3 Metal Martial Arts Weapons For Close Combat
Close combat weapons are incredibly important in martial arts. This is because of the focus on hand-to-hand fighting. There are projectile weapons such as blowguns and throwing stars, but most fighting styles will focus on teaching students on how to operate either wooden weapons (bo staff, nunchaku) or metal weapons. This article will cover 3 of the most important metal weapons. Sai The sai resembles a short trident. It has one long metal baton, sometimes sharpened to a point, and two prongs on either side. The weapon has a short handle. It is meant to be used with one hand. The sai gained popularity in Okinawa where it was originally used by the police for crowd control. Some theories have the sai originating in India (the trident is a popular symbol in Hindu and Buddhist culture) and making its way east. Eventually, it became popular with the Okinawan civilians for use in self-defense. Martial artists will normally use two sai, one in each hand. The weapons are used to block large sword attacks and counter-strike. The sai can either be used to bludgeon or land puncture strikes. Karambit This is a curved blade that resembles a jungle cat’s claw. It was developed in Sumatra by farmers for use in fieldwork. Eventually, the blade was lengthened and sharpened and began to be used in self-defense. The popularity of the design spread to other countries, particularly the Philippines, Cambodia, and Thailand. The top of the karambit has a small finger-ring sized hole. The fighter places their index finger through this hole when handling the knife. This hole creates a “brass knuckle” effect, which means that the knife can also serve as a bludgeoning weapon. Additionally, the finger hole makes it easier for the fighter to hold on to the weapon, and conversely makes it very difficult for their opponent to disarm them in close combat. Butterfly Knife The butterfly knife is synonymous with Philippine martial arts. While Philippine martial artists perfected the butterfly knife techniques, there is some debate as to where the knife was created. Some evidence suggests that the knife was originally created in France in the early 1700s. However, the knife was never integrated into the French culture the way it was in the Filipino culture. The primary feature of the knife, its folding handle, was utilized by martial artists in the Philippines to develop a lightning-fast knife fighting skill. Unlike regular folding knives that have the blade inside on a fixed handle, the butterfly knife can be opened in one hand in a flourish. The speed at which the knife could be opened made it a superior blade for hand-to-hand combat. Fighters could flick open the knife and produce a blade in a mere instant. Fighters could also develop fancy “fanning” technique. Fanning the knife involves a showy display of opening and closing in a rapid motion. It would impress, and possibly intimidate others. Contact a local outlet, such as Discount Knives and Swords, for further...
read morePlan Some Outside Fun For Your Older Children Now For When The Temperature Warms Up
Even though it is fall and winter is not far away, you can take time now to plan some fun activities for your older children outside for this spring and summer. Below are two things you should consider doing. Outdoor Flying Making something fly in the air is fun for children. You can purchase some model aircrafts that you children can control while they are flying it. There are two types of aircraft you can choose from: helicopter or airplane. Helicopters use gyroscopes to keep them stabilized while they are in the air. Airplanes take up more space because they are generally larger than helicopters, and will need to be flown in flying fields or large parks if you do not have a large yard. Another option that your children may like even more is a quadcopter. This type of aircraft is a multirotor with four arms that has a propeller and motor at the end of each arm. While in flight, two of the rotors turn clockwise, while the other two rotors turn counterclockwise. This gives the quadcopter more stability. There are electronics onboard that will keep the quadcopter level while your children are giving it commands via a remote on where they want it to fly. The remote your child will use has joystick controls on each side. One joystick controls the throttle, while the other joystick controls the pitch. The quadcopter will come with instructions on how to get everything set up and will tell you how to use the hand controller. Water Fun Purchase a small above-ground pool for your children to play in the water. There are metal frame pools that are not as expensive as a traditional in-ground and above-ground pool. These pools can be set up very quickly, and then filled up with water via your garden hose. Follow the instructions that come with the pool on how to set it up in your yard. Wherever you place it, make sure the ground is level. You can purchase these pools at most places that sell pools or online. They come in different sizes and depths. Purchase some water toys now, such as some water spray guns, noodles, beach balls, and fun swimming rafts for your child to sit in while they are enjoying their pool. If you follow these tips, your kids will have a blast this summer, and you will have more time for yourself. For more information about quadcopters, contact a company such as Superior...
read more4 Tips Caring For Your Rare Coins
Whether you are trying to protect your financial investment or you simply want to make sure that your rare coins are always looking their best, you might want to take a few minutes to review the following four tips. Don’t Touch The Face It is very important to make sure that you are holding your rare coin in the best manner possible in order to protect its value. To do this, you will want to always hold your rare coins by their edges, instead of touching the front or back of them. The oils from your hands, even if you have properly washed them, can slowly eat away at the protective coating on the coins and essentially destroy the value that you are trying to build. Always Use A Padded Surface Even though you might not plan on dropping your rare coins, you just never know when an accident is going to happen. Therefore, you want to make sure that your have a soft cloth, such as a bath towel, on the table where you will be examining your coin collection. You might even want to lay out a few coins on the floor where you will be standing or sitting. This way, should you accidentally drop a coin, it will have a softer surface to bounce off of, which will hopefully prevent it from getting a dent in it or suffering harm to its protective finish. Wear Clean Thin Gloves While you might be planning on never touching the face of your coins, you will still want that added protection. No matter how often you wash your hands, they will secrete a natural oil that can and will damage your coins. To prevent this, you will want to wear clean gloves. However, you want to make sure that they are very thin gloves, as this will help prevent too many accidents involving the dropping of the coins. The thicker the gloves, the more control you lose. Don’t Remove Them From Their Protective Cases If you have some rare coins that are already in individual protective cases, you are going to want to leave them there. Sure, you might later find more unique cases for your coins, but you can save those for the coins that you will later add to your collection. The value of your coins is not in the cases that protect them. Therefore, as long as the cases that they are in are doing their jobs, leave them alone. The more you directly handle your coins and move them from one case to the next, the more likely it is that an accident will happen. With those few tips in mind, you should have no trouble making sure that your rare coin collection is kept in the best possible condition. To learn more, get in touch with a company like Coins...
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