Class attendees watch as instructor Rob Hunter, left, demonstrates using a cane on an attacker last month at Atria MerryWood Independent Living Center in Charlotte, N.C. The classes aim to build confidence and muscle tone in participants.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Combat isn’t the first thing you think about when you see someone walking with a cane.

But older adults learned they make good weapons in recent Combat Cane classes at Atria MerryWood senior living center in Charlotte, N.C.

From Connecticut to California, cane self-defense — or “cane-fu” — is the latest trend to hit senior centers. Retirees practice whacking bad guys with walking sticks, while building self-confidence and muscle tone.

In the Charlotte, N.C., area, the classes are still novel. While most seniors will never raise a cane against attackers, experts say the workouts increase heart and lung function as well as mental acuity.

And as MerryWood residents learned, it’s fun to wave sticks around like the Three Musketeers. “Do you mind if I knock your head off?” a gray-haired woman in a red dress asked a classmate wearing a hearing aid.

The two squared off in MerryWood’s dining room as martial arts experts taught 30 seniors how to go for the groin, throat and eyes. “Dot the eyes!” instructor Rob Hunter told his students. “That’s our little figure of speech for ‘Poke him in the eye.’”

As some seniors sat beside their walkers and watched, more than a dozen others paired up for mock battle.

“Oops,” said Maud Kidston, 87. “You almost got me in the mouth.”

“Well, you’ll want to do worse than that if you’re in a fight,” replied her partner Janet Fee, 72.

Kidston is confident she could do damage with her cane if necessary. But she especially liked other tips, like shouting to show attackers you’re no pushover. “I can have a very foul mouth on me if I want to,” she said.

Senior cane classes have grown in national popularity in recent years, says Nevada martial arts expert Mark Shuey, a pioneer of the discipline. He started teaching cane techniques to seniors in 1997. “People think a cane is a crutch,” said Shuey. “But it’s a great self-defense tool.”

Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., police spokesman Officer Robert Fey said cane classes are a good idea as long as seniors are aware of their limitations. Any weapon can be turned against you, he warned. Older adults needing a cane to walk could be thrown off balance trying to strike someone.

Gene Bumgardner, 76, the MerryWood resident in a red dress at the recent class, likes the idea of using her cane for protection. For 12 years, she’s had a permit to carry a concealed weapon. But when she moved into the center, she wasn’t allowed to bring her gun.