Club (weapon)

A club (also known as a cudgel, baton, truncheon, cosh, nightstick, or bludgeon) is among the simplest of all weapons: a short staff or stick, usually made of wood, wielded as a weapon[1] since prehistoric times. There are several examples of blunt-force trauma caused by clubs in the past, including at the site of Nataruk in Turkana, Kenya, described as the scene of a prehistoric conflict between bands of hunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago.[2] In popular culture, clubs are associated with primitive cultures, especially cavemen.

Most clubs are small enough to be swung with one hand, although larger clubs may require the use of two to be effective. Various specialized clubs are used in martial arts and other 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 shaft.

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

Law enforcement

Police forces and their predecessors have traditionally favored the use, whenever possible, of less-lethal weapons than guns or blades. 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. Short, flexible clubs are also often used, especially by plainclothes officers who need to avoid notice. These are known colloquially as blackjacks, saps, or coshes.

Conversely, criminals have been known to arm themselves with an array of homemade or improvised clubs, generally of easily concealable sizes, or which can be explained as being carried for legitimate purposes (such as baseball bats).

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

Types

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

For other types see Baton (law enforcement).

References

  1.  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Club". Encyclopædia Britannica. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 564.
  2. Lahr, M. Mirazón; Rivera, F.; Power, R. K.; Mounier, A.; Copsey, B.; Crivellaro, F.; Edung, J. E.; Fernandez, J. M. Maillo; Kiarie, C. (2016). "Inter-group violence among early Holocene hunter-gatherers of West Turkana, Kenya". Nature. 529 (7586): 394–398. PMID 26791728. doi:10.1038/nature16477.
  3. "Act of Weapons and Munition (polish only) Art.4.1.4a "(weapon is) club made of wood or other heavy and hard material, imitating a baseball bat"". isap.sejm.gov.pl (Polish Gov. Site). Retrieved 2012-08-22.
  4. Image of clava cefalomorfa Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino
  5. 1991 edition of Chambers's Dictionary
  6. "Jutte". E-budokai.com. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
  7. Tuttle dictionary of the martial arts of Korea, China & Japan – Page 168 Daniel Kogan, Sun-Jin Kim – 1996
  8. Pauley's Guide – A Dictionary of Japanese Martial Arts and Culture – Page 90 Daniel C. Pauley – 2009
  9. Classical weaponry of Japan: special weapons and tactics of the ... – Page 91 Serge Mol – 2003
  10. Secrets of the samurai: a survey of the martial arts of feudal Japan By Oscar Ratti, Adele Westbrook p.305
  11. https://www.awma.com/productdetail/1280-spring-baton.asp. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  12. Francis, Dick. Straight (New York: G.P Putnam's Sons), 1989, pages 99 - 100 and 309.
  13. Oxford Living Dictionaries – English
  14. "Notes on the Sherlock Holmes story ''The Bruce Partington Plans''". Sherlockholmes.stanford.edu. 1908-12-12. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  15. Eric Kjellgren, How to Read Oceanic Art (Metropolitan Museum of Art/Yale University Press, 2014), p. 153.
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