YouTube - La canne Vigny (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqYeDCAO2Hg)

Drills and free-fencing footage from Craig Gemeiner's school in Australia. Gemeiner is the top reconstructor of Pierre Vigny's street-oriented stick fighting system, which has quite a colorful history. Founded in the late-1800s as a reaction against the increasingly stylized forms of canne fencing that were popular in France, Switzerland and elsewhere, la canne Vigny was incorporated into E.W. Barton-Wright's Bartitsu in 1900 and Barton-Wright wrote several articles explaining some of the techniques.

The style was then exported to India, probably via English soldiers serving in India who had trained at the Bartitsu Club and/or at Vigny's own academy in London while they were on leave from the Army. The most complete written resource for the style was written by an English police officer working in India, in 1923; "the Walking Stick Method of Self Defence" is available (print or free download) via Kirk Lawson's site at http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/the-walking-stick-method-of-self-defence-by-hg-lang/517076 .

In the early 1940s Lang's book was used to develop the self-defense training program for thousands of Israelis living in Palestine: http://www.savateaustralia.com/Weaponry%20Essays/Walking%20Stick%20in%20Mandatory%20Palestine%20and %20Israel.htm

See also http://lacannevigny.wordpress.com/ for more info. on this style and its history.

Hey, thanks for the link. I've always been really interested in this. It looks to be a pretty good art that has a lot of realistic applications. I was attacked by a guy with a cane while on duty one time. After that, I have always been interested.

So thanks again.

You're welcome.

Oh, I just noticed "embedding disabled by request" on the video link - if anyone wants to watch it, just click on the text saying "YouTube - La Canne Vigny".

I've been studying Vigny LaCanne for a few years now. I have a thread on MA Planet: LaCanne - The Vigny Method (http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98340)


Pics, clips and discussion of techniques and concepts. A fun style to practice and spar with.

Thanks Ddlr,

Having practiced with the don jong back in hapkido days and now starting to get older, I've been thinking about adding the cane to a combatives class.

The class practices a lot of stick work already. The cane should transition nicely.

Lawson's book is on the short 'to buy' list.

edit

just downloaded the free pdf to get a look see

I downloaded the "the Walking Stick Method of Self Defence" pdf last year and have really enjoyed studying it. Lots of easily understood techniques and good warmup and wrist/forearm strengthening drills.