Nevada Focus: These canes are made for more than walking

Sandra Chereb

Thursday, March 25, 1999 | 4:12 a.m.

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. -- Walking canes do not have to be symbols of frailty. Just ask Mark R. Shuey Sr., a martial artist with a 6th-degree black belt who sees the cane not as a sign of weakness, but empowerment.

Shuey has designed a cane with a larger crook and smooth notches along the staff. And though they may look like ordinary walking sticks, with a little training and practice they become inconspicuous yet powerful self-defense tools.

"I'm trying to let people know the cane is a weapon," Shuey said.

Shuey's canes, made in the garage at his Incline Village home, even captured the attention of best-selling author Tom Clancy.

In Clancy's book, "Net Force," the assassination weapon is a wooden cane made by Cane Masters - Shuey's company - and is traced to a store in Incline Village.

The canes are described as "hand-crafted hickory, sanded furniture-smooth and lovingly oiled ... Cane Masters specialized in building perfectly legal weapons for serious martial artists. An expert ... could beat somebody to a dead pulp with a walking stick ... and do so without breaking a sweat."

While the store itself may be fictitious, the company, the cane and the cane's capabilities are real.

"I'm probably getting a couple calls a day because of that," Shuey said of the "Net Force" notoriety.

"I feel very honored that Tom felt so much of my canes," he said. Shuey added he has never met the best-selling author and doesn't remember talking to him, though someone did call him a few years ago to ask if he'd mind if his canes were mentioned in a book.

"I'm going to make him a special one."

Deep, rounded grooves along the shaft are more than a fancy design.

"They're for hurting," Shuey said. "When you put the cane on pressure points and pull down, it hurts."

Yes it does, as an observer found out when the cane was pressed across the bones on the back of her hand during a gentle demonstration.

A sharp point at the end of the crook adds to the cane's potential harmfulness.

"I can put this around your neck and guide you in any direction I want to take you - or break your neck," Shuey said.

The best thing about these canes, Shuey said, is they are legal to carry, unlike other weapons used in martial arts.

That's one of the things that piqued his interest in canes.

"Why practice with a weapon you can't take outside without getting arrested?" he said.

Shuey, who turns 52 in April, has studied martial arts for 30 years and holds a master ranking.

He said he has sold between 4,000 and 5,000 canes since he began making them about three years ago.

A former general contractor who built custom homes for 20 years in the Tahoe region, Shuey said he shut down his contractor's business in the past year to concentrate on making canes. He also competes in martial arts tournaments and gives classes and seminars on yoga and self defense.

Shuey said one of his goals is to encourage martial arts instructors to teach cane techniques early in a student's training, "Not when your a third-degree black belt because supposedly by then you know how to take care of yourself."

But you don't need to be a martial artist enthusiast to learn how to use a cane defensively, he said, noting that interest is growing among women and senior citizens.

"It's a real easy weapon to learn," Shuey said. "You swing it and you can take care of yourself."