Pugil stick

Pugil bouts are a frequent part of combatives training in use of the bayonet.

US Army specifications for construction of a pugil stick.

Nicaraguan soldiers training using pugil sticks and protective gear

A pugil stick is a heavily padded pole-like training weapon used by military personnel for training in rifle and bayonet combat since the early 1940s. The pugil stick is similar to a quarterstaff or Japanese bo, and may be marked at one end to indicate which portion represents the bayonet proper and which the butt of the rifle. Dr. Armond Seidler of the University of New Mexico invented the Pugil Stick training method during World War II. The training was initially adopted by the Marine Corps, but was later included in Army combat training as well. Dr. Seidler was given an award by the Marine Corps for his invention.

Pugil bouts are usually conducted with hard contact while wearing protective gear such as groin protectors, American football helmets, hockey gloves, and chest protectors or shin guards, such as worn by baseball catchers. Some pugil sticks may be built with integrated hand guards, because of the potential for injury. Military procedures for pugil bouts are often detailed, with United States Army and United States Marine Corps prohibiting pugil training by anyone who has recently suffered concussion of the brain, lest they suffer traumatic brain injury.

Some organizations, such as the Society for Creative Anachronism, use similar weapons for sport purposes, but it is generally discouraged as too dangerous. Practitioners of modern Eskrima spar with full contact, using lighter but unpadded sticks and only gloves and a fencing mask. Unarmed techniques (punches, kicks etc.) are also a part of the technique, as is grappling. This sort of fighting is more realistic than pugil stick training, but is considered too dangerous and technically demanding for the average soldier or Marine. Pugil training gives a soldier the adrenaline rush of combat without the potential for serious injury, and benefits can be had even with the minimal amount of training they receive.

The sparring weapon was popularized in the United States by the American Gladiators, a physical game show which ran from 1989 to 1996, and again in the 2008 revival. In the popular "Joust" contest, competitors would try to knock each other off pedestals using pugil sticks.

The word "pugil stick" is a neologism from the Latin noun pugnus (fist), the source for other English words such as "pugilist" (boxer) and "pugnacious" (eager to fight).

External links

• "Professor Tells the Marines". Popular Science - p. 77, July 1954, Vol. 165, No. 1. Retrieved 31 January 2011