I am 35 and use one of these from time to time. I wish we had this martial arts in america

Absolutely Nathan! Irish stick has sticks of the same size as a Hanbo or possibly a Jo, they work differently! Filipino styles often major on sticks but are different and vary even amongst themselves! The arts are a product of the area and cultures that produced them. Great video! Take care Graham

I wonder if anyone's looked into Bell Beaker archery in Ireland, there would've been bone/jet/jade wrist guards strapped to prevent bruising so the poundage might have been pretty good.

I wonder why it is that they didn't keep the original word (hold overs possibly related to the Bell Beaker bows?) but adopted Norse "bogí", they may have just been considered higher quality? As Irish elites also adopted Norse hatchets and Dane axes from the high Scandinavian population in the Hebrides that developed into the Sparth.

I'm Irish, and I have a Stick* My Granda made it for me when my mother was first pregnant with me, even though she had 3 daughters already he made a " fighting stick" from his own patch* that he was husband too in the ' wild ' I quickly grew to fit the stick he built. For a 6ft 2 light framed Man. Had it all my life, and if all this isn't already, corny enough ( ? ) I wouldn't swap it for any other weapon. I wouldn't swap it for everything I own. It's very presence in my life provides protection* and peace of mind* Which is priceless " Naturally. ∆

Glad to hear of the course

That is interesting. It's definitely been passed over. Reading over irish legends, etc, you'll only see slings & javelins mentioned.

I feel like it's similar to what Bruce Lee said about studying martial arts, that when he started a kick was just a kick, a punch was just a punch, when he started to get good & a kick wasn't just a kick, a punch wasn't just a punch, but now that he's mastered it a kick is indeed just a kick and a punch just a punch. Basically there are core movements that are common to almost all martial arts without which you can't honestly say you can fight - but every martial art has something special about it, maybe a training technique, maybe a way of doing certain blows, that others don't. These are the things that once you know how to fight, you add in that special sauce & someone from a different fighting tradition maybe won't know about it & it'll give you an edge, but if all you learn is that special sauce stuff, then turn up thinking you're now a fighter without having learned how to throw a punch or a kick, or do a takedown etc etc or how to block or parry or evade an attack, then you'll just end up on the special bus. You've evidently studied the core stuff and then some, so you'll be alright - I'm thinking of folks like Rokas from Martial Arts Journey who having taught Aikido for 7 years had the terrible realisation that aikido wasn't good for fighting. Ueshiba's initial class was taught to black belts in jiujitsu and karate - people who knew fighting - as special sauce stuff to make them even better, but an awful lot of folks learn aikido as their whole way of fighting, and get shocked when a boxer KOs them. Luckily Rokas has likewise made up his art's shortcomings by studying a bunch of other martial arts now.

Good stuff pal, would love to see a collaboration with my buddy tom from fandabidozi

Great channel, excellent video

Thanks for the video. I think I understand some of what you mean by different martial arts being different even though many of the moves are the same. In my late 20's, I tried to take a little karate. I found myself in a class where they set me aside and had a guy trying to teach me perfect form on a kick. I spent an hour trying to do the same kick over and over and over with only my right leg. They said that when I got that kick just right, I'd learn something else. I went home frustrated with asymmetrical back pain from an hour of doing the same motion with just one leg. I saw myself still standing to the side six months later trying to get that same kick just right. I wasn't even learning to throw the kick with power. I was just trying to get the form right. In frustration, I gave up. In my late 40's, I tried Krav Maga. I went to class where they taught us a series of steps to take if someone tried to choke us from the front. Before that started, we did about fifteen or twenty minutes of hard calisthenics. These included some punching and kicking, and they showed me roughly the right form for throwing a punch or kick. As they talked about the strikes needed to get out of the choke, they talked about how to throw the strikes with power. I went home feeling that if someone tried to put me in a front choke, I'd have an idea what to do. I'd at least have the confidence to act decisively. As they talked about the whole idea, they talked about how decisive action is sometimes all that a person needs to do. I realized that six months of Krav Maga would at least give me ideas for decisive action if I were attacked. Six months of Krav Maga would teach me how to put power behind any punches or kicks that I threw in self-defense. I wouldn't spend six months in the back of the class trying to get perfect form on a front kick. For each individual, a different approach will work better. Some people love the idea of practicing over and over and over to get perfect form before doing anything else. Others find that approach frustrating and demoralizing. I realize that someone who learns along the lines of that Krav Maga class and never works on perfecting his or her form will never be as good as the karate practitioner who develops perfect form and then develops power and then learns to put combinations together. On the other hand, strength still plays a part, and the stronger person with slightly less perfect form will often beat a weaker person with perfect form. I also recognize that some people are very much driven by the desire to learn a martial art as an art. Others are driven only by the desire to survive if they are attacked. Others are driven by a desire to participate in some kind of competitive sport. Each of the "arts" has a different focus. Many people in Krav Maga don't even consider Krav Maga to be a martial art. They see Krav Maga as a close combat system. No matter how much certain actions look the same, the overall activity is different if the focus is different. For me, the appeal would be learning to defend myself using a traditional weapon like the shillelagh. The shillelagh looks neat because of its historical significance, and being able to wield it effectively against an attacker would add to the appeal.

