Got personal safety concerns? Got a cane? Get trained in “Cane-Fu Fighting.”

There’s a new style of martial arts training sweeping the nation amongst older adults called Cane-Fu Fighting. Perhaps it’s more accurate to describe it as old techniques finding new popularity as the nation’s population gets older each day and more people become interested in active lifestyles and personal safety. What exactly is it? It’s personal defense using one mighty weapon – the conventional cane.

Long known by martial artists, but less known by the general public, the cane, when in the hands of someone trained in its use, is an exceptionally effective tool for self-defense. The sport, exercise, or whatever you’d like to call it has become so popular that the Wall Street Journal even wrote about it in an article entitled Everybody is ‘Cane-Fu’ Fighting At Senior Centers, So Watch Out.

While any cane can be used, the best canes for self-defense are made of hardwood, because they don’t break on impact and they deliver a hard hit. Read this from the WSJ article:

Most of the seniors who take cane classes rarely wield them against anyone. But Bill Carter, a 56-year-old who took a class from Mr. Shuey in Florida a few years ago, says the instruction came in handy one day in April last year when he walked into his house in suburban Jacksonville to find an intruder in his kitchen taking TV dinners from the freezer. As the man approached him, “I popped him on the kneecap,” Mr. Carter says, and “hooked him behind the neck, and was able to guide him to the door.”

You can also watch this video on the subject:

Whether you are interested in self-defense or simply want some exercise, Cane-Fu Fighting can be a great way to become active and socially engage with others, and who knows – it just might save your life.