THE SEARCH FOR STICKS:
On our last couple trips to the Philippines, we began searching for the best rattan sticks we could find for our kali practices back in the states: from Manila to Zamboanga, Bohol to Baguio (and even Boracay!). Though we found many satisfactory sticks on our travels, and quite a few unique ones, none were as consistently hard and dense as the ones we found in a little factory in Cebu. Our supplier is a well known rattan furniture exporter, that specializes in custom pieces that are shipped throughout Europe and Asia. At first the owner happily created a few samples for us to test. It only took a few cracks of the sticks to know we had found gold. Luckily after a few “meetings” over San Miguels and lumpia, we convinced them to be our sole supplier of rattan sticks. We still only ship a couple hundred sticks at a time, ensuring that the quality remains high.
Try them yourself! There are cheaper sticks on the web, but as the old saying goes, “you get what you pay for”. Though no stick is “unbreakable”, ours are finished very hard and dense, a bi-product of making top quality export furniture that needs to last for years. We have never had a complaint and have sold hundreds online and at martial arts seminars and dojos around the country.