Sticks! They work.

Somewhere I've heard hurly sticks were sometimes used in combat. I'm aware that older sticks were more like hockey sticks than the modern hurlys. Can you do a video on them?

As your channel grows, keep the on-camera narration. I've been trying to connect with my Irish culture by telling the stories and cooking the recipes given to me by my great grandmother. The oral storytelling tradition seemed so important to her. You should keep that basic format as you go forward. Tell the stories that connect us.

Wonderful video!

thanks

thanks

Was hoping to hear proper pronunciation of broilaidheacht in this

The eyelet design on the Newtowndonore bow looks like a compromise between quick stringing and split strength of the limb tip. All you would need is a loop to push through the hole to wrap back on the limb tip. If you're going to us a flemish twist, you could save time by having one end prelooped and then stringing your bow in a hurry is a bit easier.

Your explanations and videos are amazing! Can I ask where did you get the shillelagh shown in this coconut test? Bought or self-made?👍

Fascinating. Does make you wonder if the furrows were for some kind of backing material (like as someone mentioned, sinew cable). Similar age bows have been found in England with sinew binding (Meare Heath bow). Also some of the Danish Nydam longbows were bound round with sinew or rawhide - though these were much later - late Roman era. I would not like to string a bow of any significant strength by putting the string through an eyelet at the end of the limb! ...Certainly not by just threading it through and tying a knot! Maybe the string went through the eyelet but was also bound round the limb

My sense, as a bowyer, is that the channel and eyelets are for a replaceable cable backing.

Great video, thank you for that!

A thought is with the eye hole not centered the stri ngg would favor one side of the bow making for a straight line for the arrow path. Some Native American bows are furrowed only on one side for the string ont the top limb. Making it easier to string the bow quickly but would favor one side of the bow making it easier for the arrow to pass the bow when released

very interesting ! gives me an idea for the cheapest of composite bows: a strip of harder material would be (not glued at all, but just) prevented from moving up, when the bow is in tension, by the using the hole at the end of the bow: a hole in the strip of the harder material, aligned with the hole in the bow, allows to join the bow and the strip... but that should also require a hole at each end of the bow, which doesn't seem the case for the irish bows you are describing.

very interresting !! but how is the belly/back of the bow identified on those remains ? (i tend to think the furrows would be carved in the belly and originally filled with a horn strip - for example... just because the section vaguely reminds me of depictions of some bronze age egyptian composite bows)

A thought about the belly grooves. Native Americans used blood grooves or lightning grooves on arrows to keep the shaft straighter for a longer period of time. After grooving, fire hardening would set the wood. In a wet climate could the grooves on the belly be used to keep the bow straight? Fire hardening does increase performance as well. Fire hardening has been proven by many bows made by Thad Beckum and Kieth Shannon. This would create a double effect on efficiency? Just something to think about.

