Fighting Irish: The Art Of Irish Stick-fighting (Shillelagh Book 3) by John Hurley

Author:John Hurley [Hurley, John]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2018-09-10T00:00:00+00:00

th centuries. Descriptions of the techniques like the Guards also match those used in Irish literature.

The Foot Pad And The Cane. In the last chapter I explained the broadsword/sabre/singlestick method of shillelagh fighting. Along with the broadsword style there are 2 more styles of shillelagh fencing which are similar but differ because of the length stick. In the first style, the stick is 3 feet long and held in the middle with the ½ grip. Almost everything we know about this style comes from a remarkable article published in the The San Francisco call. (San Francisco [Calif.]), on 20 August 1905. Entitled “The Footpad And The Cane”, the article is anonymous but makes specific references as to how Irish stick-fighting is done.82

An Irish Style The author of the article states first and foremost that this is an Irish system or style:

“It is to the Emerald Isle that one must look to get instructions on the ways in which the cane can be most successfully brought into use as a weapon of selfdefense…The shillelah played a most interesting part in the country festivities. By using a cane as a son of Ireland would use a blackthorn you can put nine out of every ten ruffians bent on a holdup out of business.”

So clearly we are dealing with something which the author himself believed was Irish. Holding The Stick Next he starts to explain where and how to grip the stick:

“Grip the cane in the center, laying it along the forearm. With the left hand push the cane through the right hand until the end just extends beyond the elbow, which will give the right balance. It will be found that the other end, toward the ferrule, will be a little longer than that measured off.”

This is interesting for two reasons first folk sources also mention holding the stick either one third or halfway up the stick. Here he is saying halfway up the stick, its center. The other interesting point is that he is holding the stick with the ferrule end forward with the thick, knobbed or butt end at the bottom, behind the elbow. So you are moving your grip up the stick from the broadsword style of the last chapter to the center of the stick. He then goes on to confirm some more folklore which is to grasp the stick softly with the fingers:

“The only hold is with the thumb, index and center fingers. It is the same grip that is used with the foil. Never grasp the cane with all the fingers, not even for a straight blow. In this case the third and little fingers are merely held lightly around the cane to steady it.”

Then he confirms even more folklore:

“The reason for this grip is that It gives perfect freedom of movement to the wrist, which plays the most important part in the whole defense.”

The Foil grip and the grip from the article. Practice Training

Then his advice of practicing this:

“The first practice should be wit h

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