Black Belt Magazine's Essential Gear

October 2006

"HIGH-TECH KALI STICKS"

Page 73

"A company called Duratan.com has begun marketing polymer training sticks made of - you guessed it - Durattan.  The weighty weapons offer the utmost in durability for practitioners of all Philippine martial arts.  The price for a pair ranges from $21 to $48 depending on diameter and length."

Testimonials

"I use the Durattan sticks to train my students for power hitting. We always train hard and we train to obtain maximum power. The Durattan stands up to the hardest hits and last longer then rattan."

~ Grandmaster Rene Latosa ESCRIMA CONCEPTS

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"After years of training with rattan and hundreds of dollars spent, I am glad to finally find a product that can outlast all other woods and training sticks!  I have no doubt that you will find me using my Durattan ™ training sticks more than any other stick in my bag." ~ Guro Ryan Gruhn TITAN FITNESS

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"Durattan offers an affordable and durable rattan substitute for every day training. While some minor distortions occur during hard use, they are easily fixed by the practitioner. While initially skeptical, I’ve come to like the feel of the sticks, and will be using them regularly in my future classes." ~ Bob Hubbard

**To read Mr. Hubbard's entire review please visit - FMA TALK / MARTIAL TALK / KENPO TALK

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"If your looking for a good synthetic stick, Durattan is the way to go." ~ Winston Tamisin

CEO / Co-Founder SMAK-Stiks, LLC  TAC-TRAINER

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"I have been practicing weapon arts all my life and have seen just about every kind of practice weapon.  The one thing that I have found different about Durattan is that YOU CAN ACTUALLY HIT THINGS WITH THESE!  Other martial arts practice weapons are not meant to actually make contact with other objects and if they do they are destroyed.  Thank you Durattan for making an impact training tool I can actually use for impact and not have to worry about breaking them!" ~ Renaldo A. (Switzerland)

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"Thanks for such a prompt delivery. Outstanding service for an outstanding product. I haven't been able to put them down yet!" ~ Ashley W. (United Kingdom)

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"I can't stand ruining my favorite fighting sticks during training.  On the other hand, I have to use them in order to get comfortable with their weight and size.  Durattan™ has solved my problem by giving me a realistic feel similar to my favorite fighting stick while lasting years longer.  Durattan™ is weighted just like my rattan sticks and comes in the same diameter.  I now will have the best of both worlds; Durattan™ to "stand-in" for training and my favorite fighting stick to fight with." ~ Dan J.

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"I have been involved the FMA's for several years and would invest $100 plus dollars every year using traditional rattan and other stand-in materials, only to have them fray or break while training. Recently I have utilized Durattan and I’m finally very pleased with the performance of this product. I am looking forward to the fact that my modest investment in this new product will yield a long term savings compared to purchasing several pairs of traditional rattan sticks a year. Thank you for producing this product and I’m looking forward to any other product developments you come up with in the future." ~ Sam H.

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Thanks for the sticks, I am glad I got a few pairs at different sizes.  I really never got used to training with a stick that was as substantial as your 1 1/4"X31" sticks.  After training with them for a few months I have experienced an enormous increases in my gripping strength.  Swinging a large stick is a lot different than actually doing partner stick on stick training with a large stick.  Your sticks have truly helped me up my game. ~ Jarred D.

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"Wow!  I can't thank you enough for these sticks!  They were a "hit" last week in class and I am sure the rest of my training partners will be purchasing their own pair of sticks soon!" ~ Jason  M.

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"My sticks arrived yesterday, I can't begin to tell you how pleased I am.  I added some ski wax as recommended and they stick to my gloves like glue.  I wish your company all the best, Durattan™ is a must for all serious practitioner of any Weapon based Martial Arts." ~ Jamie E.

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"I wish I would have known about you guys sooner.  These sticks can take a beating and still come back for more! I went against the recommendation and beat them against a pole in my basement.  I can confidently say that after doing so for about twenty full force hits the stick was not even marked." ~Carson S.

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"I am so glad that I can now extend the life of my natural rattan sticks by using Durattan™ whenever rattan is not a must.  Thanks for passing the savings onto us and not adding any unwanted bells and whistles.  I am glad to have found that your company does not try to pretty up your sticks; they are what they are.  The label on the one stick started to peal off a bit but then again, your not selling stickers." ~ Chuck J.

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"I just received my Durattan sticks in this evening and they feel excellent. They seem to have the same 'feel' and flexibility of natural rattan (which I think is a good thing for absorbing shock and the impact of blows!!) Overall, they feel good in the hand, a bit heavier than natural rattan, but really not an issue though." ~ Walter V.

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"Greetings, I stated some time ago that I would post a review on my usage so far of the Durrattan polymer sticks that I received last week. Over the past week or so I've been able to 'bang' around with them in and out of class and the durablity is great!! I've owed other polymer sticks in the past and have found them to be very dense and act as a conductor for vibration as opposed to absorbing vibration, which the Durrattan does surprizingly well!! They are a little bit heavier than rattan, but nothing that would affect training whatsoever though. They do flex a little like normal rattan when struck, but also are firm and ridged to be able to take the hits and strikes from other sticks. The length and diameters that they come are good. If your into using shorter sticks, Durrattan has a variety of lengths to accomodate one to your needs. Overall, I feel that they are a great investment for the quality and price as well. I'll be using these sticks from a long time to come (and chances are, they will probably out-live me!)" ~ Walter V. - http://www.fmatalk.com/showthread.php?p=2877#post2877