Self-Defense Tip #128 — Review of Ray Floro’s Umbrella/Cane System – Real Self-Defense

Raymond “Ray” Floro instructs the U.S. Special Forces, Korean Special Forces, SWAT teams, New Australian Police, Zealand Police, and various Tactical Response Groups. You will learn from Ray a versatile and complete method of effective defense against edged weapons, blunt weapons, and empty-hand attacks.

Recently Ray Floro released a new course, Essential Umbrella/Cane System, which builds upon his Dos Manos System and adds to it even more powerful and even more foolproof techniques.
Below is a brief trailer for the Essential Umbrella/Cane System.

Ray Floro’s Essential Umbrella/Cane System video course’s trailer

Ray Floro’s Umbrella/Cane System

Part 1 (7:05)
Close-Quarter Encounters
– Grip
Looks natural but is just enough different to
A natural everyday grip, just a little modified, to turn the umbrella’s crook handle into a knuckle duster.
– “Knuckle Duster” Strikes with Crook Handle
You need these for “settling arguments” at a very close-distance. Pay attention to Ray’s technique!

Part 2 (9:37)
Close-Quarter Encounters continues
– Utilising Non-Weapon Hand
No dead-hands in Ray Floro’s systems….

Defense
– Philly Shell (a boxing defense)
Philly Shell is way to slip/deflect punches, that is applicable to stick fighting too. Learn it before you need it!
– Fist Destruction with Crook Handle
A quick way of taking one arm of an assailant out of service.
– Elbow Deflection
Deflecting punches with your elbows builds up on the Philly Shell. Elbow deflection may be used to damage an agressor’s fists (“defang the snake”), or to facilitate entering his blind side.
– Fist Destruction with Elbow and Crook Handle
More ways for destroying an attacker’s fist.
– Upward Strikes
Uppercuts with the crook handle.
– Cross Guard Defence
Another simple but effective defensive move.

Part 3 (10:56)
Long Range
– “Tonfa” Thrusting Concepts (with the Unbreakable® Umbrella)
Your tonfa-like thrusts, shown here, look innocuous, not powerful, but these are instant fight-stoppers, even when done with little force input — thanks to all the force concentrated on an impact surface the diameter of one slim finger.
– Swinging “Nunchaku” Strikes (with the Unbreakable® Umbrella)
These are very powerful, very fast, surprising, and don’t look innocuous at all.
– Proper Leverage and Power
Learn an excellent utilization of the umbrella’s (or a cane’s) handle for generating more striking power with one-armed swings than most people can generate with both arms.
– Striking Combinations
Combinations of swinging “nunchaku” strikes, really tight, really fast, really destructive.

Part 4 (8:21)
– Combination “Nunchaku” Striking
Continued from Part 3.
– Ready Posture
For striking combinations, either nunchaku-style or tonfa-style, as well as for upward strikes, which you will see next.
– Upward Strikes
Great for interrupting an attacker’s momentum, don’t require great accuracy because target area is large and hard to defend — insides of thighs, from knees to groin.
– “Axe” Method
Striking with the umbrella held like a long-handled axe lets you fully use the destructive potential of strikes with the tip of its crook handle.
– Improved Guard Posture
The improvement makes the guard even safer than its original version from Dos Manos System. Great teaching with showing reference points for checking correctness of the guard posture, and then applying the guard, in defense or counterattack.

Part 5 (11:59)
Improved Defense
Continuation of teaching the most effective defense from the improved guard posture. Videos below show how well this defense works against a strikes with a baseball and a machette.

Unbreakable® Walking-Stick Umbrella vs. Baseball Bat

Unbreakable® Walking-Stick Umbrella vs. Machete

– Head Evasions
More tips on minimizing the defensive movements in the guard while increasing their effectivenes.
– How to Avoid Being Deceived by Fake Attacks
… And keep you from falling for fake attacks (feints) — even without you having lighting-fast reflexes.
– Training Exercises
A simple drill you may do with a broomstick, but it will teach you the correct habit of effective defense from the guard.
– Improved Striking
The improved guard position is not just for passive defenses from strikes. It is a great position for launching stop hits from too.

To sum up this part: Ray minimizes movements and thus delivers greater effectiveness of both passive protection and active defense.

Part 6 (11:02)
– Defending Your Hands
A small but effective move, that prevents your hands that hold your umbrella from being hit, yet does not expose your head or other targets.
– Training Exercises
A simple drill with a broomstick, just like the one shown in Part 5, but now teaching how to defend your hands as well as your head, and your other vital targets.
– Using the Lamb Baton Method for Dos Manos System
Lamb Baton Method is a method of using police baton, developed by Boston police officer Arthur Lamb. In a typical technique of the Lamb Method, an officer would stand in a non-threatening yet tactically safe position and from it deliver disabling strikes. This method is widely considered one of the best baton methods in the world, and utilised by many police departments. In the remainder of the course, Ray teaches all seven tactical combinations of the Lamb Method, as modified to take advantage of the Unbreakable® Walking-Stick Umbrella’s length, which is greater than that of a police batton.
– Lamb Combination 1 to 3

Part 7 (8:33)
– Lamb Combination 4 to 7
– Conclusion

My summary: Ray Floro improved key Dos Manos System’s techniques by streamlining them, plus added a bunch of new, easy instant fight stoppers. You will learn tactics–from discouraging to destructive–suitable for dealing with all degrees of aggression.

I don’t get any affiliate fees from Raymond Floro or from Floro Fighting Systems. I share with you info on the above-mentioned video course because I know his experience-based no-nonsense self-defense works.

Attention:
Applying any of the techniques mentioned above is your sole responsibility.

Neither Never-Thought-of-It LLC nor the author of this self-defense tip, nor persons pictured in this self-defense tip, make any representation, warranty, or guarantee that the techniques described or shown in this tip will be safe, effective, or legal in any self-defense situation or otherwise.

The reader or viewer assumes all risks and hazards of injury or death to herself, himself, or others, as well as any resultant liability for the use of the techniques and methods contained in this self-defense tip.

Specific self-defense responses demonstrated or described in this self-defense tip may not be justified in certain situations in light of all the circumstances or under the applicable federal, state, or local law. Neither Never-Thought-of-It LLC nor the author of this self-defense tip makes any representation or warranty regarding the legality or appropriateness of any techniques described or demonstrated in this self-defense tip.

Self-defense tip from Thomas Kurz, co-author of Basic Instincts of Self-Defense and author of Science of Sports Training, Stretching Scientifically, and Flexibility Express.

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