Travel Wrench, Flashlights, Karambits, Oh my.

The last couple of weeks, I have been playing with impact tools. It was the first time that I got to play with Datu Kelly Worden's Travel Wrench. It has been around for a few years. It felt very natural when I walked through Cinco Teros and a couple of the other drills that the instructor walked us through. Whether you are using it for a building block or need to carry something non lethal then you should check out the Travel Wrench. Not everything that you do needs to kill.


There is a non-lethal aspect of martial arts that often gets brushed over. Whether a person is in a dojo, a police officer or attempting to control a drunken Uncle at Thanksgiving then your focus is non-lethal. Your focus is control of the situation and not to inflict last injure. This is what makes the Travel Wrench a great companion.

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Which brings me to Flashlights and Mike Pesesko aka Icy Mike. He runs one of my favorite Youtube channels and training centers. I blame him for me thinking of a flashlight as the best self defense weapon out there. I am not talking about a 4 D cell maglight that security guards lug around. I am talking something that you can easily slide into your pocket or purse. No don't get the one with spikes that you won't be able  hand over to your three year old nephew because they will stab themselves. If you accidentally shine your kid in the eyes because they startled you then it is no big deal. You didn't shoot a love one with something lethal. You can use it as an impact tool or blind someone and follow up with a punch. If you are in a boxing class late at night then work in a training session or two. Pick up a flashlight today if you don't have one.

This is the video that made me go hmmmm...I need a flashlight.

Doug Marcaida and his Karambit skills is why I am working with the travel wrench. Doug has been a great force in teaching the world about Kali thanks to his appearance on Forged in Fire. It has similar shape and use with the retention ring. Yes, these can be an every day carry developing out of the 11th century. In the video Doug is using a 599 G10 Fox Karambit trainer. He plays with the capture and control features of this misunderstood knife. There are some martial artists that hate the Karambit. In my last dojo one of the instructors referred to it as a 'scary looking knife' and preferred a straight knife. He is not the only one out there that I have heard this preference. There are also plenty of mishaps of people not using a trainer first and cutting themselves with a live blade. Once you are comfortable then switch over to the live blade. 

You can work with non-lethal weapons all day long. Look into what blade you can legally carry in your state before you start using it. What are you training with? Are you building with tools that develop into a layered skillset? Train everyday and have fun out there.