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WABUKAN Arsenal · Staffs and sticks · Europe

Cajado

The shepherd’s staff of northern Portugal, a close relative of the varapau. In jogo do pau it is the traditional weapon, a stick of about 1.5 m, a little thicker at one end.

Also known as

bordão; pau de pastor; shepherd’s crook

Origin and history

The cajado is the shepherd’s staff of the Iberian Peninsula, with a hooked or curved top. Like the varapau, it was an everyday tool for walking and herding that could defend its owner, and the hook could catch a leg or an arm.

Martial arts that use it

Jogo do Pau

Construction

A wooden staff, usually shoulder to head height, with a natural or bent crook at the top, often made from chestnut, ash or hazel.

Basic techniques

Training

Stick and staff training starts with grips, stances and basic strikes and blocks practised in the air or on a target, then two-person drills at controlled speed. Many schools use rattan or padded sticks for sparring, with a helmet and gloves.

Safety

Wear a helmet with a face grille and padded gloves for any contact work; hands and fingers are the most common injuries. Check sticks for cracks and splinters and retire damaged ones.

Legality (general information)

Sticks, staffs and other impact or flexible weapons are ordinary objects in some countries and restricted weapons in others (several European countries, for example, regulate nunchaku, batons or weighted chains). Carrying one in public without a good reason can be an offence even where owning it is legal. Transport it in a bag and use it in the training hall. This is general information, not legal advice: check local law.

Did you know?

The crook is also an old symbol of the shepherd and of guidance, used as a pastoral staff by bishops.

More weapons

Shillelagh Makila Jo Jutte Bo Tonfa

Sources

Original WABUKAN text, written from these cross-checked sources (facts, not sentences).

  1. Wikipedia — Shepherd%27s crook
  2. Wikipedia — Jogo do pau