One of the most useful concepts for understanding timing, decision-making, and human reaction in Irish Stick Fighting is the OODA Loop. The term comes from the work of U.S. Air […]
The Combat Shillelagh Blog
Dynamic Range: Managing Distance, Timing, and Movement in Irish Stick Fighting
One of the most important skills in Irish Stick Fighting is learning how to manage the space between yourself and another person. It is easy to think of range as […]
Joint Types and the Shillelagh: Using Leverage to Control Structure in Irish Stick Fighting
When most people first think about the hands, wrists, elbows, knees, and other joints in Irish Stick Fighting, they tend to think of them primarily as potential striking targets. There […]
Weaponizing Physics: How Irish Stick Fighting Turns Movement Into Force
At its most basic level, a shillelagh is a force multiplier. It gives the person holding it additional reach, leverage, mass, and the ability to concentrate force into a relatively […]
Using Striking Patterns to Stretch the Defense in Irish Stick Fighting
At first glance, a tennis court probably seems like a strange visual reference for Irish Stick Fighting. A tennis ball bouncing from one side of the court to the other […]
Broken Rhythm: Controlling Distance, Timing, and Tempo in Irish Stick Fighting
In Irish Stick Fighting, it is easy to focus on the visible parts of an exchange: the shillelagh, the strike, the block, the footwork, or the target. But underneath all […]
The Four Stages of Competence in Irish Stick Fighting
Learning Irish Stick Fighting is not simply a matter of collecting techniques. A student can watch a strike, imitate the movement, and even make contact with a target without necessarily […]
The Body Envelope and Maintaining Structure in Irish Stick Fighting
As students progress into the higher levels of Irish Stick Fighting, one of the concepts we spend more and more time discussing is structure. It is not enough to simply […]
Body Alignment and Why Structure Matters in Irish Stick Fighting
One of the easiest mistakes to make in martial arts is to think about body alignment only when we are standing still. We check our posture, set our feet, position […]
How to Measure for a Shillelagh: What Size Shillelagh Do You Need?
How to Measure for a Shillelagh If you are buying your first shillelagh, one of the most important questions to answer is: what size shillelagh do I need? Choosing the […]