Aclub (also known as acudgel,baton,bludgeon,truncheon,cosh,nightstick, orimpact weapon) is a short staff or stick, usually made ofwood, wielded as aweapon ortool^[1] sinceprehistory. There are several examples ofblunt-force trauma caused by clubs in the past, including at the site ofNataruk inTurkana, Kenya, described as the scene of a prehistoric conflict between bands ofhunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago.^[2]

Most clubs are small enough to be swung with one hand, although larger clubs may require the use of two to be effective. Various specialized clubs are used inmartial arts and other fields, including thelaw-enforcement baton. The militarymace is a more sophisticated descendant of the club, typically made of metal and featuring a spiked, knobbed, or flanged head attached to a shaft.

Examples of cultural depictions of clubs may be found in mythology, where they are associated with strong figures such asHercules or the Japaneseoni, or in popular culture, where they are associated with primitive cultures, especiallycavemen.Ceremonial maces may also be displayed as a symbol of governmental authority.

The wounds inflicted by a club are generally known asstrike trauma orblunt-force trauma injuries.

Police forces and their predecessors have traditionally favored the use, whenever possible, ofless lethal weapons than guns or blades. Until recent times, when alternatives such astasers andcapsicum spray became available, this category of policing weapon has generally been filled by some form of wooden club variously termed a truncheon, baton, nightstick, orlathi. Short, flexible clubs are also often used, especially by plainclothes officers who need to avoid notice. These are known colloquially asblackjacks, saps, or coshes.

Conversely, criminals have been known to arm themselves with an array of homemade or improvised clubs, generally of easily concealable sizes, or which can be explained as being carried for legitimate purposes (such asbaseball bats).

In addition,Shaolin monks and members of other religious orders around the world have employedcudgels from time to time as defensive weapons.

Though perhaps the simplest of all weapons, clubs come in many varieties, including:

