hand forearm a couple
of inches behind the baton and perpendicular to the baton
when I am blocking. It is important to have good skeletal
alignment so that the force of impact on your block travels
in a straight line down the forearm of the hand holding your
baton and into your body. A block can be quick - it requires
very little motion to pivot your baton into position - it
can be done inside the effective range of your strikes and
it will stop an incoming blow. However, unlike a stop-hit,
it will not do anything to disrupt your attacker; the block
is a purely defensive maneuver that will not take the initiative
away from your opponent. It requires more effort to flow from
block to strike to block than it does to flow between strikes.
For such reasons the block is not one of my favorite techniques,
especially if I can maintain a good reaction distance between
myself and my attacker. However, there are times when a block
is the only thing that will work.
Before I leave the topic of how to strike, I want to touch
briefly on the subject of power. Although difficult to describe
on paper, it is important that you put your entire body mechanics
behind a strike. This makes your strike much more powerful
than if you just use the muscles in your arm and shoulder.
Upon impact both of your feet should be firmly on the ground
(although you can step into a strike) because your legs on
the ground provide the foundation of your power. Again, it
is somewhat similar to swinging a baseball bat.
Footwork and positioning is probably the second most important
factor when using a baton in combat. It is rare that you want
to move straight forward or backward. Ideally, when you step
forward you want to angle to the outside of your attacker
as if you were stepping along the lines of the letter “V”
(starting at the bottom where the two lines meet and moving
out towards the top of the “V” as you step). If your opponent
attacks with a horizontal slash to your left side and you
step forward angling to the right you have done several things:
1) you have not significantly changed the distance between
you and your attacker even though you stepped forward, 2)
you have given yourself a little more reaction time and a
great angle of attack on the hand holding incoming weapon
and 3) you have moved inside of the opponents ideal striking
range and power, but have kept him at your ideal striking
range. Likewise, when you strike at your attacker, whenever
possible move and strike to the outside of his weapon hand
as this will make it more difficult for him to strike back
at you in return and make it easier for you to defend against
his return strikes. When you move backward, you should angle
back and out, along the lines of an upside down “V” as well.
If an opponent is rushing this allows you to slip to the side,
block his strike if necessary, and then be in a position to
hit him as he goes by.
Before closing, I would like to very briefly mention the
legality of carrying an impact weapon such as the ASP baton.
In every state, it is illegal to carry such a weapon concealed
without a permit. In some states, it is illegal to carry one
at all (even in states such as Texas that allow you to carry
concealed firearms - but for some reason do not allow you
to carry impact weapons, concealed or otherwise). In quite
a few states a baton is legal to carry, as long as it is not
concealed. So check with your local regulations, and the laws
of any state where you will be traveling, before deciding
to pick a baton for self-defense. If you do choose to carry
a baton, don't buy a cheap one because it will not hold up.
Both ASP and Monadnock make good batons. I personally prefer
the ASP brand, but I stay away from the Airweight and Duratec
models, which are made of plastic and aluminum, as they tend
to bend more easily; the standard steel ones really are almost
indestructible.
I hope this article has given you some insight into the use
of an impact weapon for self-defense. Such weapons have both
advantages and disadvantages, but in my mind the advantages
win. Regardless of what weapon you choose to carry, whether
it is pepper spray or a gun or anything in between, remember
that it is only a tool and the best advantage you will ever
have comes not from your weapon, but from your brain and your
attitude - those are the things that will determine how useful
your weapon can be. And finally - plan, prepare, practice!
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