Burning Rattan.

[arnisador]

It happened again just last week. I was at a FMA class and someone said to the instructor "I think something's burning!" and started looking at the overhead lights. Well, of course it wasn't the lights...I was using my thin pair of unwrapped sticks and they give off that burning smell quite easily. I explained this to him, and he looked at me like I was insane. The instructor had to explain to him that Yes, rattan burns.

This isn't the first time for this to happen to me--to end up visiting a FMA (or JKD-Kali) class that has people who have been practicing for a couple of years who don't know that rattan "burns" when struck. I'm guessing it's because so many of them have wrapped their rattan so completely in electrical tape that they never end up with rattan hitting rattan. But it's always very odd for me--it seems like such a basic fact for anyone who's banging sticks.

[sames]

Always a happy smell. If I'm at a seminar and don't catch a whiff then people (including me) just aren't working hard enough :)

On the wrapping topic... I've seen the electrical tape thing. I usually wrap in hockey tape once the stick starts to break down a little. What's the advantage of using electrical tape? It strikes me as slippery.

[sames]

Never mind. Just saw the wrapping topic.

[loki09789]

Never mind. Just saw the wrapping topic.

To take this in a different direction (briefly): How many have burnt their own sticks to harden them/cure them?

I use to but now I don't bother. Does it really extend the life of a stick that much?

[arnisador]

To take this in a different direction (briefly): How many have burnt their own sticks to harden them/cure them?

I use to but now I don't bother.

Ditto. (Well, I think Mr. Hartman always burnt them for me, at my request.) It looked cool but while I could tell the difference, it wasn't big enough to justify the effort, for me.

[Bob Hubbard]

Man, I love that burning stick smell. :)

[Sheldon Bedell]

First time I ever smelled that smell I had to look all over the place to figure out what the hell it was. Now I just smile because i know I'm training harder

[Carol]

Our instructors often burn Indonesian sandalwood incense during class. The school is covered in Filipino and Indonesian artisanship...the incense really blends well with the atmosphere.

Between the 'burning rattan' smell, and the Sandalwood...I swear I get a contact training buzz just by being in school. Its fabulous. :)