Irish Martial Arts

[Benjamin Smith]

Sorry about mis-identifying the writer Maxime. You bring up a good point though. I think that using the techniques in real situations would have a similar, or perhaps even superior, effect for someone's experience as sparring would, especially in a context like this where fights were probably somewhat less lethal than they would be with the military weapons. Both give you the opportunity to deal with a non-compliant opponent and have pain as a serious incentive. The big difference is that sparring can be done regularly and with less risk physically or socially, though with somewhat less realistic results in some situations.

Thanks again for posting these.

[Stacy Clifford]

The big difference is that sparring can be done regularly and with less risk physically or socially, though with somewhat less realistic results in some situations.

I think this is an important observation. While we always acknowledge that they really used these skills in real fights back in the day as proof that they work, we have to realize that a person of truly exceptional skill can't develop all of it from real fighting. A real fight of any kind usually only lasts from a few seconds to a few minutes, while a sparring session in a school can last for hours. Fights make best use of what you know, and sparring gives you time to hone what you don't know. And of course if you really spent enough time fighting every week to approach what you get from free-play, you would probably spend too much of your time getting to know the sheriff, the town watch, the doctor, the barber/dentist, and the rats in the jailhouse to get much training in.

[Eddie Smith]

check these two links
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropol ... elagh.html

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropol ... lbata.html

[nathan featherstone]

hi im from ireland myself as far as i know there is no official irish martial arts there is stick fighting and a strong tradition of short spear and shield and two handed axe if anyone knows anythin else please pm it to me i plan to try revive these arts in all irish aspects i can

[Nathan Calvert]

hi im from ireland myself as far as i know there is no official irish martial arts there is stick fighting and a strong tradition of short spear and shield and two handed axe if anyone knows anythin else please pm it to me i plan to try revive these arts in all irish aspects i can

Hi i myself am not from ireland but my family came from ireland. By strong tradition do you mean that they are still practiced?

[nathan featherstone]

sadly not largely buit by most reenqctment groups in ireland they are widley used and strong tradition i mean they were our regonised weapon like the horse bow was to the mongols
stick figthing was very common but it was more so done by gangs in ireland if i can provide any more info on irish related stuff do ask im glad to help

[Nathan Calvert]

Thanks i will

[Maxime Chouinard]

Hi Nathan,

The irish stick has a very negative connotation in Irish culture as I experienced first hand during my stay in your country. But the arts that were created for such a pupose are no less complex and effective. Unfortunately today it has become very hard to learn these styles in Ireland, most people are not interested in spreading their techniques and those that do are either threatened or not taken seriously. I think there is this group in Waterford though that gives practice sessions in the Doyle family style: http://www.waterfordmartialarts.com/ind.php

There are also many things you can look at for more information:

John Hurley's excellent research on the subject:
http://www.amazon.com/Shillelagh-Fighti ... 1430325704
The article I wrote about my experience in An Maide Bata: http://quebec.shinkendo.ca/textes/stick_edited.pdf
Or one of the various yahoo groups dealing on the subject:
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/MaideBata/
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/ba ... =127943979
http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/ceadbu ... =127943979
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shillelag ... =127943979

[nathan featherstone]

i cant thank you enough for that
really thank you. your very right people either ignore it or think its a joke or something for thugs but its our tradition but mist people cant see whats in front of them.
thats why i want to do my best to keep it alive and spread it thats why i thank the gods for groups like arma they are great
thank you again now il work hard to see what i can do with this