modern era Clubs/cudgel, Kom-fag thailand..

ausjulius · 12th June 2014, 07:19 AM

well this was a topic that has always interested me.

Clubs used in the modern world.

because every country on earth poor guys always needed a weapon and a club is the really poor mans sword

, in teresting to not in european countries if the people were to have some social unrest tand produce aclub. as there is no longer a sort of traditional pattern that they made in an uninterupted manner..
they will typically make the clubs based on medival european maces or studded clubs of that medval era.

but when i look at medvial literature i see a great deal of verity in cudgels , clubs , kosh, batons and other "every day carry" poor mans striking weapons..

there seems to have been prefered regional styles and many shapes and patterns used .
not weapons of war but clubs people would carry or use to slove a dispute.. almost an ethnograpic weapon you would say.. as they i would imagine be the products of poor people are more inclined to be regional specific..

things like the irish root ball clubs and sheleighly.. french or spanish fighitng sticks .. ect

it seems up untill the industrial era japan and china. maybe becaus eof laws regulating the masses from carring edged weapons .. seem to have quite a few styles of striking implements. and as with europe.. these are all now redundant.. forgotten items used in obscure matrial arts or show in video games.

it seem with rising wealth, guns, more police... ect these peasants weapons have almost vanished not just from the west but from most of the developed and developing world.

so i was very please to find in thailand they are still quite common.
although they appear really in only one style. although malay style octagional wooden batons can also be seen... basically just like a policemans night stick.. although these are rare.

there is a i guess you would say a "national style of club",
an edged cudge called a kom-fag... or khom-fag..mai-khom-fag.. woden khom-fag. although ive yet to see a non wooden one

ไม้คมแฝก or คมแฝก in thai..

it means something like sharp-grass leaf... in a roundabout translation. and is just in the same manner as the medieval edged culgels.
mostly as a weapon to settle diputes and inflich cutting bloes to the limbs, head legs, not kill the person outright.

as such it is used some what like a sword,

they are really quite popular still and there was even a thai t.v. show dedicated to a hero who used one. there is some martial arts based on kohm-fag use also.
id say nearly every older thai man has owned at least one kohm-fag, and they can be found in many homes.

another style..that thai people just call kohm-fag or krabi.. but which is clearly not is a bamboo root club. looking and being used exactly like a shillelagh,
another thing unique to that clubs it appears that they all are preferred to be fitted with a lanyard, ive never seen one without .
also they lanyard is preferred to be fitted in front of the hand not through the pommel

they are really quite popular items and can be purchased in markets and at most tourist centres, thais are very amused when they see a foreigner who knows what it is, as in western eyes it is distinctly un-club like..

so this leads me to a question..

who else has observed clubs and other wooden hand weap0ns in common use still in a society. outise of of the bantu inhabited areas of africa and the melinesia islands and .. australian aborigines. i dont know if anybody makes wooden weapons to seriously use any more??

i hear that in Bhutan and eastern nepal they still make some kind of fighting and or throwing clubs. but it was a passing conversation and the persons english was not good enough to convey more information other than in bhutan they used to have people who were club makers.. id be interested to see such clubs..

for that matter ive never seen any clubs from india. other that persian exercise clubs. like big cartoon mallets.

KraVseR · 12th June 2014, 09:32 PM

Thanks, very interested!

KuKulzA28 · 13th June 2014, 04:45 AM

I've been searching all over for more info on these clubs. Thank you so much!

harimauhk · 13th June 2014, 05:01 AM

I bought one of these in Bangkok last year...in the pouring rain, and in a basket full of rolling pins and assorted coconut wood kitchen tools. It 'felt' like a weapon, even though I had no idea what it was. Mystery solved!

ausjulius · 13th June 2014, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KuKulzA28

I've been searching all over for more info on these clubs. Thank you so much!

yes information is not common at all.

i dont know their origin for sure.
but they have existed in their present form for 200 years or more.
there might have been some limitation on carrying edged weapons in some situations or something similar to that.. but thats just speculation, when they are used they are used in a more knfie like fashion that a club. lots of stabs and cuts, jabs to the face and chest. . cuts to the legs , shin, arms. .. ect

yes i think tourists when they see these they think theyer some household item , because theyer typically sold with slingshots, back massagers, rolling pns ect. other stuff made form hardwood.

harimauhk · 13th June 2014, 01:24 PM

As far as India goes, the most commonly seen striking weapon is the lathi (now common in polycarbonate), but these were traditional too:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gada_(mace)

ausjulius · 13th June 2014, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by harimauhk

