[MR] How much damage would rattan do?

[Steven Chang]

I don't agree. They would not have hit hard enough to disable the
sailor's hands or else they wouldn't be able to keep working. The
sailors use their hands a lot. Especially during the age of sailing.

In a real fight with a wooden stick, you can break joints, elbows,
knees etc as well as hit pressure points. It only takes 3 good shots
at a pressure point to knock someone out. It doesn't even need to be
to the head. Unlike an SCA fight, these people are not wearing armor,
or any kind of padding on the elbow or knees.

Of course, we are talking about someone who has proficiency at stick
fighting vs a person who doesn't know anything. From the sounds of it
though, the student was quite proficient with that Katana.

I practice Stick fighting at my martial arts school. I've gotten
accidentally hit in the fingers before with the Ratan stick. I can
tell you at least one time one of my fingers swelled up enough that I
was unable to type with the finger for a week. This was just a
practice shot with 1/5 of the force you regularly use.

On 9/16/09, David Austin <grandaustino at gmail.com> wrote:
> Historically speaking bosuns on British ships of war used to hit the
> hands with rattan to keep them motivated.  I don't imagine that they
> pulled their shots very much, and the sailors certainly kept working.
> I'm not saying I would volunteer to be hit without armour, but I
> wouldn't rely on it to disable a foe either.  The purpose of the laws
> we are discussing seem clear.  The consequences of having a law that
> would legitimize some overly aggressive people blowing away anyone who
> happens onto their property would be disastrous.  After all if you
> kill that person it's hard to figure out their intentions afterward.
>
> Morgant
>