Nguni Stick Fighting
The South African stick fighting of the Nguni peoples. Herd boys learn it from childhood, and it is today part of wedding ceremony.
Quick Facts
South AfricaCharacter & Origin
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Catalogs & Databases for Nguni Stick Fighting
About Nguni Stick Fighting
Nguni stick-fighting is a custom of the Nguni peoples of southern Africa, chiefly the Zulu and the Xhosa. It has no founder and no documented year of origin; it grew out of a herding world in which boys spent their days with cattle and always had a stick to hand. Its association with Shaka Zulu runs through the regimental organisation whose traces are visible in present-day practice, not through any act of founding. Equipment differs by branch. The Xhosa form works with two sticks, while the Zulu form distinguishes the isikhwili, the attacking stick, the ubhoko, the defending stick, and the ihawu, a small defensive shield. Very little protective gear is used, so grazes and cuts are part of the business; points are awarded according to which part of the body was struck, and the fighters alternate regularly between attack and defence. A meeting can last several hours. The purpose was and remains social. For herd boys it was preparation, a test of endurance and a way of finding a place in the community. The most visible form today is the wedding ceremony, where warriors from the bridegroom's household and area meet those from the bride's and measure themselves to decide who will be recognised as the strongest — literally the "bull", inkunzi. The custom was banned in some parts of South Africa, but in recent years it has been returning and drawing crowds; it has also appeared in foreign documentary programmes. At the same time it is used as a youth-work tool where street violence is a problem.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.