As far as India goes, the most commonly seen striking weapon is the lathi (now common in polycarbonate), but these were traditional too:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gada_(mace)

hi the lathi is just a stick or switch like riot police carry the world over. ot really clublike.

i am referring specifically to clubs . like the shillelagh in ireland.. although this is just a tourist souvenir.. where as in thailand one could go to any large shopping centre and pick up a khom-fag

so my question is .. what other countires are such weapons still prsent and generally available. not as some exotic matrial arts weapon but just an everyday tool

12th June 2014, 07:19 AM	#1
ausjulius Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: musorian territory Posts: 424	modern era Clubs/cudgel, Kom-fag thailand.. well this was a topic that has always interested me. Clubs used in the modern world. because every country on earth poor guys always needed a weapon and a club is the really poor mans sword , in teresting to not in european countries if the people were to have some social unrest tand produce aclub. as there is no longer a sort of traditional pattern that they made in an uninterupted manner.. they will typically make the clubs based on medival european maces or studded clubs of that medval era. but when i look at medvial literature i see a great deal of verity in cudgels , clubs , kosh, batons and other "every day carry" poor mans striking weapons.. there seems to have been prefered regional styles and many shapes and patterns used . not weapons of war but clubs people would carry or use to slove a dispute.. almost an ethnograpic weapon you would say.. as they i would imagine be the products of poor people are more inclined to be regional specific.. things like the irish root ball clubs and sheleighly.. french or spanish fighitng sticks .. ect it seems up untill the industrial era japan and china. maybe becaus eof laws regulating the masses from carring edged weapons .. seem to have quite a few styles of striking implements. and as with europe.. these are all now redundant.. forgotten items used in obscure matrial arts or show in video games. it seem with rising wealth, guns, more police... ect these peasants weapons have almost vanished not just from the west but from most of the developed and developing world. so i was very please to find in thailand they are still quite common. although they appear really in only one style. although malay style octagional wooden batons can also be seen... basically just like a policemans night stick.. although these are rare. there is a i guess you would say a "national style of club", an edged cudge called a kom-fag... or khom-fag..mai-khom-fag.. woden khom-fag. although ive yet to see a non wooden one ไม้คมแฝก or คมแฝก in thai.. it means something like sharp-grass leaf... in a roundabout translation. and is just in the same manner as the medieval edged culgels. mostly as a weapon to settle diputes and inflich cutting bloes to the limbs, head legs, not kill the person outright. as such it is used some what like a sword, they are really quite popular still and there was even a thai t.v. show dedicated to a hero who used one. there is some martial arts based on kohm-fag use also. id say nearly every older thai man has owned at least one kohm-fag, and they can be found in many homes. another style..that thai people just call kohm-fag or krabi.. but which is clearly not is a bamboo root club. looking and being used exactly like a shillelagh, another thing unique to that clubs it appears that they all are preferred to be fitted with a lanyard, ive never seen one without . also they lanyard is preferred to be fitted in front of the hand not through the pommel they are really quite popular items and can be purchased in markets and at most tourist centres, thais are very amused when they see a foreigner who knows what it is, as in western eyes it is distinctly un-club like.. so this leads me to a question.. who else has observed clubs and other wooden hand weap0ns in common use still in a society. outise of of the bantu inhabited areas of africa and the melinesia islands and .. australian aborigines. i dont know if anybody makes wooden weapons to seriously use any more?? i hear that in Bhutan and eastern nepal they still make some kind of fighting and or throwing clubs. but it was a passing conversation and the persons english was not good enough to convey more information other than in bhutan they used to have people who were club makers.. id be interested to see such clubs.. for that matter ive never seen any clubs from india. other that persian exercise clubs. like big cartoon mallets. Attached Images Last edited by ausjulius; 12th June 2014 at 08:06 AM.

12th June 2014, 09:32 PM	#2
KraVseR Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Ukraine Posts: 128	Thanks, very interested!

13th June 2014, 04:45 AM	#3
KuKulzA28 Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: between work and sleep Posts: 731	I've been searching all over for more info on these clubs. Thank you so much!

13th June 2014, 05:01 AM	#4
harimauhk Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 88	I bought one of these in Bangkok last year...in the pouring rain, and in a basket full of rolling pins and assorted coconut wood kitchen tools. It 'felt' like a weapon, even though I had no idea what it was. Mystery solved!

13th June 2014, 01:24 PM	#6
harimauhk Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 88	As far as India goes, the most commonly seen striking weapon is the lathi (now common in polycarbonate), but these were traditional too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gada_(mace)