Scottish Swordsmanship Society of Hawaii

In Scotland, Martial art gymnasiums, referred to in Gaelic as Taigh Suntais, were training schools that existed in the Scottish Highlands until the British government outlawed the weapons of the Highlander and dismantled the clan system after the battle of Culloden in 1746. Like the martial art dojos of Asia, the first recorded taigh suntais was erected by Domhnuil Gruamach, Lord of the Isles, in 1400 for his strongmen and wrestlers. In later years, sons of successive clan chiefs created their own gymnasiums where training was often held in the open air.

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Sometimes, the laird's champion or a skilled veteran of the European wars was employed to instruct the young men of the clan, who, from the age of six, practiced the art of single-stick, wrestling, archery, dancing, swimming, leaping, and pitching stones. In time, the single-stick would be replaced with the broadsword, dirk, and targe. As the warrior became proficient in the arts, he could be expected to test his skills by competing against the youth of friendly clans in swordplay, wrestling, throwing the stone, or tossing the caber. These contests would be re-created in a fashion in 1826 as the 'Highland Games' that we all know today.

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At the Scottish Swordsmanship Society of Hawaii, we carry on that Highland legacy by training the Historic Scottish Martial Arts in the open air. We concentrate our HEMA studies on the fighting style taught and used by the Scottish Highland clans at the time of the Jacobite rebellions and Battle of Culloden and those used by members of the Highland Regiments in the American colonies at the time of the American Revolutionary War and in the Napoleonic Wars.

 

We learn and practice the historical Scottish fencing skills through studying manuscripts and treatises dating back to the 17th to early 19th Centuries from famous Highlanders such as Donald McBane, a noted Scottish swordsman, career soldier, and fencing master, who is widely regarded as one of the most prolific duelists of all time, and who wrote "The Expert Swordsman's Companion" in 1728; and Thomas Page, who wrote "The Use of the Broad Sword" in 1746). 

 

We also aim to coordinate with other Scottish organizations to further promote Scottish heritage and culture within Hawaii and beyond. 

 

The primary weapons we use are the claidheamh mor in Scottish Gaelic or claymore in English, meaning broadsword, great sword, or large sword because it was larger than other swords used at the time. The claidheamh mor is known today as a basket hilt broadsword with its wide double-edged blade. 

 

There is also the claidheamh cuil, or back sword, which is identical to the broadsword; however, it only has a single-edged blade that is slightly narrower and lighter than the broadsword. 

 

We also use the targe (round leather and brass stud-covered wooden shield), the Highland Dirk or Biodag in Scottish Gaelic, the sgain dubh (Scottish Gaelic meaning black knife or hidden knife). We study them to be used independently and in conjunction with each other as they were historically taught to be used.

 

We also study the use of the tuagh (pronounced as Too-ah, Scottish Gaelic for tomahawk). In prehistoric times, long before Pictland, Dalriada, Strathclyde, Lothian, and Northumbria were all merged together to become what we now know today as Scotland, early tomahawks or hand axes were already in widespread daily use as tools and as weapons and were made from stone. As technology improved, they were made in copper, bronze, iron, and eventually steel.  From their ethnogenesis in Scotland to their migration to Ireland and then to the frontier of the New World, the hand axe, or tomahawk, has remained the one constant of Scots-Irish martial culture. It was the Scots-Irish frontiersman who introduced the American Indians to the tool.

 

We also utilize the MacGregor Method to learn to use additional items as secondary weapons, such as the staff, Lochaber axe, the shepherd's cane, etc. 

 

The claidheamh dà làimh (Scottish Gaelic for "two-handed sword") was a medieval two-handed sword used between 1400 and 1600. Though its use had already ended in Scotland long before the period we are studying, we will also explore its use occasionally. 

 

Join us to learn this ancient fighting art, experience the thrill of wielding a Scottish sword in battle, and help us preserve the Highland culture for future generations.