"These are wonderful batons, there are only a few places you can get 31 inch batons and I don't trust any of them as much as Karatemart. I wish the handles had the hard rubber like on the cheaper 2 piece collapsible bo staff, but these have the soft rubber which clings to and rubs your hands, this will make hot spots and callouses depending on how frequently you train with them. The 31 inch baton is going to take a lot of training to become really proficient with. At first the balance is going to seem like it requires really fixed and rigid forms but as your forearm flexor muscles develop the batons will reveal a balance and range of motion which is suitable to Tao Sword techniques, it will just take a while to develop to the point you can explore them. Definitely worth pursuing however. The 31 inch collapsible baton is the only collapsible baton worth having in my estimation, really a 40 inch collapsible baton would be perfect, but no one makes one yet. Applying sword techniques to collapsible batons is the future of martial arts as in the US as in most countries it is either illegal or too conspicuous to carry a sword around with you. Musashi was of the opinion that a boken was as effective as a katana, and indeed he did fight with a boken on several occasions, he won these bouts often with devastating results. Aside from a firearm these 31 inch collapsible batons are the most effective self defense weapon available, the best way to obtain and use them is with the 2 piece collapsible baton available here. I have bought the batons and the 2 piece staffs and can vouch for the more expensive staff option being superior because it allows you to quickly combine the two 31 inch batons into a 5 foot bo staff or to dissemble the bo staff lightning fast into two 31 inch batons."