Club (weapon) facts for kids
A club is a short, strong stick, usually made of wood. People have used clubs as weapons since ancient times. They are also known by names like cudgel or baton. Clubs can cause injuries called blunt-force trauma. For example, scientists found signs of club injuries at a 10,000-year-old conflict site in Nataruk, Kenya.
Most clubs are small enough to be used with one hand. But some bigger clubs need two hands to swing them well. Special clubs are used in martial arts and by police. A military mace is a fancy type of club. It is often made of metal and has a spiky or bumpy head.
You can find clubs in old stories and myths. Strong heroes like Hercules or Japanese oni are often shown with clubs. In movies, cavemen are often seen carrying clubs. Some special clubs, called Ceremonial maces, are used as symbols of power by governments.
Clubs and Law Enforcement
Police officers often use weapons that are not deadly, like clubs. Before tasers and pepper spray were invented, police mostly used wooden clubs. These clubs had different names like truncheon, baton, or nightstick. They helped officers control situations without causing serious harm.
Some police officers who work in plain clothes use shorter, flexible clubs. These are sometimes called blackjacks or coshes. They are easy to hide.
Sometimes, people who break the law make their own clubs. These are often small or look like everyday items, such as baseball bats.
Also, Shaolin monks and other religious groups have used clubs for self-defense.
Different Kinds of Clubs
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Even though clubs are simple, there are many different types. Here are some examples:
- Aklys – A club with a leather strap. People used it to snap at an opponent and then pull it back. The Roman army used these.
- Ball club – Used by Native Americans. Some had a stone ball, others a wooden ball, attached to a handle.
- Bang – A Chinese military weapon from medieval times. It is also used in modern Wushu and Chinese martial arts.
- Baseball, cricket and T-ball bats – A baseball bat is often used as a makeshift weapon. Tee ball bats are smaller and lighter. Cricket bats are heavier and flat.
- Baton or truncheon – These are clubs used by police and security.
- Blackjack or cosh – A weighted club made to stun someone.
- Bian – A tube-shaped club used by Chinese soldiers long ago.
- Clava – A traditional stone club from the Mapuche people in Chile. It was also a symbol for tribal chiefs.
- Cudgel – A strong stick carried by peasants in the Middle Ages. It was used for walking and for fighting.
- Crowbar – A tool that can be used as a club. Some are very big and need two hands.
- Flashlight – A large metal flashlight, like a Maglite, can be a good improvised club. Security guards often carry them for self-defense.
- Gata – A war club from Fiji.
- Ghioagă – A Romanian club, similar to a Shillelagh. Peasants used it in fights against the Ottoman Empire.
- Gunstock war club – A war club shaped like the butt of a rifle.
- Jiǎn – A club with four edges, made to break other weapons.
- Jutte or jitte – A Japanese weapon used by samurai police. It was an iron rod with a hook. It could block and disarm swords without hurting someone badly.
- Kanabō – Japanese clubs made of wood or iron, often with spikes. Samurai warriors used them.
- Kanak war clubs – Traditional weapons from New Caledonia.
- Kiyoga – A special spring baton that can extend quickly. It can even reach around an arm to strike.
- Knobkerrie – A war club from southern and eastern Africa with a round knob on the end.
- Kubotan – A short, thin club used by police. It helps them apply pressure to certain body points to make someone cooperate.
- Leangle – An Australian Aboriginal fighting club with a hooked head.
- Life preserver – A short, often weighted club for self-defense.
- Lil Lil – An Aboriginal club that can be thrown like a boomerang or held.
- Mace – A metal club with a heavy head. It is designed for strong hits.
- Mere – A short, flat club from the Māori of New Zealand. It is usually made from nephrite jade.
- Morning star – A medieval club with a spiked ball attached to the shaft.
- Nulla-nulla – A short, curved hardwood club used by Aboriginal people in Australia for hunting and fighting.
- Nunchaku – An Asian weapon with two clubs connected by a rope or chain. One club is held, and the other swings like a flail.
- Oslop – A very heavy, two-handed Russian club, often with iron. It was a common weapon for foot soldiers.
- Paddle club – Clubs from the Solomon Islands that could be used for fighting or paddling canoes.
- Pickaxe handle – The wooden handle of a pickaxe, used as a club.
- Rungu – A wooden throwing club from East Africa. It is special to the Maasai warriors.
- Sali, a war club from Fiji.
- Shillelagh – A wooden club from Ireland, often made from a knotty stick with a large knob.
- Slapjack – A type of blackjack with a longer strap, allowing it to be used like a flail.
- Supi – A war club from the Solomon Islands.
- Telescopic baton – A rigid baton that can collapse to a shorter size for easy carrying.
- Tipstaff – A ceremonial rod used by court officers.
- Tonfa or side-handle baton – A club from Okinawa with a second handle sticking out from the side.
- Totokia – A spiked club from Fiji.
- Trench raiding club – A type of weapon used in close combat during World War I.
- Ula – A traditional throwing club from Fiji.
- U'u – A beautifully carved ceremonial club from the Marquesas Islands. It was a symbol of status for chiefs.
- Waddy – A heavy hardwood club used by Aboriginal people in Australia for hunting and fighting.
Images for kids
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Ball-headed War Club with Spike, from the Menominee (Native American) people, early 1800s.
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An iron jutte from Japan.
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A small Japanese Tetsubo, an iron club with a leather grip.
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Different types of shillelagh (club).
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A traditional Māori mere, made from greenstone (pounamu).
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The head of a Gata waka club.
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A Ghioagă club.
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A club shown in the coat of arms of Nuijamaa, Finland.
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See also
In Spanish: Clava para niños
- Cudgel War
