Irish Stick Fighting

[TheKiltedWonder]

I have to say, this art form never passed through my Doyles.

P.S. does anyone know the common name for shillelaghs in Ireland? I was talking about them to a friend from the Gaeltacht who had no idea what they were, till I described it.

[Roderick]

I practice the ancient Scottish martial art of Fah Kew! It mostly involves headbutting and then kicking people while they're down...





Can't claim credit for that. It was the only good line in an otherwise lousy Mike Myers movie.

[Monkey@Arms]

I have to say, this art form never passed through my Doyles.

Is it very painful when things pass through your doyles?

Best regards,

Jake

[Dan R Porter]

shillelaghs are much like the kilt, full of controversy. SOme claim the shillelagh is the "black thorn" walking stick, some claim it was a 4' stick taken from farm tools, some claim it is a small cudgel, or club that looks like a large solid tabacco pipe. I think Johnwhurleys documentation of it is the oldest documentation of a shillelagh and it is a 3-4 ft stick.

I have also herd it as a "Whats under the kilt" response. "My shillelagh."

[Dan R Porter]

Here is Glenn Doyles website, http://www.geocities.com/glendoyle/bata/index.html

Rince an Bhata Uisce Bheatha

Or whiskey dancing stick.

in his video he talks of how his fathers passed this art down, and how his father "was a mean man..." haha kindred spirits we are.

[Dan R Porter]

I had an old friend, a clancy, that had a family art of making shillelagh's out of a bull penis. They would hang it, twist it, and dry it a certain way. hmmmm interesting huh?

[Kilt_Em_All]

I'm not really sure I wanted to know that.....

-Elliott

[dfmacliam]

http://www.johnwhurley.com/shillelagh.htm is pretty informative with Gaelic terms

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Well, after living in Ireland for 21 years, I have to say I've never heard of this before. I suppose it might be "an ancient Irish martial art", but it looks more like a marketing ploy to me. But then I am always highly skeptical of "secrets" passed down from generation to generation-- while the possessor of those "secrets" could be telling the truth, it could also be an elaborate con job with no way to verify the truth of what one is being told. The "revival" of "ancient Druidic rites" come immediately to mind.

There is, however, one statement on Mr. Doyle's website that can be easily refuted, and that is his contention that the Irish didn't possess weapons. When Lord Edward Fitzgerald led the popular rising for independence in 1798 there was no shortage of weapons available to the Irish, which accounts for their early success. Unfortunately religious zealotry, especially in Wexford, doomed the venture to ultimate failure.

Judging from I have seen and read on his website, it appears to me that his school is teaching something akin to an amalgam of quarter staff and single stick techniques which enjoyed a revival in the Victorian era.

[Cherub]

Could be but having been there I can tell you that Glen is in ernest and does not seem to conning anyone. He does admit that he has incoperated kung fu footwork into the style and says the the styles weekness is it has few long range attack's it is designed to close quickly and from watching the more advanced students I beleive that is is quite usefull and a really good workout.

He only charges for the classes attended and is willing to work with someone traveling my distance by throwing in extra classes. The dojo is not his primary business.

So I like what I see and it is a style along with Filipino that i have wanted to learn for quite a while.