Club (weapon)

A club (also known as cudgel, baton, truncheon, nightstick or bludgeon) is among the simplest of all weapons. A club is essentially a short staff, or stick, usually made of wood, and wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times.

Most clubs are small enough to be swung in one hand although two-handed variants are known. Various kinds of clubs are used in martial arts and other specialized fields, including the law-enforcement baton. The military mace is a more sophisticated descendant of the club, typically made of metal and featuring a spiked, knobbed or flanged head attached to a haft.

The wounds inflicted by a club are generally known as bludgeoning or blunt-force trauma injuries.

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Law enforcement

Police forces and their predecessors have traditionally favored the use, whenever possible, of less-lethal weapons than guns or blades to impose public order or to subdue and apprehend law-breakers. Until recent times, when alternatives such as tasers and capsicum spray became available, this category of policing weapon has generally been filled by some form of wooden club variously termed a truncheon, baton, nightstick or lathi.

Conversely, criminals have been known to arm themselves with an array of homemade and often easily concealed bashing implements known colloquially as blackjacks, "saps" or coshes.

In addition, Shaolin monks and members of other religious orders around the world have employed cudgels from time to time as defensive weapons.

Some types

Although perhaps the simplest of all weapons there are many varieties of club, including:

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References

  1. ^ "Jutte". E-budokai.com. http://www.e-budokai.com/hibuki/jutte.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-26. 
  2. ^ Tuttle dictionary of the martial arts of Korea, China & Japan – Page 168 Daniel Kogan, Sun-Jin Kim – 1996
  3. ^ Pauley's Guide – A Dictionary of Japanese Martial Arts and Culture – Page 90 Daniel C. Pauley – 2009
  4. ^ Classical weaponry of Japan: special weapons and tactics of the ... – Page 91 Serge Mol – 2003
  5. ^ Secrets of the samurai: a survey of the martial arts of feudal Japan By Oscar Ratti, Adele Westbrook p.305
  6. ^ "Notes on the Sherlock Holmes story ''The Bruce Partington Plans''". Sherlockholmes.stanford.edu. 1908-12-12. http://sherlockholmes.stanford.edu/2007/notes9_1.html. Retrieved 2011-12-17. 

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