Wonderful, simply wonderful article by James:

on the merits of the staff as a superior melee weapon against all-comers, provided the opponent is without armor and a shield, and there is adequate space. This was the position of George Silver (1580-1622) in “The Paradoxes of Defence”

Actually, George was somewhat ambiguous about this, and thought maybe that the forest bill was better in single weapon combat in an open space.

“The short staff is most commonly the best weapon of all other, although other weapons may be more offensive, and especially against many weapons together, by reason of his nimbleness and swift motions, and is not much inferior to the forest bill, although the forest bill be more offensive, the short staff will prove the better weapon"

The passage is logically inconsistent, but what the fuck does it matter? Both are fine weapons.

Joseph Swetnam (died 1621) is my favorite badass from that era, and in his treatise “Schoole of the Noble and Worthy Science of Defence”:

he is clear about the merits of the staff. What I also like about Joe is his treatise, “The Arraigment of Women” (1615), on the sinful, deceitful, wicked nature of women, and that is just on their good days:

All classic “red pill” stuff proudly proclaiming misogyny: “... When I first began to write this book, my wits were gone awoolgathering, . . . and so in the rough of my fury I vowed forever to be an open enemy to women. . . .” Go, Joe, go!

I have trained with the staff for almost 50 years now, and in a single melee weapon death match, no armor or shield, adequate moving space, it would be my weapon of choice. I have used the staff in defence against a dog which was set on me, killing it with one blow, smashing its skull. I have killed other dogs who had killed my sheep, and who were foolish enough to turn on me. Paranza Lunga, Sicilian staff fighting has been practiced for almost a thousand years for defense against humans, and for shepards, to defend flocks of sheep from wolves:

However, while I don’t have much respect for Wing Chun kung fu, which I see, as Bruce Lee did, as still corrupted by classicalism, the following is a really good heretical book with a great chapter on a no-bullshit approach to staff fighting, with basically six moves:

Staff fighting superiority requires strength by the bucket load. I would advise using the training staff as your primary upper body work out. Start with wood, but work up to thick steel pipe. At my peak, I could lift a slab of the thinner gauge railway iron. I have also constructed staffs with weights on the end, slabs of wood duct-taped together. Of course, a barbell can be used, with a weight at one end.

Unlike swords, where one needs to protect egdes, the staff is expendible, and can be replaced by another after the battle. Smash every fucking thing! Example, my friend Scott, who trains in European Martial Arts (sword primarily) was boasting of his prowess to my, then, 14 year-old son. I said, why not do some light sparring with him, you with this short stick to represent your sword, he with a quarterstaff. The quarter staff was tapered to a point at the end, and being olive, the burs at the business end were left. I instructed my son in the basic six moves listed in the Wing Chun book, which I knew anyway… focus on centerline thrust, cling, stick to the weapon then force/lever through. Use superior leverage to destroy him. They engaged, and son thrusted through, moving out the sword/stick, and ramming the staff’s point into his hand, ripping off skin from the top of his hand. It was amazing how profusely the wound bled. Most people don’t fight on when pissing blood.

You must train with the staff. It is more important that getting a blow job. The thought police enforcing domestic violence orders, may take your guns, swords, and knives, but they cannot stop you from raping every hardwood tree to secure the fruits of pandemonium.

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