FIGHTING IRISH STYLE
>>> IRISH STICK FIGHTING
One of the rare, still living, traditional European martial arts is Irish Stick Fighting, the fight with the shillelagh - a walking stick. The traditional Irish term for this is Bhata or Bata, which is a derivative of Bataireacht or Uisce Beatha Bata Rince, the Irish Gaelic term for stick fighting.
After the English banned the Irish from carrying swords, disputes were fought with the Shillelagh. In the Irish faction fights of the 18th/19th century, hundreds and sometimes over a thousand gang members met regularly in Irish fields and fought bloody and deadly battles. This continued in the gang fights of Irish emigrants in the United States of America. In the film "Gangs of New York" there is at least a rudimentary reference to this topic.
"Rince an Bhata Uisce Beatha" is a authentic Irish style that has survived to the present day. The style of the Doyle Clan (O'Dubhghaill Abu) was passed down through generations exclusively to members of the Doyle family. In the early 19th century, the style was introduced to Canada by the Doyle emigration via Newfoundland, where it has survived as a family style to this day.
Since the death of Gregory Doyle in 1998, his son Glen is the last Doyle who can pass on this traditional martial art. Due the fact that Glen Doyle has no children, he broke the tradition with his father's consent and passed on his knowledge of this unique martial art to outsiders, in order to enable its continued existence even after his own death.With the founding of the association -ISFW- in 2010, together with Hendrik Röber, the style came back to Europe. Since then numerous instructors from all over the world have been certified in Germany.
"Rince an Bhata Uisce Beatha" is a very aggressive system. Based on traditional stick fighting and pugilism - Gregory Doyle was a well-known boxer - it is also the only Irish system wich uses a both handed grip, which makes it work effectively in narrow spaces.
This peculiarity let the style easy transfer to today's circumstances and the application with e.g. an umbrella. Due to the roots of the style in faction fights, the focus is on attacking the opponent directly or eliminating them with the first counterattack.