[MR] How much damage would rattan do? (Jurgen)

[Jeffrey C French]

Re: How much damage would rattan do?
I can tell you what a Rattan stick can do against an unarmored foe. A well executed blow to the head with a rattan sword would stun or knock out the recipient, possibly inducing long term brain damage (Death is a possibility). A well executed blow to the head with a piece of rebar would gouge a chunk of flesh out of the recipients head, and possibly knock him out or send him into shock (Death is a possibility). A sword would probably kill. But the best you can say is probably. It all depends on how the blow lands, and what damage is done.

Back in 2003, I was part of a crew that was gifted several live ducks for a feast. We had to go collect and slaughter the ducks. The baby knight of the West Kingdom at that time was amongst our collection crew. Guess who got the job of hitting the ducks in the head? I got to assist him. He started with a piece of rebar. This gouged out chunks of duck skull, and sent the hit duck into an active shock. The knight next tried using a stick. This stunned the ducks, at which point one of the stronger stomached ladies performed the actual slaughter.

Now, a duck isn't a man, but a well placed blow to the temple or skull can knock a man out in one shot. I was once assaulted, and struck down my assailant with a single shot to the skull with a metal flashlight. It doesn't take much to knock someone out, but it is a matter of luck that the blow lands right. One of the basic assumptions in all of this is that the stick jock is stick combat competent, and the burglar is neither competent nor committed to a fight.

I may be naive, but it seems to me that it's kinda wrong to fire a flat snap (or any other blade side sword shot) at a burglar. They haven't earned the right to receive that kind of skilled shot, and I should never need to use it outside of an SCA field. The swords I own are actually equipped to control civilians. They have a skull knob on the bottom of the pommel. If you crack someone on the skull with the skull knob, they won't be standing around and talking to you about it anytime soon.

That's my experience and honest opinion. If you have $4, you can also get a cup of coffee...

-Jurgen