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WABUKAN Arsenal · Impact weapons · Europe

Mace

A blunt weapon with a heavy head on a handle; flanges or knobs on the head focus the blow so it can hurt an armoured opponent.

Mace
Mace WABUKAN illustration

Also known as

mace; flanged mace; masse d’armes; mazza

Origin and history

The mace developed from the simple club during the Upper Palaeolithic, when sharp flint or obsidian was added. A carved ceremonial flint mace head was found in the Neolithic mound of Knowth in Ireland, and Egypt’s Narmer Palette shows a king swinging a mace. Early stone heads shattered easily and were hard to fix to the handle, which later metal heads solved. Maces are rarely used in combat today, but parliaments, universities and other institutions still carry ceremonial maces as symbols of authority.

Martial arts that use it

HEMA

Construction

A strong, heavy shaft of wood or metal, often reinforced with metal, and a head of stone, bone, copper, bronze, iron or steel. Flanged or knobbed heads bind on metal instead of sliding off it, so they deliver more force through armour, can dent plate and can jam overlapping plates.

Basic techniques

Training

Impact weapons are learned with grips, stances and basic strikes on a bag or pad, then blocks and paired drills at slow speed. Wooden or padded versions are used for partner work; heavy or metal pieces only for solo forms.

Safety

Wear a helmet and padded gloves for any contact drill, use padded or light wooden versions with a partner and check the weapon for cracks, loose studs or sharp edges before every session.

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 English word mace comes through Old French from a Vulgar Latin word for a club or mallet; Italian mazza is the same word.

More weapons

War hammer Morning star Cestus Kanabō Gada Tekkō

Sources

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

  1. Wikipedia — Mace (bludgeon)