its paid sponsors, whose products you need!
“Stay ‘unreasonable.’ If you
don’t like the solutions [available to you], come up with your
own.”
Dan Webre
The Martialist does not
constitute legal advice. It is for ENTERTAINMENT
PURPOSES ONLY.
Copyright © 2003-2004 Phil Elmore, all rights
reserved.
WarriorCraft (Ray Dionaldo) Training Blades
A Product Review by Phil Elmore
When Ray Dionaldo of
Warrior
Craft sent me three of his training blades, I was eager to see
them. It seems like just about everyone with whom I speak in the
martial arts community knows, or knows of, Ray and his work with
the Filipino Martial Arts. A nice guy and a superb craftsman, Ray
produces excellent aluminum trainers that I recommend heartily.
PINUTI
The pinuti is a long Visayan sword that resembles a slightly more agile
machete. Every time I pick up Ray’s trainer pinuti I find myself
wishing it was a “live” blade.
The cord-wrapped grip is very comfortable. The synthetic
under-wrap liner adds girth for ergonomics and makes the piece more
aesthetically pleasing.
The pinuti handles remarkably well, too, with a point of balance just
an inch or two below the halfway point from pommel to blade tip.
The ground edges are nice and rounded but well defined. I tried
my hardest to rub my hands along the blade and find a sharp spot on which
to catch myself, but except for the very slight angle where the sword’s
“false edge” terminates at the spine, I could find none.
Ray’s attention to detail is superb.
KERAMBIT
The kerambit
(or
karambit)
enjoys extensive popularity in some circles and, at the time of this
writing, is growing more common. Those looking for a kerambit
trainer need look no farther than Ray’s.
As with the pinuti, I could find no sharp edges to catch or scratch my
hand. The kerambit has dual “edge grinds” and a nicely
beveled finger hole.
There is no plastic liner beneath the wrapping, but I didn’t even
notice that until I looked closely to compare this trainer to the
sword. The wrap on mine is very tight and was obviously done by
someone with extensive experience in such ties.
DAGGER
The perfect accessory for espada y daga practice, Ray’s trainer dagger
is a guardless job with a nicely rounded pommel and a “double
edged” blade profile.
Yet again I could find no sharp edges, except for the slight angles
where the blade grinds meet the spine. Point of balance is just
below the blade end of the handle wrap. The dagger, like the sword,
incorporates a synthetic liner below the wrap. It is very
comfortable to hold and has become one of my favorites for dagger
practice.
Now,
as trainers go, I don’t recommend active sparring with aluminum
blades. They’re too rigid too be safe, despite their round
edges. They are excellent training tools for learning forms
and the mechanics of weapon fighting, however.
The fact that they look like live weapons helps trigger
the appropriate mental attitude in working with such tools. Additionally,
while they are not as heavy as their steel equivalents, they have enough
heft to be reasonably realistic in practice.
For metal trainers used in real-world martial practice, I give
Warrior
Craft my unqualified endorsement.