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There are a number of traditionalmartial arts native to Ireland. TheIrish language term for "martial arts" isealaíona comhraic.[1]Traditional styles includedornálaíocht (boxing),coraíocht (wrestling),speachóireacht (kicking), andbataireacht (stick-fighting).
Dornálaíocht is theIrish word for boxing,dorn meaningfist.
The style or stance used indornálaíocht, a form ofbare-knuckle boxing, is sometimes reflected in Irish caricatures such as that of theNotre Dame Leprechaun.[citation needed] The lead hand stays at a greater distance from the body than in modernboxing.[citation needed] The lead arm's shoulder stays tight against the jaw while the other arm is tucked tightly to the body, using its fist to guard the jaw. This is due to the bare-knuckle nature of the style.Without largeboxing gloves, it is not recommended[by whom?] to tuck and cover up from a punch. Instead, the lead hand is used to block the incoming attack while side stepping and back stepping to create an angle or swaying the torso away from or towards the opponent. The more distantly placed lead hand is also used to more easily obtain a single collar clinch, so that another aspect ofdornálaíocht can then be employed: dirty boxing.[citation needed] In Irish-American schools,[where?]dornálaíocht is sometimes referred to as "Irish Boxing", "Irish Scrapping" or "Scrapping".[citation needed]
Raidió Teilifís Éireann'sPrime Time, which discusses Irish related social and political problems, had an hour-long documentary on theIrish Travellers and also theirbare knuckle boxing heritage.[when?]
Coraíocht is the Irish word for wrestling. Ireland has its own form of wrestling, notablycollar and elbow wrestling.Coraíocht is also the name of a back hold style of wrestling practised in Ireland. Coraíocht can be practised with or without a jacket and features a wide array of trips, mares,takedowns, slams,pins, advancements, submissions, grapevines, and escapes. The most quoted "modern" way of describing the philosophy behindcoraíocht is "use balance and speed to obtain position so that strength can then be applied to the leverage created".[citation needed] In Irish-American–based systems,[clarification needed]coraíocht is sometimes referred to as "Irish Wrestling", "Celtic Wrestling", "Irish Scuffling", "Scuffling", and "Collar-and-Elbow".[citation needed]
Notable Irish wrestlers includeDanno O'Mahony ofCounty Cork (former world champion),Steve Casey ofCounty Kerry (former world champion), andCon O'Kelly, who competed for Britain in the1908 Summer Olympics. Irish-American wrestlers includeJohn McMahon.[citation needed]
Bataireacht, an Irish term referring tostick fighting, is associated with the use of theshillelagh and other fighting sticks. The sticks used for Bataireacht are not of a standardised size, as there are various styles of Bataireacht, using various kinds of sticks. The most preferred of these kinds is a branch or walking stick.[citation needed]
By the 18th century, Bataireacht became increasingly associated with Irish gangs called "factions". Irish faction fights involved large groups of people who would engage in melees at county fairs, weddings, funerals, or other gatherings.[citation needed] Some historians, as summarised byJames S. Donnelly Jr. (1983) in "Irish Peasants: Violence & Political Unrest, 1780") have suggested that faction fighting had class and political overtones.[citation needed]
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