Irish stick fighting
| Also known as | Bata, Boiscín, Irish stick-fighting, Celtic stick-fighting, Irish club-play |
|---|---|
| Focus | Stick-fighting |
| Country of origin | Ireland |
| Olympic sport | No |
In Irish martial arts, bataireacht ([ˈbˠat̪ˠəɾʲaxt̪ˠ], meaning stick-fighting) or boiscín are the various forms of stick-fighting from Ireland.
Bataireacht is a category of stick-fighting martial arts of Ireland.
Bata is the Irish term for any kind of stick. In stickfighting, the actual bata or stick used for bataireacht is a Sail Éille (anglicised as shillelagh) or, in earlier texts, a cudgel. Blackthorn, oak, ash and hazel were traditionally the most common types of woods used to make shillelagh fighting sticks. Some authors have argued that prior to the 19th Century, the term had been used to refer to a form of stick-fencing used to train Irish soldiers in broadsword and sabre techniques. Upon further observations it appears that the art might have been developed by the working class more or less independently as no technical source seem to hint at a sword fencing origin.
The style is mostly characterized by the use of a cudgel, a knobbed stick, of different lengths but most often the size of a walking stick or small club. The stick is grabbed by the third, the lower part protecting the elbow and allowing the user to maintain an offensive as well as defensive guard. This grip also allows to launch fast punching like strikes.
The Irish have used various sticks and cudgels as weapons of self-defence for centuries. As with most vernacular martial arts, it is difficult to establish the origin of the art. Weapons similar to shillelagh are described in various sources including heroic tales such as The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel. It would truly begin to catch the attention of writers in the 18th century. The shillelagh is still identified with Irish popular culture to this day, although the arts of bataireacht are much less so. The sticks used for bataireacht are not of a standardised size, as there are various styles of bataireacht, using various kinds of sticks.
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