- published: 03 Oct 2015
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Juego del Palo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxweɣo ðel ˈpalo], Game of the Stick) is a traditional martial art/folk sport of stick fighting practiced in the Canary Islands. It involves the combative use of a slender stick from 4 to 6 feet (1.2 to 1.8 m) long, wielded in both hands, and characterised by fluid motion in attacks and defences.
Though similar stick fighting techniques are present in the Iberian peninsula (e.g. Portuguese Jogo do pau), the origins of Juego del Palo may be traced back to the Guanches, the aboriginal inhabitants of the Canary Islands in pre-colonial times during the early 15th century.[citation needed] A Spanish engineer named Leonardo Torriani wrote a history of the Canary Islands in 1590 and included a record of early Juego del Palo, accompanied by an illustration of two Guanche warriors performing a type of ritual combat with short staves in a small arena.[citation needed]Torriani wrote;
"When two Canarians went to duel, they met at a special place established for this purpose. It was a small enclosure with a level, raised stone platform at each end. To begin, they each stood upon a platform, armed with three of the smooth throwing stones they call tahuas, and also with the stick called magodo or amodeghe. Then they dodged the stones as they were thrown, skillfully twisting their bodies without moving their feet. Next, they stepped down and fenced with the staves, each one trying to gain advantage over the other, as is our custom also."[citation needed]