As a martial artist myself, I would be remiss if I did not include a page dedicated to Celtic martial arts. Although I have trained in Korean systems for most of my life, I have become interested in my own martial heritage and the self-defense systems of my ancestors.

As far as historians know, there was no cohesive fighting style that can be attributed to the ancient Celts. This is partly due to the fact that the Celts were not united as one homogenous culture but tended to be tribal and widely dispersed on the European continent. However, surviving Western martial arts hold a glimpse into the strategies and techniques the Celts used for personal protection and to settle grievances. The most important surviving ancient text is the manuscript, Bretha déin chécht (“The Judgements of Dian Cécht”), which describes the 12 human body target areas, or Doors to the Soul. Celtic martial arts can be divided into three sections: empty hands, weapon, and sword.

Empty hands included boxing, wrestling, and shin kicking. Weapon fighting included stick-fighting, shillelagh (stick), cudgel, caman (hurl), pike, knife arts, flail, scythe, sickle, and axe. Sword fighting can be divided by region and the Celts of Ireland developed the Irish broad sword (Claiomhoireacht) and the rapier (Pionsoireacht). Sword fighting was also very well-developed in the Germanic system. For information on instructional texts and methods of teaching Celtic sword arts, see the very informative article by C. Lee Vermeershod.

I am just starting my journey of discovery into the ancient combat styles of the Celts, but am mostly drawn to the sword arts. However, it is very typical of our practical Celtic ancestors to make a weapon out of everyday tools such as sticks and sickles. There seems to be a recent emergence of interest in Western martial arts. Perhaps, Eastern systems such as Karate and Taekwondo, while great methods of physical conditioning and self-discipline are lacking in actual self-defense applications. Many systems have become sport-oriented and no longer applicable for the self-defense needs of today. The ruthless, no-holds-barred methods of the ancient, and not so ancient, bare-knuckle boxers, cudgel fighters, and wielders of pikes.

Gaelic Martial Arts

Highland Martial Culture: The Fighting Heritage of Scotland

The Shillelagh: The Irish FightingStick