Stick fighting

Stick fighting is a name for various martial arts and martial arts styles in which a short or long stick (or stick) is used as a striking weapon .

The roots of the martial arts with stick and stick probably go back to the beginning of human history . However, there is hardly any solid evidence for this, on the one hand because wood rots quickly and on the other hand because there is no written evidence of the use of rods before the High Middle Ages . Only experimental archeology was able to provide the first insights. Recent research suggests that in northern Great Britain the Celts in the Late Bronze Age (1300 to 800 BC) used their spears not only for throwing and stabbing, but also as cutting weapons. In the course of time, cultures all over the world developed stick fighting into a martial art that is about more than clumsy hitting and stabbing.

Martial arts styles

• Arnis-Kali-Eskrima / Escrima , Filipino martial art
• Bataireacht , Irish martial art
• Bâton français French stick fighting style
• Bōjutsu , Japanese martial art with a long stick
• Canne (martial arts) , French stick fight
• Jōdō , Japanese martial art with a short stick
• Tānjō , Japanese martial art with approx. 90 cm short stick (usually also walking stick)
• Donga fight of the Ethiopian Surma
• Jogo do pau , Portuguese martial art
• Juego del Palo , Canarian martial art
• Bastone genovese , Genoa-based form of Italian stick fighting.
• Maculelê , Brazilian fight dance
• Silambam Nillaikalakki , Indian martial art
• Taiaha , the traditional wooden weapon of the New Zealand Maori , partly with a (wooden) spearhead and a thickened club end.
• Sticks are used as weapons in many Chinese martial arts styles. The stick techniques of Shaolin Kung Fu and Wing Chun are particularly well known .
• In the historical martial arts of Europe , fighting with polearms was taught using the half pole . Up until the early 20th century, stick fighting was often taught as preparation for handling bladed weapons and for the purpose of physical training.

"Stick fencing is not only a very good preschool for fencing with the bare weapon, but also one of the best calisthenics in gymnastics [...]"

• The Japanese sword fight kendo is often incorrectly referred to as stick fighting because the shinais that are used for practice are made of bamboo.

See also

• Pugil stick

Individual evidence

1. ^ Antiquity Publications, 2011, Volume 85, Number 328, pp. 599-612 Kate Anderson, Department of Archeology, University of Edinburgh: Slashing and thrusting with Late Bronze Age spears: analysis and experiment. “The bronze spearhead at the end of a long shaft is traditionally seen as a thrusting or throwing weapon, as seen in the movies. By examining the damage on a group of Late Bronze Age spearheads from Britain, and replicating their use in combat, the author shows that the spear was an even more versatile weapon - for throwing, thrusting and slashing (with a short shaft). The research puts a spotlight on the formidable skills developed in a Bronze Age life-time. "
2. ↑ DER SPIEGEL 24/2011, page 108
3. ↑ Bastone genovese, coltello e gambetto, by Claudio Parodi, Genua 2012
4. ↑ Guide to teaching stick, rapier, saber and bayonet fencing, by Major Joseph Feldmann, Second Edition, Vienna, 1886, page 7