Usually Ireland is associated with beer in pubs, sheep on green hills, with druids at the most … But Ireland can also boast of martial traditions - moreover, dating back to pagan times. The most famous of these traditions is the now popular cane fight. Vitaly Negoda, a representative of the Irish cane fight group, spoke about the roots of this tradition, its features and suitability for self-defense.
Video on one of the styles of Irish stick fighting
General issues:
1. Description of style (school, direction) in one sentence
Gaelic martial arts - a complex of martial arts (single combats) and games of Gaels (Celts), the indigenous population of Ireland and Scotland, including various styles of stick fighting (or Bataireacht in Gaelic), types of folk wrestling in a standing position, various types of fencing (broadsword, broadsword and shield, knife, dagger, two-handed sword), fist fighting techniques, kicking, fighting games Hurling and Kamanakhk, which can be considered as an element of Gaelic culture and traditions, and in the context of sports, as well as used as self-defense.
2. Style motto (schools, directions)
Each school (group) practicing Gaelic martial arts has its own motto.
Buaidh no Bàs! - Victory or Death! Is the motto of my Clan McDougall, as well as my motto.
3. Origins (beginning) directions (when and who founded)
I think the origins of the martial arts of any nation should be sought in the time when this nation appeared. Martial arts and games are part of his culture.
The Gaels are an ancient people, respectively, their martial arts are also ancient.
According to the traditional Gaelic text "First Battle of Moytur", the first Hurling match took place near the modern village of Kong in County Mayo, Connaught province, Ireland on June 11, 1897 BC between 27 players from the Fir Bolg Tribe and 27 players from the Goddess Danu Tribe.
The Fir Bolgi won the match, which was rather brutal - the young warriors from the Tribe of the Goddess Danu gave their lives during it.
I would like to point out that the ancient Gaelic game Iomain (Iman), which exists today in two varieties - Hurling, which is popular mainly in Ireland and is governed by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and Kamanakhk (Shinti in English), which is popular in Scotland (especially in its mountainous part) and is controlled by the Kamanakhk Association, is (especially in ancient times) a kind of ritual battle.
All Gaelic heroes - Cuchulainn, Finn McQual, Konal Gulban, and others played Hurling or Kamanakhk.
The heroes of Ireland, who achieved independence for the country in the 20th century, throwing off the paw of English tyranny from the Emerald Isle, also played the Gaelic Games.
Hurling has always been a sport of warriors, a special game.
Even in relatively recent times, in the 19th century, namely in 1821 on the Scottish Isle of Mull, it was in the Kamanahk match between the Campbell Clan and the McLean Clan that it was decided once and for all who would eventually be victorious in the internecine war that lasted more than one century between these clans. The McLeans won.
This is what modern Hörling looks like:
And something like this the game was played about 250 years ago in Scotland:
Towards the end of the 19th century, the first Hurling rules appeared, the game itself
was much tougher than today. For example, wrestling techniques were allowed (but only in front and from the side, it was considered dishonest to grab at the back), and not only techniques with the help of hands, but also holds and footboards. Until 2003, Hörling was played without helmets (in Kamanakhk, and now most people play without helmets).
If we are talking about the times of Hörling and Kamanakhk in the first half of the 19th century and earlier, then there were no special rules (and if there were rules, there were no judges). On each side, hundreds of people often took part in the matches.
And, as one of the eyewitnesses of the matches of those days said: "In these matches, the Hurling stick very often changed its playing purpose."
Anyone who has ever held a stick on Kamanakhk or Hurling in their hands knows that in skillful hands it is a formidable weapon.
Perhaps it was in such ritual battles that an interesting phenomenon was born in Ireland, which was called and reached its heyday in the 19th century - Faction Fighting (fictional fighting, alas, could not find the most accurate translation into Russian, since Factions can be translated as groupings, gangs, but, most likely, it would be more accurate to call them military alliances, uniting fighters, often from the same village or one clan, who primarily fought for the honor of their village or their family and not all of them were involved in criminal activities).
Painting by Erskine Nicholas Donnybrook Fair: The Challenge (circa 1850)
Action Fighting was a battle between two such military alliances, where the main weapon was a stick made of strong wood (blackthorn, ash, oak and others). Sticks could be of completely different sizes and modifications (clubs were often used) - with or without thickening at one end, sometimes "tucked in" with lead, sometimes other edged weapons were used, but firearms almost never. There was its own special subculture, its own code of honor - a duel between two squad leaders, insults, and there were also rules of equal combat - an equal number of fighters on each side.