• Aklys – a club with an integrated leather thong, used to return it to the hand after snapping it at an opponent. Used by the legions of theRoman Empire.
• Ball club – These clubs were used by Native Americans. There are two types; the stone ball clubs that were used mostly by early Plains, Plateau and Southwest Native Indians and the wooden ball clubs that the Huron and Iroquois tribes used. These consisted of a relatively free-moving head of rounded stone or wood attached to a wooden handle.
• Bang – Chinese military weapon type used in medieval times. Also used in modernWushu showcase and martial-arts practice.
• Baseball, cricket and T-ball bats – Thebaseball bat is often used as an improvised weapon, much like thepickaxe handle. In countries where baseball is not commonly played, baseball bats are often first thought of as weapons.Tee ball bats are also used in this manner. Their smaller size and lighter weight make the bats easier to handle in one hand than a baseball bat.Cricket bats are heavier and their flat shape and short handle make them unwieldy as weapons, but they are more commonly available than baseball bats in some countries.
• Baton ortruncheon – forms used by law enforcement.
• Blackjack orcosh – a weighted club designed to stun the subject.
• Bian – a tubular club used by medieval Chinese infantry and generals.
• Clava (full nameclava mere okewa) – a traditional stone hand-club used byMapuche Indians in Chile, featuring a long flat body. In Spanish, it is known asclava cefalomorfa. It has some ritual importance as a special sign of distinction carried by the tribal chief.^[3]
• Cudgel – A stout stick carried by peasants during the Middle Ages. It functioned as a walking staff and a weapon for both self-defence and wartime.Clubmen revolted in several localities against the excesses of soldiers on both sides during theEnglish Civil War.^{[citation needed]} During the 18th centurysinglestick fighting (a training sport for the use of the single handedbacksword) was called singlesticking, or cudgel-play.^[4]
• Crowbar – a tool commonly used as an improvised weapon, though some examples are too large to be wielded with a single hand, and therefore should be classified asstaves.
• Flashlight – A large metal flashlight, such as aMaglite, can make a very effective improvised club. Though not specifically classified as a weapon, it is often carried for self-defense by security guards, bouncers and civilians, especially in countries where carrying weapons is restricted.
• Gata – a Fijian war club
• Ghioagă – a Romanian club similar to a shillelagh; also calledBâtă (the name comes from Latinbatt(u)ere – battery). This was used as a weapon in group fights against Ottoman Empire by irregular troops made up of peasants, vassals to local Princes in Wallachia and Moldavia. Early mentions of it occur from the 15th century in some historical sources.
• Gunstock war club – a war club stylized as the butt of a rifle
• Jiǎn – a type of quad-edged straight club specifically designed to break other weapons with sharp edges.
• Jutte orjitte – a distinctive weapon of thesamurai police, consisting of an iron rod with a hook. It could parry and disarm a sword-wielding assailant without serious injury. Eventually, the jutte also came to be considered a symbol of official status.^[5]
• Kanabō (nyoibo, konsaibo, tetsubō, ararebo) – Various types of different-sized Japanese clubs made of wood and or iron, usually with iron spikes or studs. First used by thesamurai.^[6][7][8][9]
• Kanak war clubs – traditional maces used by the Kanak people ofNew Caledonia
• Kiyoga – a spring baton similar in concept to the Asp collapsible police baton, but with the center section made of a heavy-duty steel spring. The tip and first section slide into the spring, and the whole nests into a seven-inch handle. To deploy the kiyoga, all that is necessary is to grasp the handle and swing. This causes the parts to extend from the handle into a baton seventeen inches long. The kiyoga has one advantage over a conventional collapsible baton: it can reach around a raised arm trying to block it to strike the head.^[10][11]
• Knobkerrie – a war club of southern and eastern Africa with a distinctive knob on the end
• Kubotan – a short, thin, lightweight club often used by law enforcement officers, generally to apply pressure against selected points of the body in order to encourage compliance without inflicting injury.
• Leangle – an Australian Aboriginal fighting-club with a hooked striking head, typically nearly at right angles to the weapon's shaft. The name comes fromKulin languages such asWemba-Wemba andWoiwurrung, based on the wordlia (tooth).^[12]
• Life preserver (alsohyphenatedlife-preserver) – a short, often weighted club intended for self-defense. Mentioned in Gilbert and Sullivan's 1879 comic operaThe Pirates of Penzance and in severalSherlock Holmes stories.^[13]
• Mace – a metal club with a heavy head on the end, designed to deliver very powerful blows. The head of a mace may also have small studs forged into it. The mace is often confused with the spiked morning star or with the articulatedflail.
• Mere – short, broad-bladedMāori club, usually made fromnephrite jade and used for making forward-striking thrusts
• Morning star – a medieval club-like weapon consisting of a shaft with an attached ball adorned with one or more spikes
• Nulla-nulla – a short, curved hardwood club, used as a hunting weapon and in tribal in-fighting, by the Aboriginal people of Australia
• Nunchaku (also callednunchucks) – an Asian weapon consisting of two clubs, connected by a short rope, thong or chain, and usually used with one club in hand and the other swung as aflail.
• Oslop – a two-handed, very heavy, often iron-shod, Russian club that was used as the cheapest and the most readily available infantry weapon.
• Paddle club – common in theSolomon Islands, these clubs could be used in warfare or for propelling a small dugout canoe.
• Pickaxe handle – the (usually wooden) haft of a pickaxe used as a club
• Racket (sports equipment)
• Rungu (Swahili, pluralmarungu) – a wooden throwing club or baton bearing special symbolism and significance in certainEast African tribal cultures. It is especially associated withMaasai morans (male warriors) who have traditionally used it in warfare and for hunting.
• Sali, a Fijian war club
• Sallyrod – a long, thin wooden stick, generally made fromwillow (Latinsalix), and used chiefly in the past in Ireland as a disciplinary implement, but also sometimes used like a club (without the fencing-like technique ofstick fighting) in fights and brawls.^{[citation needed]} In Japan this type of stick is called theHanbō meaning half stick, and in FMA (Filipino martial arts) it is called theeskrima orescrima stick, often made fromrattan.
• Shillelagh – a wooden club or cudgel, typically made from a stout knotty stick with a large knob on the end, that is associated with Ireland in folklore
• Slapjack – a variation of theblackjack consisting of a longer strap which lets it be used like aflail, and can be used as a club or for trapping techniques as seen in the use ofnunchaku and other flexible weapons
• Supi – a war club of theSolomon Islands
• Telescopic baton – a rigid baton capable of collapsing to a shorter length for greater portability and concealability
• Tipstaff – a ceremonial rod used by a court officer of the same name
• Tonfa orside-handle baton – a club of Okinawan origin featuring a second handle mounted perpendicular to the shaft
• Totokia – aFijian spiked club^[14]
• Trench raiding club – a type of melee weapon used by both sides inWorld War I
• Ula – traditional throwing club from Fiji
• U'u – an exquisitely-carved ceremonial club from theMarquesan Islands, used as a chiefly status symbol
• Waddy – a heavy hardwood club, used as a weapon for hunting and in tribal in-fighting, and also as a tool, by the Aboriginal people of Australia. The wordwaddy describes a club from New South Wales, but Australians also use the word generally to include other Aboriginal clubs, including thenulla nulla andleangle.
• Worraga – An Australian-aboriginal club^[15] with boomerang-likeaerodynamics. Can be thrown or hand-held.

Some animals have limbs or appendages resembling clubs, such as:

• Ankylosaurus (armored dinosaur)
• Anodontosaurus (armored dinosaur)
• Club-winged manakin (extant bird)
• Dyoplosaurus (armored dinosaur)
• Jamaican ibis (extinct bird)
• Mantis shrimp (marine crustacean)
• Nodocephalosaurus (armored dinosaur)
• Rodrigues solitaire (extinct bird)
• Talarurus (armored dinosaur)

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  Ball-headed War Club with Spike,Menominee (Native American), early 19th century,Brooklyn Museum
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  An ironjutte from Japan.
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  Small JapaneseTetsubo, an iron club with a leather grip.
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  Various assortedshillelagh (club).
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  Traditional Māorimere, made frompounamu (nephrite jade).
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  Gata waka
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  Ghioagă (Romanian Quarterstaff)
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  A club pictured in the coat of arms ofNuijamaa

• Cudgel War