African Martial Arts

BOOKiDO.com has been a huge provider of martial arts information and products. We recently foudn a interesting stick fighting system that was passed down from Africa to the Caribbean islands and still perfromed at carnivals and festivals.

Bajan Stick-Licking or Stick Science is an African system of weapons fighting that features the use of fire hardened sticks of varying lengths. 'Lickin Stick' as it is usually known was most likely transferred to Barbados from the Kongo(Congo)/Angola region of Africa during the 15th century by military men who had been captured as prisoners of war. These soldiers were then purchased by various European enslavers and shipped as cargo to the Caribbean, where some ended up in Barbados as forced free labor.