It was not purely stick fencing - wrestling techniques (Gaelic wrestling in the girth, and also, especially, collar and elbow wrestling), fist fighting techniques, kicks, knees - everything was used in such battles. Together, of course, with the work of weapons.
Considering that military alliances were built on a territorial or kinship basis, it is not surprising that each of them had their own secrets and their own techniques.
Accordingly, the variety of styles was great.
Action Fighting died in Ireland in the 19th century. Together with him, as a mass phenomenon, the traditions of the folk wrestling "Collar and Elbow", the wrestling in the girth, died (in Scotland, the wrestling in the girth exists, and the tradition has not been interrupted).
There can be many reasons for this:
- Gaelic stick fighting, Gaelic wrestling were inextricably linked with the Gaelic language and culture. The English authorities, since the 12th century, since their invasion of Ireland, have taken a variety of measures, including through the issuance of official laws, to eradicate Gaelic culture.
If in the 19th century Ireland was a Gaelic speaker, nowadays for the majority of its inhabitants English has become their mother tongue. Along with the language, a part of the culture also disappeared;
- In addition, in the 19th century, there was a terrible Great Famine in Ireland, from the consequences of which the population of Ireland decreased, according to some estimates, by half - from over 8 million in 1841 to over 4 million in 1901.
- There is also an opinion that another important reason could also be that a fighter with a stick fight in Ireland is, first of all, a fighter who fights for the honor of his village, his family, clan - one might say, for his “club”, using sports terminology.
This was beneficial to the British authorities, which, using the “divide and rule” policy, pitted the military alliances of the Gauls among themselves, thereby weakening Ireland.
Irish patriotic organizations, fighting for the freedom of their land, set themselves the goal of educating a warrior of a different plan - a warrior who would fight not so much for his "club" as for the "national team", for Ireland. These organizations were also mostly against the action fighting game.
Well, in a brutal struggle with the huge British Empire, Ireland gained victory, but for the clannishness and associated fiction fighting and traditions of stick fighting in Ireland, this may mean a sentence.
We see echoes of the old traditions of action fighting and local patriotism in the modern club championships and championships between the counties of Ireland in Hurling and Gaelic football under the leadership of the Gaelic Athletic Association, which at one time saved the traditional Gael games, and, thanks to reasonable rules, preserved it as an element of the traditional Gaelic tribalism and contributed to the unification of Ireland.
Everyone fights or cheers furiously for their club or county, but fatalities (as in football, rugby) are tragic accidents, and not quite commonplace, as in fights.
And I have not heard of fights between fans of opposing teams in Hurling or Gaelic football these days, this is unthinkable, the subculture of English football does not work here.
Variety of sticks, hockey sticks, walking sticks
I know that in some parts of Ireland (I've heard of County Antrim and County Wexford) there are a few small groups these days that practice stick fighting, but they don't like to advertise themselves.
Irish stick fighting is more common in the Irish diaspora in the United States and Canada, where there is a Glen Doyle style. According to him, this style is part of a family and continuous tradition. He now has quite a lot of followers in other countries, including Germany and Russia, there is a group of Ken Pfrenger, practicing a style based on surviving written sources (Donald Walker), there is a group in Canada, which has its own style, which has its roots in County Antrim, there is a John Hurley group.
In any case, in my opinion, there is no single strong organization uniting various Irish baton fighting groups in the world now.
4. The ultimate goal of the classes (the ideal to which the student goes), the physical and mental qualities that he must acquire
The goal is to learn how to control your body, to maximize and use the physical and mental potential inherent in the fighters, to develop the ability to deliver "sharp" explosive blows, the ability to intercept and take the initiative in battle, the ability to wield a stick, cane, wooden and steel broadsword (sword), stick, knife, the ability to move, maintaining stability and balance, the ability to maintain stability and balance in the fight against the enemy.
5. The technique used (striking, wrestling, breaking, etc.)
- As I said earlier, Gaelic styles of stick fighting and knife fighting, as a rule, imply the use of not only sticks, but also punches, elbows, knees, legs (as a rule, not above the waist), wrestling techniques in a standing position. The technique of movement, in general, is similar to the boxing one.
