It could have been soccer gear, possibly sparring armor, maybe even motorcross armor, not sure.
Anything that would protect your boney targets from the small steel tip of the baton would help, but the most important thing is to have your cranium shielded, because the tip striking that is what is going to cause dangerous, and possibly fatal, damage.
It hurts to get hit with the body of the baton anywhere, but if someone knows how to whip that tip against a boney target, that’s where the real trouble is.
Thank you.