WE did not have anything in the past THEY had it. I don't see how 5,000 year old artifacts can be considered Irish any more than Stonehenge can be considered English. The latter also has wooden origins also from the bronze age. There is no cultural connection with such a distant past. Certainly the language used at the end of the video demonstrates that fact, as no Celts lived on the island of Ireland 5,000 years ago. Language does not indicate race or even nationality but is clearly a cultural indicator. Common culture more than anything defines nationality. Studies of Stonehenge suggest that Bronze age people traveled and traded throughout Europe (and beyond), thus inovation would have been shared. I would doubt the rarity of these artifacts indicate anything more than the poor survival rate for organic things and not a local cultural uniqueness, but they definitely aren't Irish. The subject is fascinating but claiming it on national grounds is faulty.

These are a better representation. the Flemish artist, Lucas d’Heere and From the Códice De Trajes. This German text dates from c. 1547 and is now stored at the Biblioteca Nacional de España. With the glb but with long hair.

Yew is the best wood for bows on these islands, the 'Welsh' longbows were Yew also. Yew was also used in England but Yew was the preferred untill the importation of Yew staves from southern europe.

I wonder if the bow string being wrapped around the bow and underneath the string acts not only as a way to secure the string on one end of the bow, but also as a silencer for the dreaded "twang" that gives your shot away. i also wonder if the grooves and hollowing of the bow limbs was a way to create symmetry in the bow at full draw, and perhaps to straighten a twist out of the limbs as well.

This grip sounds similar to it has been said that the Irish would use and hold the Irish war axe

I wonder how these bows compared to the amesbury archers bow or other Bell breaker bows

The hole in the tip makes it a multi use tool.

A bronze plate could be cast to fill the furrows on the back of the bow tip, or carved in bone.

The hole makes it a multi use tool. Could be an aid for making new twisted bow strings, an attachment point for adding a sharpened point of some sort,..or just a decoration , fishing line, hobo carry stick, tent pole...or an attachment point for a bundle of arrows.

The African stringing seems right but i also thought you could put a wood or horn slide lock on one or both ends. This would give you the ability to tighten or loosen the string easily on the go.

Rugadh m athair í Cabragh i tuaisceart baile átha cliath í 1945 agus caith na buachaillí óga sciortaí sa cheantar sin san am Sin.

Cheer~~~a man's long, loose overcoat of rough cloth, typically with a belt at the back.😊

Hi there I've just discovered your channel, great content. I myself am an amateur bowyer from South Wales. I've used Blackthorn as a bow wood, did the Irish use Blackthorn.

Sleeves are such an interesting features. The traditional Bashkir, tchechen, Georgian sleeves are much longer than the arms (but less loose than your shirt). Japanese kimonos are wide and so constructed they sometimes trail on the floor, etc.

I love textiles and their history. Thank you.

Finally “Gangs of New York” makes sense what the Irish leader was wielding.

There are guys who sell high quality Alpine yew in Europe.

A sophisticated projectile weapon culture would have been far more formidable than history remembers. I guess a land as wet as Ireland would lose so much of its organic based weapons to nature. When do we dismiss the traditional image of a 'savage' celt half-naked with 'stick' facing a 'superior' enemy?

If one thinks about it, the shaft of a sword cane is hollow & is a poor choice to be used as a striking weapon, due to the hole aka sheath cavity!!! As a jabbing weapon, may allow it to last a bit longer!!! Even the handle, knob, etc. will not with stand as a clubbing instrument for very many swats!!! It is for all tense & purposes a conceal carry sword & nothing more!!! Even with a solid one-piece cane, jabbing maybe your best bet to keep it in one piece for very long!!!

Algo

Do you have any idea whatstyle they used in cork? Specofically west cork? Was reading a very interesting piece in a local paper on a huge faction fight tha happened somehere near skibbereen and nwent on for day with priests and women and all sorts getting in involved.

I make short plains bows and this is pretty interesting. So u would put your string through the hole then put a knot in it? How would u unstring it with a knot on both ends. I mean u could but seems annoying

I take it it didn't take off? The URL is dead.