Most modern styles of Irish stick fighting use the so-called "Irish grip", where the bata (Gaelic cane, stick) is held approximately by the lower third, with a "saber" or "hammer" grip, its lower end protects the forearm and elbow. Blows and thrusts are applied both with the upper and lower ends of the bat, blocks (both rigid and sliding) are also carried out with both the upper and lower ends of the bat.
At close, and, in some styles, and at long range, a two-handed grip is used.
The targets for blows and jabs are primarily the arms, temple, chin, nose, elbows, knees, solar plexus.
Almost all styles have techniques for disarming the enemy.
The position of the legs and body weight (in most styles), as in modern boxing (60% of the weight on the front leg, 40% on the back, in styles that build their technique on the use of the sword technique, on the contrary, 60% on the back, 40% - on the front).
Movement, in general, in many styles of Irish stick fighting is also from modern boxing.
Boxing and wrestling such as Irish Collar & Elbow Wrestling and Highland Backhold Wrestling are closely related to Gaelic stick fighting.
This fight got its name "Collar and elbow" because of the preliminary grip, which consisted of the wrestler grabbing the opponent's goal with his right hand, and the opponent's elbow with his left.
They fought both in a special thick jacket and without a jacket, so that the "collar and elbow" meant the place where the preliminary grip was taken, which the fighters could later break and take other grips.
The task of the wrestler was to make his opponent touch the ground with three points.
In some counties, for example, in County Kildare, it was necessary to force your opponent to touch the ground with any part above the knee, if one of the fighters intentionally or unintentionally touched the ground with his knee three times, he was considered defeated in that round.
Wrestling bouts took place, as a rule, up to two falls (but the wrestlers could agree to a different number of falls).
On the ground, as a rule, in Ireland, this kind of wrestling (as in many other ancient types of wrestling in Ireland and the British Isles) was not fought.
The arsenal of this fight included back and front steps, sweeps, leg grabs, throws over the thigh and other techniques - due to the fact that this fight was built not only on physical strength, but above all on skillful movements, agility - this style of the Irish wrestling was also called Scientific Wrestling.
It is known that in the 19th century this style of wrestling, due to the large Irish diaspora, became very popular in America.
Namely, in America, the Irish wrestling "Collar and Elbow", influenced by the English wrestling Catch as Catch Can (Catch), which itself was a combination of several English folk wrestling styles, incorporating new elements such as ground wrestling.
In America, wrestling matches began to be held, in which professional wrestlers of different styles took place - Greco-Roman, Collar and Elbow, Katch, as a result of these interactions, a certain common style took shape over time, which became the ancestor of modern Olympic freestyle wrestling.
In Scotland, the Gaelic type was and is still popular.
wrestling in the girth (Highland or Scottish Backhold Wrestling). It was also widespread in Ireland at one time, at least we find references to it in ancient skeletons (sceal from Gaelic "history"), although later, probably, another type of Gaelic wrestling became more popular - "Collar and Elbow".
Among the Gaels of Scotland, wrestling was also associated with stick fighting. Until the British Government enacted a ban on the carrying of weapons by Scottish Gaels and the destruction of the Gaelic clan system, which followed the defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, there were martial arts schools in the Highlands of Scotland, the first of which was opened in 1400 by Donall Gruamach, Lord of the Isles. for their strongmen and wrestlers.
In a similar school, each of which was called Taigh Sunndais (from Gaelic "house of joy and health"), young people were taught fencing (stick fighting), wrestling, swimming, archery, jumping, pushing stones, running and dancing.
The fencing part (stick fight) included the study of seven basic angles of attack and six defenses, possession of the free hand, which was used to repel enemy attacks and disarm and fight techniques.
The training weapon consisted of a one-yard-long ash wood stick with a braided willow guard to protect the arm.
As a rule, this was the only piece of protective equipment.
At the Gaelic Games (Games of the Scottish Highlanders), in the future, Gaelic youth could measure strength with representatives from other clans (friendly) in various competitions, including in a stick fight, where wrestling techniques were also allowed.
The matches began after the participants said a short prayer: "Lord, spare our eyes!" /
The task in the duel was to smash the head of the enemy. The fight ended after one of the fighters suffered a headbutt anywhere above 1 inch (approximately 2.5 cm) from the eyebrow. The trainings and fights were quite tough, few people avoided the "kiss of the ash", there were broken bones and fractured skulls. And although no cases of fatal matches were recorded, it is known that some were carried away from the field, beaten to a pulp.
