Hand held striking targets for sticks?

Question

I'm wondering if anyone knows of the equivalent of a target mitt or kick shield for weapons training, what they would be called and where I could find one?

I'm looking for something that would allow people to practice full on striking power with a stick but isn't, you know, a static padded pole or a swinging bag.

Answer 1

You can probably purchase something for a bit of money, but I recommend you build your own as it's easier to replace.

1. Get a sport or work glove that is very sturdy (baseball mitt/heavy leather glove/tactical gear glove/etc...)
2. Get some liquid nail or gorilla glue or some substance that is meant to permanently bind the glove material and wood together.
3. Get a 2x6, 2x8, 2x10 and cut a good size square off that will match the size of holding target you need. (you can also get harden plastic, but that usually runs more expensive. Rubber might work, but is much heavier.)
4. Secure the wood to the glove in a way you want it using the glue. Be sure to cover very fully the entire area between the wood and the glove. (you have to be sure the glue binds fully with both wood and the glove material...thus a leather baseball glove has plenty of surface and is usually all the same leather/synthetic material.)
5. Follow the waiting instructions for the binding glue to fully solidify.

Now you have a hand held glove with an impact area for practice weapons. The wood will absorb most of the impact and the thick glove should absorb the wood impact resulting in minimal absorption directly too the hand.

P.S. If you really want to buy something check out riot gear.

Answer 2

You could reinforce an existing kick shield with one or more pieces of PVC. Depending on how your shields are stuffed, you could unzip it and shove the pvc in diagonally through the padding or on the held side of the pad, as opposed to the striking side. A single stiffener would go from one corner to the other and two stiffeners would be in an X-shape.

The idea here is that it would spread the load of the impact. The reason it should not be on the striking side is to protect the stick from the stiffeners and vice-versa. Putting them inside the pad allows you to use it normally without it interfering with the users normal grip. An additional benefit would be that the shield would be less prone to flexing and wearing out over time with the downsides being that the extra pressure on the inside may cause the seams to bust more quickly, as well as the difficulty of install.

Some relatively small diameter, maybe 5/16" or 3/8", should be flexible enough to form to the original contour of the shield, if it has one, while still providing structural support. Definitely feel that out at the hardware store, taking the length of your shield into consideration.