body armour & training

[Dana Sheets]

http://safecityshop.com.au/secequ/fist.htm

The FIST defensive tactics suit Include:

Comprehensive coverage.  The basic kit consists of

chest and back, shoulder biceps, forearms, groin and butt, thighs, shins, helmet

carry bag

Extra coverage can be achieved by purchasing inexpensive optional attachments.

The weight of the basic suit is approximately 15 lbs.

Designed to minimise risks from blunt trauma.

Super fast Velcro strapping design enables instructors to don and remove the suit in less than 3 minutes!

Capable of receiving blows from real weapons (PR-24, Asp, etc.) at full power with minimum risk to  the trainer.

Adaptable to all different scenarios.  By using the optional safety attachments (available from us at incredibly low prices) you can dedicate your training to scenario and threat specific situations. 

Tough and rugged for many years of service.  Covered with Dupont Cordura Nylon.

The FIST Defensive tactics suit weighs only about 7 kg (15 lbs).  This enables the instructor to move more naturally and to launch a variety of complex attacks.

It is less expensive that other suits of this nature.  This enables your agency to get more training power at no greater expense. 



If you've got real player - you can watch some clips:
http://www.fist.safecity.cc/

I had the chance to beat on somebody over the weekend who was wearing the chest protector from this outfit. He didn't feel a thing. At $2000 US this isn't the cheapest thing on the market - so I'm curious to know if anyone else has used this suit in training. And - if you've used both this and the high gear suite - how to the two compare?

One caveat - I know the high gear suits are meant to be worn by the agreessor as well as the victim - I think these FIST suits are only meant to be worn by the aggressor.

[gmattson]

brought to camp last year, a number of "RedMan" suits, designed to take a heavy beating without injuring the wearer. I believe these suits are a lot less money then $2000 and, according to Dave (who is one of the countries formost authorities) is the best available anywhere.

I'll try to find the literature he gave me and will post it for anyone interested in the equipment.

We use the Blaure suit on Saturdays and find that they don't protect the user when hit by any of the stronger students. (I know they were designed to act as partial protection. . . Read the literature carefully) But tell that to a tough student driving in with a powerful kick or punch. . .

For people who prefer not to absorb much of the kick or punch in drills, I recommend the RedMan suit or those fiberglass chest protection. Save the Blaur suit for drills where the wearer is striking back and deflecting blows. (More realistic situations).

[Bill Glasheen]

George

Most of Dave's stuff was made by Redman.

- Bill

[Joe Graziano]

As lead defensive tactics instructor for a large federal agency in Los Angeles for the past three years, I have trained wearing both the Redman student gear and instructor gear. Each does the job for which they were designed; they offer a level of protection commensurate with the needs of the wearer.

Personally though, I don't like them and do not use them in the training I deliver and oversee. You get very hot and sweaty. It requires too much set up and take down time to change in and out of them and clean them for different wearers. That takes away from precious training time.

Some people get claustrophobic wearing them. They also give a false sense of security to the defender, as the attacker can only "lumber along" in the suits. A real attacker with good mobility would eat many of these overconfident students for lunch!

Nothing against this particular brand, but in my professional opinion such gear only looks good for PR (ain't these cool?). They are best kept in their shipping boxes. For me, I can deliver better and safer training without them.

[TSDguy]

Looking at that suit... it just seems like what's the point. Ya you can hit the guy in the stomach as hard you want, but you can do the same with some good abs and/or sparring gear. Suits like that, as I understand it, don't protect your joints and head very well, so basically you're stuck doing the same kind of moves you would during normal practice-- hitting the "safe" areas like forearms, shins, or stomach hard and being careful around fragile areas like the head and joints. I obviously don't have an expert opinion here, but... what is the advantage over good muscles and conditioning and these:

http://store.yahoo.com/tigerstrike-mart ... ggear.html

[HALFORD E. JONES]

ever since warriors went to battle! However, in modern times, with competitions and tournaments,including the revival of Knights,etc. at festivals, the interest in armour has risen. Although these modern suits for law enforcement and self-defense are popular, the drawbacks including expense and having to change and letting other sweaty persons don the gear, are but a few things mentioned here by others who have actually used such. In my personal experience, having used things, like bamboo body protectors,among other things, they can be cumbersome and not very conducive to strategy and technique per se. This is because you tend to feel protected especially in full-contact stick fighting tournaments, whereas confronting an opponent in such matches with only a stick or a blade tends to make one usually more wary if not cautious! I will have more to say on this,in all likelihood, but this is it for now!