In Gaelic girth wrestling, which was a component of stick fighting in Scotland, there were also (and still are) separate competitions.
According to the modern rules of the Scottish Wrestlin Bond, the fight begins with a preliminary grip - the wrestlers stand with their chests to each other, put their head on the opponent's right shoulder and take a cross grip on the opponent's back. The grip is prohibited to release and change during the fight.
The one who released his grip, in case he is not on the ground. and provided that his opponent retains his grip, it is considered the loser of the round.
The goal is still the same, to force the opponent to touch the ground with three points (with any part of the body, except for the feet), there is no fight in the parterre. The winner of three out of five rounds is declared the winner.
In this type of wrestling, technical actions are also quite varied and include front and back steps, holds, twists, throws over the thigh.
Because Gaelic wrestling is Collar and Elbow wrestling
in the girth were wrestling in a standing position, where the task was to knock (throw) the enemy to the ground, while staying on his feet himself, if possible, it is not surprising that these types of wrestling have found their practical application among the fighters of the stick fight in Ireland and Scotland, since in the conditions of the stick fight fight (especially group) it is very important to maintain stability and stay on your feet.
In the conditions of serious group stick fights (and as I mentioned earlier, in these battles, not only sticks, but also knives, axes, swords were often used), as a rule, they tried to finish off a fallen to the ground - and not only with hands and feet, but also during aid weapons.
It was impractical to wrestle on the ground in the stalls under such circumstances.
One of the 19th century group stick fights between military alliances
6. Directional tactics
- Most of the groups (schools, styles) of Gaelic stick fighting I know emphasize attacking tactics.
The Gaelic baht is a rather serious weapon, even with one well-delivered blow of which you can break a bone, send a deep knockout, cripple, possibly kill. This is not a toy.
It is quite light compared to a steel sword, but at the same time, solid - this is a very terrible combination.
Accordingly, it is quite dangerous to fight a serious fight in a playful manner, a missed blow can be expensive.
Considering that I did not have to use it in a real serious fight (I mean fights without protection, when the attacker wants to kill you or seriously injure you), it is difficult for me, to judge, but the historical descriptions of such fights, especially group fights, allow me to conclude about how terrible this weapon can be.
For example, in 1834 in County Kerry, Ireland, up to 3,000 people took part in one of the action-fighting games at the same time, after the battle ended, 200 people were dead.
Of course, we do not know what exactly, all the participants were armed with and how exactly these people were killed, but we can imply that many of them were with Gaelic bats in their hands as weapons.
7. Presence of training fights (sparring). In what form, according to what rules are they carried out?
- We practice training mock fights (sparring) in some disciplines.
We fight according to the rules of the Irish wrestling "Collar and Elbow" and the Scottish wrestling in the girth.
We practice fights on wooden broadswords (using fencing masks) up to 5 strokes, usually with a divorce after each hit with wrestling techniques and striking techniques.
It is the same with knife fighting, but here, as a rule, we also use body protection (vests like in taekwondo).
As for the striking technique, now we do not conduct sparring, perhaps we will add them, but I want to purchase several helmets, for example, for the EPIRB, with a grille and use them in the future. Some of us work in the legal profession, some are a teacher, some are a doctor - not everyone wants to regularly go to work with a broken face. In addition, the head must be protected.
I talked about the striking technique above. In addition to the boxing technique of punches, there were kicks, knees, and shins.
8. Physical training (general and special) - including work with weights, free weights, own weight
- We pull up, do push-ups from the ground and on the uneven bars, run crosses, sprints, jump rope, play Gaelic fighting games, now we make friends with local rugby players and play Gaelic football and Rugby with them (according to simplified rules, without corridors and fights).
Someone additionally works on themselves in the gym.
9. Working against the group
- Only when we play Gaelic Fighting Games and Rugby.
10. Work against weapons / with weapons
- I told about the weapon above.
As for working with bare hands against weapons-
unarmed versus armed enemy has very little chance, in my opinion, so we practice sprint from time to time. Sometimes it's helpful to be realistic.
11. Work on the ground (in the parterre)
- On the ground (on the ground), as a rule, we do not work, because we practice Gaelic wrestling "Collar and Elbow" (in its Irish, not American version) and Gaelic wrestling in the girth, and both of these types of wrestling are wrestling in a rack, without a parterre.
