Incline Village man teaches art of cane defense

INCLINE VILLAGE - He's been on the cover of magazines. He's been inducted into several halls of fame. He's revered as one of the premier figures in the world of martial arts.

And in a couple months, he'll be traveling to Europe for a few weeks, doing the usual - receiving fame, spreading his unique form of self-defense and being inducted into more halls of fame.

But when it comes down to it, longtime Incline Village resident Mark Shuey, Sr. is a lot like other Tahoe locals - just don't mess with him if he's got a cane.

"I thought you had to die to get inducted into a hall of fame," said a laughing Shuey when asked to reflect on his publicity and accomplishments.

Shuey, who has lived in Incline for 20 years, is founder and operator of Cane Masters, a business that involves teaching classes across the country and world, mainly to the elderly, about canes and how they can be used as self-defense.

After two decades of working with the cane, Shuey has been featured in publications such as Black Belt magazine and Martial Arts Experts magazine, among others.

With all the fame came recognition, and with that recognition, came the perks. Shuey was inducted into his first hall of fame in 2003, and his most recent induction was to a martial arts hall of fame in Canada, which spurred his recent cover story for Martial Arts Experts magazine, a Canadian magazine.

Shuey first started his work with canes in the '80s, when he already was well-versed in the martial arts. As a third-degree black belt, Shuey said he wanted to try something different.

So he went to a special martial arts class, one where students learned to train with various weapons.

"Everyone had nunchucks or stars or whatever, so I decided to pick up the cane," Shuey said. "And I remember thinking, hey, I'm the only one that can leave this room and not get arrested."

From there, Shuey decided to pursue the cane and figure out how it could be used in self-defense, and it didn't take long for it to stick - literally.

"I just thought, this is why I'm here, so I stopped the other stuff I was doing to pick this up full time," Shuey said. "I'm not making much money doing it, but I love what I do."

But when Shuey isn't busy wielding canes to keep up his physique or traveling across the world to teach others how easy it can be to defend themselves, the man can be found right here in Incline, doing what many Incliners do.

Shuey grew up in the San Fernando Valley, and he joined the U.S. Army in 1967, enlisting as a helicopter mechanic.

Luckily for Shuey, being a helicopter mechanic turned out to be one of the smartest decisions of his life.

Of the 800 soldiers he enlisted with, 798 of them were sent to Southeast Asia to fight in the Vietnam War. Shuey was one of the two soldiers who were assigned elsewhere.

Elsewhere was Germany, where Shuey didn't have to worry about fighting in a war.

"When you go into the Army, you have absolutely no control over where you go," Shuey said. "I guess I was pretty lucky."

After the Army, Shuey spent a few more years in the valley before moving to the Lake Tahoe area in the early 1970s.

And, like a lot of locals, he found it hard to resist leaving once he arrived.

"I drove over Highway 50, I saw the lake, and I fell in love with it," he said.

Shortly after arriving, Shuey said he discovered his home in Incline Village in 1977.

Soon he became a general contractor, which was his day job from 1979 to 1995, he said.

During his free time, Shuey said he has and still continues to enjoy most things that make the Tahoe area and Incline Village unique - hiking, fishing and skiing.

"I love to hike, but I don't do enough of it. I don't ski enough, either," he said. "I've also fished in Lake Tahoe. They say it's hard to fish there. I think they say, on average, that it takes about 18 hours of fishing before you catch your first fish in Lake Tahoe. I think they're right."

Shuey said sometimes he enjoys walking along the beaches with his dogs.

While in Incline, Shuey said he has been active in the community and remains a big supporter of Incline High School, where his daughter graduated in 1999.

Shuey used to teach martial arts classes in Incline, something he hasn't been able to do the past few years because of his increased commitment to Cane Masters.

However, teaching is something Shuey said he plans to undertake again in May, after he returns from a three-week trip to Europe, where he will teach classes, give seminars about Cane Masters and, not surprisingly, be inducted into another martial arts hall of fame.

He said he will recommence teaching martial arts to Incline kids in May.

Until then, Shuey said he plans to promote his business as much as possible.

And he hopes many of the local residents take notice.

"Most people don't want a cane, they think it looks old, that it looks geriatric.

"But the cane is a powerful self-defense tool," Shuey said. "You hear stories all the time when the person didn't know they had a weapon in their hands when they get mugged or robbed.

"This is a way to fight back."

On the Net

Cane Masters:

www.canemasters.com