Clubs are used in one hand and can be composed of wood, metal, or anything else you scavenge. Don’t look for much artistry when using a club, just get to whompin’.
A little more advanced than a club but not quite a shillelagh, a cudgel has a heavier end for striking. That extra weight adds to the strength of its strike and makes it a slightly more refined tool than your common club.
What makes a shillelagh a shillelagh is the large knob that serves as its striking end, its black color (achieved from dying, burying under cattle dung, or simply painting), and its double-use as a walking stick.
Batter up! The baseball bat has transitioned from America’s favorite past-time to a worldwide self-defense tool, and no wonder! It’s literally designed to crack into its target repeatedly without wear and tear.
These weapons are often wielded as a pair and are as effective offensively as they are defensively. Metal versions exist and are deadly weapons in even untrained hands.
The flexible, rattan-based bo staff we’re familiar from martial arts expositions is not a combat-ready weapon and will shatter after little use, but the hardwood bo staff is a dangerous fighting stick.