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Stick-fighting,stickfighting, orstick fighting, is a variety ofmartial arts which use blunt, hand-held "sticks" for fighting, most typically a simple, non-lethal, wooden staff or baton. Schools of stick-fighting exist for a variety of weapons, includinggun staffs,bō,jō,bastons,Naboot, andarnis sticks, among others.Cane-fighting is the use ofwalking sticks asimprovised weapons. Some techniques can also be used with a sturdyumbrella or even with asword ordagger still in itsscabbard.
Thicker and/or heavier blunt weapons such asclubs or themace are outside the scope of stick-fighting (since they cannot be wielded with the necessary precision, relying on the sheer force of impact for stopping power instead), as are more distinctly-shaped weapons such as thetaiaha[citation needed] used by theMāori people ofNew Zealand, and themacuahuitl used by theAztec people ofMesoamerica in warfare.
Although many systems are defensive combat techniques intended for use if attacked while lightly armed, others such askendo,arnis, andgatka were developed as safe training methods for dangerous weapons. Whatever their history, many stick-fighting techniques lend themselves to being treated as sports.
In addition to systems specifically devoted to stick-fighting, certain other disciplines include it, either in its own right, as in theTamil martial artsilambam, or merely as part of a polyvalent training including other weapons and/or bare handed fighting, as inKerala'skalaripayattu tradition, where these wooden weapons serve as preliminary training before practice of the more dangerous metal weapons.
Traditional European systems of stick-fighting included a wide variety of methods ofquarterstaff combat, which were detailed in numerous manuscripts written by masters-at-arms. Many of these methods became extinct but others adapted and survived as folk-sports and self-defence systems. Examples include France'scanne de combat orla canne, England'ssingle stick, Portugal'sjogo do pau, Poland'spalcat, thejuego del palo of theCanary Islands, Ireland'sshillelagh, Italy'sscherma di bastone. Giuseppe Cerri's 1854 manualTrattato teorico e pratico della scherma di bastone is influenced by masters of the Italian school of swordsmanship,Achille Marozzo and perhapsFrancesco Alfieri.
Walking sticks feature heavily in non-lethal self-defense from the beginning of the modern era onward, being a hardy and lightweight stick-fighting option the user is already expected to carry around on a daily basis. A stick is preferable tounarmed combat for all but the most skilled civilians, and the techniques necessary for cane-fighting can frequently carry over wholesale from one's experience with European schools of swordfencing.[1]
The period of 1604 to 1904 can be considered the heyday of cane-fighting in Britain, stretching from the recognition of self defense in English law through to the publishing of the first work onjujitsu, marking a paradigm shift toward hand-to-hand techniques.[2] In addition to the practicality of defending oneself in cramped, urban conditions, the walking stick's wide fashionability in the 19th century also established stick-fighting as thegentleman's choice of martial art.[1] Derivative inventions like theswordstick attempted to capitalize on this, but could be seen as a cowardly concealment of one's true weapon while simultaneously compromising the existing non-lethal uses of the cane.[3]
The French system ofla canne ("the cane") was developed to meet similar non-lethal needs, and is still practiced as a competitive sport. A self-defense adaptation ofla canne developed by Swiss master-at-arms Pierre Vigny in the early 1900s has been revived as part of the curriculum of contemporarybartitsu.[4]
Singlestick was developed as a method of training in the use ofbackswords such as thecavalry sabre andnaval cutlass. It was a popular pastime in the UK from the 18th to the early 20th century, and was afencing event at the 1904 Summer Olympics. Although interest in the art declined, a few fencing coaches continued to train with the stick and competitions in this style of stick-fighting were reintroduced into theRoyal Navy in the 1980s by commander Locker Madden. The art continues to gain a small following amongst the martial art community in the UK, Australia, Canada and the US.
In the US during the early years of the 1900s, fencer and self-defense specialist A. C. Cunningham developed a unique system of stick-fighting using a walking stick or umbrella, which he recorded in his bookThe Cane as a Weapon.
Extreme cases of the art include the1844 attack on Carthage Jail, Illinois, whereMormon prisonersJohn Taylor andWillard Richards managed to delay the anti-Mormon mob by deflecting gun barrels with a walking stick as they were forced through the jail's solitary entrance.[5]
Latin America also has its share of martial arts devoted to stick-fighting, includingVenezuela'sjuego del garrote,Brazil'sCapoeira andMaculelê,Trinidad'scalinda and the South Americans'Eskrima Kombat.[6]
Sticks and staves of various sizes are common weapons in Asian martial arts, in which they vary in design, size, weight, materials and methodology, and are often used interchangeably and alongside open-hand techniques. For example,eskrima or arnis of thePhilippines uses sticks traditionally crafted fromrattan or frombutterfruit tree and may be wielded singly or as a pair.
Egyptians inUpper Egypt practiceTahtib a stick-fightingmartial art thought to trace its origin from Ancient Egyptians stick-fighting depicted on the engravings atAbusir .
On tribes such as theSurma people ofEthiopia,donga stick-fighting is an important cultural practice and the best means of showing off to look for a bride,nude or nearly so, and their more warlike neighbors, theNyangatom people,Pokot people,Turkana people who fight duels bare-chested, the aim being to inflict visible stripes on the back of the adversary, using not plain staffs but sticks with a flexible, whipping tail-end.[original research?][citation needed]
Laws enforcement personnel in many countries use theBaton a roughly cylindrical club made of wood, rubber, plastic, or metal. It is carried as a compliance tool and defensive weapon. The name baton comes from the French bâton (stick), In modern police training, the primary targets are large nerve clusters, such as thecommon peroneal nerve in the mid-thigh and large, easily targetable muscle groups, such as thequadriceps andbiceps. The baton is swung in fast, "snapping" strikes to these areas, sometimes only making contact with the tip. Taken together, these are intended to impair the subject's ability to continue advancing.
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