✦ Member
← Arsenal

WABUKAN Arsenal · Staffs and sticks · India

Lathi

The long bamboo stick of the Indian subcontinent, weapon of village guards and of the art lathi khela; also the Indian police baton.

Also known as

লাঠি · laathi; lathi khela (the art)

Origin and history

The lathi is a long bamboo stick of the Indian subcontinent, used for centuries by villagers, watchmen and landlords’ guards. Its art, lathi khela, survives especially in Bengal and Punjab; the lathi is also the traditional baton of Indian police.

Martial arts that use it

Silambam Gatka

Construction

A bamboo cane of about 1.8–2.4 m, often bound with iron rings at the ends; police lathis are shorter (about 1.2–1.5 m).

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?

In Bengal, lathi khela is still performed at festivals, sometimes with the stick spun so fast that it forms a circle.

More weapons

Gatka soti and farri Quarterstaff Varapau Combat cane (canne) Cajado Shillelagh

Sources

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

  1. Wikipedia — Lathi