John Borter and Trish Chiovari - Instructors of Doyle Irish Stick Fighting
Doyle Irish Stick Fighting John Borter
Class on Blackthorn shillelagh fighting
John Borter and Trish Chiovari - Instructors of Doyle Irish Stick Fighting
Doyle Irish Stick Fighting John Borter
Class on Blackthorn shillelagh fighting

Doyle Stick Fighting Seminar | 1-Day | The Whiskey Stick Faction

from $75.00

What this class is: A rare opportunity to learn the elusive and historical art of Doyle Irish Stick Fighting. This 5 Hour seminar goes over the basics of this combative stick fighting system working on footwork, striking, defense, carry, and history. Students will leave with a firm foundation of how to use a Shillelagh (walking stick, club, any stick) in a fight.

History of Doyle Irish Stick Fighting: Nicknamed the “Dance of the Whiskey Stick”, it is a devastatingly effective two-handed combative system developed well over 200 years ago by the Doyle family in Ireland. The two-handed Doyle family style of Irish stick fighting was developed after the traditional one-handed styles had become ingrained in the Irish lifestyle. The originator of the style was a pugilist from a Doyle family living in the west of Ireland, who was hired to “put things right between families” and sometimes guard illegal businesses or even distilleries (this gave rise to one of the rumors that originated the term ‘Whiskey’ in the nickname of the style). He applied his boxing expertise to the existing art of stick fighting and changed the standard one-hand grip of the bata to a two-hand grip and Rince an Bata Uisce Bheatha was born. While most Irish styles used one-handed methods (much like fencing), the Doyle style evolved from a one-handed long-range style to a much more aggressive "close-quarter", two-handed style. The art of stick fighting was passed down from generation to generation, each father passing his techniques and nuances of style onto his sons. This system was brought to Canada in the early 1800s via Maurice Doyle who settled in the rough and tumble landscape of the Atlantic's Newfoundland coast. As most of the stick fighting styles eventually became extinct in Ireland, the Doyle system was practiced, guarded, further evolved, and passed on through the Doyle family residing in Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula. The system continued to be passed from father to son exclusively in the family until 1998 when Glen Doyle asked his father, Gregory Doyle, to allow him to teach outside the family. Gregory eventually gave permission to his son to teach the system to anyone with the heart and conviction to preserve it. ​Originally, this system was a secret fighting art. According to the late Gregory Doyle, the word ‘Dance’ was inducted into the nickname of the style to disguise the fighting art the Doyle men were learning. Saying ‘Whiskey Stick Dance’ wouldn’t raise as many eyebrows as ‘Whiskey Stick Fighting’ would have. So, Doyle men could talk openly to each other about the style, but easily maintain covert training classes. ​

Who this class is for: ANYONE. This is an entry level class that requires no previous martial skill to attend. The intensity of the class is scaled to the students so anyone of any age, size, or strength will be sure to have a fun time and learn a lot of useful skills. The Doyle system is applicable to boxers, MMA fighters, combatives practitioners, stick fighters of other systems, and sword-based fencers as well. It is a catch-all system where everyone can gain something to improve what they already practice!

What to bring: A positive attitude, open mind, clothing to work out in, and some water. That’s it! We’ll cover the rest.

DATE:

What this class is: A rare opportunity to learn the elusive and historical art of Doyle Irish Stick Fighting. This 5 Hour seminar goes over the basics of this combative stick fighting system working on footwork, striking, defense, carry, and history. Students will leave with a firm foundation of how to use a Shillelagh (walking stick, club, any stick) in a fight.

History of Doyle Irish Stick Fighting: Nicknamed the “Dance of the Whiskey Stick”, it is a devastatingly effective two-handed combative system developed well over 200 years ago by the Doyle family in Ireland. The two-handed Doyle family style of Irish stick fighting was developed after the traditional one-handed styles had become ingrained in the Irish lifestyle. The originator of the style was a pugilist from a Doyle family living in the west of Ireland, who was hired to “put things right between families” and sometimes guard illegal businesses or even distilleries (this gave rise to one of the rumors that originated the term ‘Whiskey’ in the nickname of the style). He applied his boxing expertise to the existing art of stick fighting and changed the standard one-hand grip of the bata to a two-hand grip and Rince an Bata Uisce Bheatha was born. While most Irish styles used one-handed methods (much like fencing), the Doyle style evolved from a one-handed long-range style to a much more aggressive "close-quarter", two-handed style. The art of stick fighting was passed down from generation to generation, each father passing his techniques and nuances of style onto his sons. This system was brought to Canada in the early 1800s via Maurice Doyle who settled in the rough and tumble landscape of the Atlantic's Newfoundland coast. As most of the stick fighting styles eventually became extinct in Ireland, the Doyle system was practiced, guarded, further evolved, and passed on through the Doyle family residing in Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula. The system continued to be passed from father to son exclusively in the family until 1998 when Glen Doyle asked his father, Gregory Doyle, to allow him to teach outside the family. Gregory eventually gave permission to his son to teach the system to anyone with the heart and conviction to preserve it. ​Originally, this system was a secret fighting art. According to the late Gregory Doyle, the word ‘Dance’ was inducted into the nickname of the style to disguise the fighting art the Doyle men were learning. Saying ‘Whiskey Stick Dance’ wouldn’t raise as many eyebrows as ‘Whiskey Stick Fighting’ would have. So, Doyle men could talk openly to each other about the style, but easily maintain covert training classes. ​

Who this class is for: ANYONE. This is an entry level class that requires no previous martial skill to attend. The intensity of the class is scaled to the students so anyone of any age, size, or strength will be sure to have a fun time and learn a lot of useful skills. The Doyle system is applicable to boxers, MMA fighters, combatives practitioners, stick fighters of other systems, and sword-based fencers as well. It is a catch-all system where everyone can gain something to improve what they already practice!

What to bring: A positive attitude, open mind, clothing to work out in, and some water. That’s it! We’ll cover the rest.

John Borter and Trish Chiovari are both certified instructors in the Doyle system of Irish stick fighting. Trained under Bernie Leddy, the Chieftain of the Doyle system, they are members of the Fighting Hares faction, the heads of the Whiskey Stick faction, and were the first coaches certified by Bernie in the U.S. .

John has been training in the martial arts for more than 30 years and holds blackbelt ranks in 5 different martial arts systems, the high rank of 6th degree blackbelt, and is the founder of Modern Self-Defense Concepts. He teaches martials arts, self-defense, knife, tomahawk, Kubotan, and Irish stick classes and seminars to hundreds of people a year. He is also the creator of the ABC Women's Self-Defense program, a renowned program taught in 12 countries and has worked as a training consultant for law enforcement.

​Trish Chiovari has been training in the martial arts for more than a decade. She is an instructor in Modern Self-Defense Concepts and the co-instructor of the ABC Women's Self-Defense program. She effectively utilizes both her experience in the martial arts as well as her training as a certified social worker to bring her unique and highly valuable insight to teaching women's self-defense and personal safety.

Learn more about Irish Stick Fighting HERE