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BIG BROTHER
Author: Robert W. Young
Black Belt first reported on Mark Shuey Sr. and his combat cane in its December 2000 issue, and the response from readers has been tremendous. The Incline Village, Nevada-based instructor is so in demand across the United States that his list of seminar engagements keeps him on the road up to 40 weeks out of the year. Hundreds of schools are incorporating cane techniques into their curriculum, and thousands of students are learning that the cane is much more than just a crutch. In this interview, Shuey updates martial artists on his work and introduces the bowkane, a new creation that can only be described as a cane on steroids. —Editor
Black Belt: How far back in history does the cane go?
Mark Shuey Sr.: The cane started back in the days of the Egyptians and the Roman Empire. Certain people would carry them to show what their status in life was—either in the church or in the ruling class. In the 1300s in Russia, if you carried a cane in front of the czar, you could be beheaded.
In the 1600s in Europe, if you carried a cane, you needed a permit.
People recognized how dangerous it could be in the right hands.
BB: How about the cane’s big brother, what you call the bowkane?
Shuey: The shepherd’s crook has been around just as long—in fact, it is believed that Moses used to carry one.
After attending a lot of tournaments, I noticed that the judges were getting bored watching the same stuff with the bo (staff ), so I decided to create a modernized shepherd’s crook for competition and self-defense. I came up with the name “bowkane” because it’s a bo and a cane. I put a sharper horn on the end, then I started to perform with it in tournaments.
BB: In the past, were the cane and the shepherd’s crook used defensively or were they just walking sticks?
Shuey: They were definitely used defensively.
In fact, there are stories of how people would use the shepherd’s crook to climb—to hook the top of walls or tree branches so they could pull themselves up and hide from their attackers.
BB: What does the bowkane offer the modern martial artist?
Shuey: In addition to the opportunities for competing with an exciting new weapon, it can be carried while hiking.
In some remote parts of the country, there is a danger of being attacked by mountain lions or bad guys. In either case, it could be a great defensive tool— not necessarily to kill but to fend off the threat.
BB: How does using the bowkane dif- differ fer from using the cane?
Shuey: You have an extra two feet of reach, and that can come in handy for grabbing things. In fact, once I was hiking in Puerto Rico, and it began as a beautiful day but started raining about noon. The rocks turned slippery, and I lost my footing and started sliding down a hill. I used a bowkane to grab a tree branch, and it stopped me about two feet before a 30-foot drop.
BB: So that extra two feet of length comes into play for grabbing things as well as for striking things.
Shuey: Definitely. You have two more feet to play with, so whether you’re poking something away or dragging it toward you, you have an advantage.
BB: How much more strength is ne needed eded to wield the bowkane than the regular cane?
Shuey: Not much. You’re only talking about an extra 14 ounces or so, so it’s just a matter of building the muscles of your arms and shoulders.
BB: You have said before that it’s le- legal gal to carry a cane anywhere. What’s the law pertaining to the bowkane?
Shuey: You can still carry a cane anywhere in the world, but that doesn’t apply to the bowkane. You can’t carry it on the street, and you can’t take it on an airplane. Before 9-11, I used to take it on planes with no problem because they considered it a walking stick. But not now.
BB: How do you use the different parts of the bowkane in combat?
Shuey: A friend of mine named Tom Callos has described the cane as “an escrima stick with a can opener on the end.” That also applies to the bowkane.
You can do everything with it that you can do with a bo—even sword techniques —but once you turn it over and start using the crook, it’s a whole different tool.
BB: So you can use the end to perform thrusting maneuvers.
Shuey: Both ends, yes.
BB: And you can use the shaft for le- leverage verage against arms, legs or the neck in a grappling situation.
Shuey: All that stuff—and you can strike. You just have to swing it at someone.
BB: Do you ever hit with the curved end?
Shuey: Definitely. And we hook and pull with it.
BB: What about the tip of the curved end—what you call the “horn”?
Shuey: The horn comes in many different shapes depending on what you want to do with it. The one that has three points is called the “eagle talon,” the one that has two points is called the “fang” and the one that has one point is called the “bird’s head.” I also have one that I call a “shovel with an attitude”; it has a sharp point on the end and is curved in, but the edges have slice marks for raking. The design possibilities are nearly endless.
BB: What are the different features on the shaft?
Shuey: There’s so much you can do with it. I started out making canes with triple grips, and then I used a shaper to make an edge on the shaft.
After that, I started putting teeth on it, and I made some with a diamond shape so you have four edges to play with. But most often I add the “shark’s teeth” for raking motions that will definitely tear the skin and could break small bones.
BB: What parts of the body do you tar- target get with the shark’s teeth?
Shuey: If you get a person in a head or neck grab, you go across his face or the back of his head. If you don’t have control of him, you can go for the shins or the forearms—anywhere you have a thin layer of skin over bone. And you need a backstop, of course, so he doesn’t just move away when it starts to hurt.
BB: Some people probably think the cane and the bowkane are fine for 60-year-old martial artists, but they’re wondering why someone in his 20s would want to spend time learning how to use it.
Shuey: Sooner or later, with any luck everybody’s going to be 60, so why not learn how to use it now? Seriously, a lot of seniors who can’t get back into the martial arts because they have a bad knee or a bad back are discovering all the benefits of the cane. The hardest bunch to convince is kids from 15 to 30.
They don’t understand how the cane could possibly be a weapon, but now they are slowly becoming interested.
BB: How hard is it for an experienced martial artist to convert from the bo to the bowkane?
Shuey: It’s a cinch. All you do is add to your bo techniques because the bowkane can be used to do the same exact moves. The only difference is that the crook enables you to incorporate pulling, grabbing and locking techniques.
BB: In competition, where do the cane and the bowkane fit in?
Shuey: At first, I had a small problem with some people who said the cane is not a traditional weapon, but after I told them it’s 5,000 years old— which is a lot older than the rest of the weapons they allow—I can pretty much get into any competition. I still have a few problems at traditional tournaments, but most of them are letting the cane in just to see what it can do.
BB: What divisions can you enter?
Shuey: Traditional weapons, open weapons and musical weapons—I’ve done them all.
BB: With the bowkane as well as the cane?
Shuey: Yes.
BB: When martial artists practice and perform, sometimes the cane has a rubber tip on the end, and some- sometimes times it doesn’t. Why?
Shuey: I recommend having a rubber tip on a cane or bowkane all the time because it saves the end of the weapon and the mats in the dojo.
And if you use it for hiking or walking, it won’t slip. Some people think it’s better to take the tip off for sparring and self-defense, but that’s not necessary. If you poke somebody with the bare end, there’s a chance it could glance off. When you have the rubber tip on, however, you can thrust it into the target and it stays there and hurts. Once when I was in Florida, a guy who had bought a cane came up to my room and said, “What do you do if somebody attacks you?” Then he lunged at me, and I had the cane in my hand, so I just gave him a poke in the sternum. The next day he showed me a black-and-blue mark and said, “Look what you did!” I said, “You were the one who did it—and you’re lucky I didn’t crack you in the head.” So I think it’s a must to put a rubber tip on a cane. It makes everything you do with it that much safer. ...
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