Club (weapon)

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A club, cudgel, baton, truncheon, night stick, 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.

Typically, a club is small enough to be wielded in one hand. Clubs that need both hands to wield are called quarterstaffs in English. Various kinds of clubs are used in martial arts and other specialized fields, including the law enforcement baton.

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

Law enforcement

Police forces have traditionally favored the use of non-lethal weapons.

Until recent times this has generally been some form of wooden club: truncheons, batons, night sticks and lathi

Types

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

• Pickaxe handle - Pickaxes were common tools in the United States in the early 20th century, and replacement handles were widely available. Strong and heavy, they make a formidable club and have often been used as club weapons. Pickaxe handles were handed out by segregationist Lester Maddox to the white patrons of his Pickrick Restaurant to keep that establishment from being "integrated".
• Baseball and T-ball bats - The baseball bat is often used as an improvised weapon, much like the pickaxe handle. In countries where baseball is not commonly played, baseball bats are often first thought of as weapons, and in Poland, baseball bats have been made illegal to possess without a license. Tee ball bats are also used in this manner. Their smaller size and lighter weight make the bat easier to handle in one hand than a baseball bat.
• Slapjack This is a variation of the blackjack. It consists of a longer strap which lets it be used flail-type, and can be used as a club or for trapping techniques as seen in the use of nunchaku and other flexible weapons. The slapjack became illegal for United States police officers to carry in the early 1980s.
• Sally rod - A Sally rod is a long, thin wooden stick, generally made from willow (Latin Salix), and used chiefly in the past in Ireland as a disciplinary implement, but also sometimes used like a club (without the fencing-like technique of stick fighting) in fights and brawls.
• Knobkierie - A Knobkierie, occasionally spelled knopkierie or knobkerry, is a strong, short wooden club with a heavy rounded knob or head on one end, traditionally used by Southern African tribes including the Zulu, as a weapon in warfare and the chase. The word Knobkerrie derives from the Dutch knop (knob or button), and the Bushman and Hottentot kerrie or kirri (stick).The weapon is employed at close quarters, or as a missile, and in time of peace may serve as a walking-stick. The head, or knob, is often ornately carved with faces or shapes that have symbolic meaning. The knobkierie itself serves this function in the crest of the 2000 new federal coat of Arms of South Africa.The name has been extended to similar weapons used by the natives of Australia, the Pacific islands and other places.
• Rungu - A rungu (Swahili, plural marungu) is a wooden throwing club or baton bearing special symbolism and significance in certain East African tribal cultures. It is especially associated with Maasai morans (male warriors) who have traditionally used it in warfare and for hunting.
• Aklys - The Aklys is a club with an integrated leather thong, used to return it to the hand after snapping it at an opponent. Its origin is unclear.
• Jitte - One of the more distinctive weapons of the samurai police (Keisatsu-Kan) was the Jitte (or Jutte). Basically an iron truncheon, the Jitte was popular because it could parry the slash of a razor-sharp sword and disarm an assailant without serious injury. Essentially a defensive or restraining weapon, the length of the Jitte requires the user to get extremely close to those being apprehended.A single hook or fork, called a Kagi, on the side near the handle allowed the Jitte to be used for trapping or even breaking the blades of edged weapons, as well as for jabbing and striking. The Kagi could also be used to entangle the clothes or fingers of an opponent. Thus, feudal Japanese police used the Jitte to disarm and arrest subjects without serious bloodshed. Eventually, the Jitte also came to be considered a symbol of official status.
• Telescopic - Telescopic batons are rigid batons that are capable of collapsing to a shorter length for greater portability and concealability. They are illegal in the UK and some other countries. In Hungary these weapons are named "vipera" ("viper") and though officially illegal, they were reported as being repeatedly used by riot police units.

References

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Last updated on Thursday March 13, 2008 at 10:33:21 PDT (GMT -0700)
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