Jogo do Pau

Jogo do Pau ("stick fencing", or literally "stick (or staff) game") is a Portuguese martial art which developed in the northern regions of Portugal (Minho and Trás-os-Montes), focusing on the use of a staff of fixed measures and characteristics. The origins of this martial art are uncertain, but whatever its origins, its purpose was primarily self-defence. It was also used to settle accounts, disputes and matters of honor between individuals, families, and even villages. While popular in the northern mountains, elsewhere it was practically unknown and those who did practise it were taught by masters from the north.

The popularity of this martial art was partly due to the demeanor of the northern folk, who valued personal and family honor enough to kill for it. It was also due in no small part to the relative ease of obtaining a staff as well as the versatility of such a tool: a staff or stick was almost universally present, used as a support for the long daily walks, to help cross the rivers, by the shepherds to protect the cattle from wild animals, and so on. There are references to this martial art being used by the guerrilla against the troops of Napoleon that were occupying Portugal during the Napoleonic Wars.

folklore).

, growing into a sportive competition, removed from actual combat. It was practiced in clubs such as the Ginásio Clube Português and the Ateneu Comercial de Lisboa.

In the 20th century, the practice of the "jogo do pau" suffered a quick decline due to the migrations from rural areas to the cities, and the greater ease in access to firearms. The players born between 1910 and 1930 were the last generation to experience the flowering of the sport. The memories of this generation provided a continuity in the 1970s, when the sport was revived. The driving force of this revival was Mestre Pedro Ferreira, followed by his student Nuno Corvello Russo who dedicated his life's ambition to Jogo do Pau, frequently visiting the North of Portugal, getting acquainted with surviving variants there, especially with the school of Cabeceiras de Basto. He studied at the Ateneu Comercial de Lisboa, whose master is now Mestre Manuel Monteiro. Today, the sport is still rather marginal in Portugal, but there is a stable number of practitioners organized in two federations: the Federação Portuguesa de Jogo do Pau and the Federação Nacional do Jogo do Pau Português. This art is also practised in the Açores.

ee also

* Juego del Palo
* Ball de bastons

External links

* [http://www.freewebs.com/pontuada/]
* [http://www.jogodopauacores.com/index_EN.aspx Jogo do Pau Azores Club]
* [http://appex.blogspot.com/2006/05/jogo-do-pau-portugus.html Jogo do Pau Photos] (Portuguese)
* [http://ejmas.com/jmanly/articles/2003/jmanlyart_wolfcosta_0203.htm Jogo do Pau - Origins and Evolution]
* [http://home.dbio.uevora.pt/~oliveira/Jogo_Pau/J_Pau.htm Jogo do Pau] by Paulo de Oliveira
* [http://www.arscives.com/jogodopau/default.htm The Portuguese Staff]
* [http://videosmarciais.wordpress.com/2006/10/25/jogo-do-pau-ii/ Jogo do Pau - filme 4]
* [http://videosmarciais.wordpress.com/2006/10/25/jogo-do-pau-i/ Jogo do Pau in the First World War - filme 5]
* [http://www.jogodopauportugues.com/ Jogo do Pau português - informações, onde treinar etc.]