12. Work in non-standard conditions, from non-standard opponents (in water, in the dark, confined space, from a dog, etc.)
- We do not practice any of this on purpose.
13. Psychological preparation
- a fighter develops in the course of sparring, fights (fights) in competitions, matches. In the old days before the battle, the bard of the clan, to the accompaniment, read certain verses of Brosnachadh catha (urge (call) to battle), some of them have survived to the present day (for example, among the MacDonald clan), in which he recalled the feats of the ancestors of today's warriors and urged the current generation to be like their great ancestors in battle.
From childhood, future warriors, sitting on long winter nights, absorbed colorfully told family legends about the exploits of both their fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, and numerous stories about the Fenians, legendary Gaelic warriors, about Cuchulainn, about Konal Kernach and about other heroes of the Gaels. …
First Hurling match before the first Battle of Moytura
One of the sections of Gaelic martial arts was na cleasan (from Gaelic techniques, tricks), and each hero had a set of these techniques, apparently, his own individual (although, for example, the maiden warrior Skahah taught not only Cuchulainn, but also other Gaelic heroes who arrived with him).
Gaelic skeletons (traditional stories), in particular, describe the techniques used by the Gaelic hero Cuchulainn, which he was taught by the warrior maiden Skahah and his other teachers.
Some of them lend themselves to translation, "take the apple", "take the wheel", "take the battle cry", "jump salmon", "take the cat", but what exactly they meant and how exactly they worked seems to be a difficult question.
Some of them are described: for example, one of these techniques, which Cuchulainn learned, included the following: it was necessary to balance with the chest on the point of a spear stuck in the ground.
Other techniques, such as one Gaelic hero, involved jumping over a fortress wall with a spear stuck in the ground. Sounds like modern pole vaulting, doesn't it? Or throwing a log in modern Scottish Highlander games?
There were certain techniques (possibly psychotechnics) that apparently allowed Gaelic warriors in battle to turn (perhaps internally) into a terrible kind of monsters, as well as dragons, lions, deer, eagles, hawks and other animals.
And also in battle to experience the so-called state of mire catha- (from Gaelic - the joy of battle), which allowed in battle to act naturally and without fear, to maximize your potential, however, in Christian times, such psychotechnicians, I think, were not very friendly and cautiously, associating it with the "dark school", black magic.
In general, na cleasan (Gaelic techniques) should be understood as any non-standard individual techniques and actions of a fighter that could give him advantages in battle - starting from the ability to jump over pits with snakes, water (what is not modern parkour?), To wield special types of weapons, quickly run, balance on a tight rope, and even quite mystical - turn into one or another monster, attract supernatural beings to help oneself in battle and others.
In a serious battle, any techniques (tricks) are suitable to defeat the enemy.
In the Gaelic text describing the duel of two Gaelic heroes, Cuchulainn and Fer Dyad, it is said that before the fight, each of them came up with their own techniques for the fight, which they had not been taught by their former teachers.
Thus, Gaelic martial arts is also a way of knowing oneself, discovering one's individual fighting qualities and using them in battle.
But, reading the same text, we understand that each of these 2 great warriors of the Gaelic World, before they began to invent their own techniques, first studied martial arts from various teachers in other countries, in particular, in the "Teaching of Cuchulainn" Scotland and Scythia are mentioned.
These heroes wanted to learn martial arts from the best teachers and understood the need for this.
14. Other effects from classes (wellness, developmental, etc.)
- Wellness effect, of course: we often train outdoors.
Although injuries are, alas, inevitable.
15. Unique features of the direction (style, school)
- This is a difficult question, but, most likely, the peculiarities are in the historical path of development, perhaps in the individual characteristics of training weapons and sports equipment, in the rich folklore that surrounds Gaelic martial arts and games.
Technique and tactics, I think, will have parallels with other styles.
16. Application in life (a case of self-defense, when the student was able to defend himself in this direction)
Actually, the styles of Gaelic stick fighting I had to use only in competitions and matches.
Although other elements, such as striking technique and Gaelic wrestling techniques, I had to successfully apply several times in my life.
Add. questions:
17. Why did you become involved in this particular area?
I have Russian and Gaelic roots, for me Gaelic martial arts is a tradition from which I draw strength for myself.
Russian martial arts are also close to me - at one time I was engaged in combat sambo and hand-to-hand fighting.
