I reach for the wire, and the brutal simplicity of escrima fills my mind. It’s from the Philippines, escrima is, and I wouldn’t classify it as a martial art because there’s nothing artistic about it. There are no forms, no formal rules or competitions. It’s about as brutal and pragmatic as the military-style hand-to-hand taught at the Academy, but it’s better for my needs because it assumes your opponent’s armed. Apart from the balisong "butterfly" knife, the only weapon it teaches you to use is a short stick or wand—the kind of "weapon of opportunity" you can pick up just about anywhere—which just happens to be about the same size as my click-stick. What a coincidence.