![]() Even those of artificial construction can have troublesome sharp protrusions that purport to be “authentic” but should be avoided. The thorns do not add significantly to the effectiveness of the blow, and can make the stick more difficult to handle. Some sticks seen in photos and available today retain their thorny protrusions, but a good fighting stick would have these smoothed down. From this amazing variety, we’ll focus on the most cane-like of them, as the Irish had to disguise their weapon as a common walking stick from the occupying English. Medieval maces are related to older clubs, and some cultures without metal-working used knobsticks - for example, the Maori taiaha. Sometimes called “knobsticks”, fighting with a heavy stick is common to many cultures. Generally, the root knob is at one end and some are loaded, that is, impregnated with lead. Shorter ones, about two feet long, would be called kipeen. Longer sticks were called wattles and could be six or eight feet long. The shillelagh itself is a single piece of blackthorn or oak about three feet long. As Jon Mills explained in his post, the general Irish term for stick fighting is Bataireacht. Patrick’s Day was this week, so let’s celebrate the shillelagh, or blackthorn walking stick and its fighting style.
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