 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2014) |
 Demonstration of 'jogo do pau' on a Portuguese street during a festival | |
| Focus | Weapons (sticks) |
|---|---|
| Hardness | Semi-contact |
| Country of origin |  Galicia, Spain Portugal |
| Olympic sport | No |
Jogo do pau, 'lit. stick game' (IPA: [ˈʒogu du ˈpaw]) is a Portuguese and Spanish martial art which developed in the regions along the Minho River: Minho, Trás-os-Montes, Pontevedra and Ourense, focusing on the use of a staff of fixed measures and characteristics.[1]
It was used for self-defense and also to settle arguments and matters of honour between individuals, families, and even villages. While popular in the northern mountains, it was practically unknown elsewhere, and those who did practice it were taught by masters from the North of Portugal and Galicia.[2]
- ^ de Oliveira, Paulo. "Jogo do Pau". home.dbio.uevora.pt. Archived from the original on 2017-07-04. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
- ^ d'Aça, Zacarias (1883). "Esgrima Nacional". Diário da Manhã.
Portuguese: Há três escolas: A do Norte, chamada galega por ser oriunda da Galiza..., lit. 'There are three schools: The North, called Galician for being from Galicia...'; Portuguese: Os seus professores foram os mais dextros que então havia em Lisboa - um d'elles era gallego, lit. 'His teachers were the most highly-regarded in Lisbon at the time - one of them was Galician' (regarding the Galician master that taught José Maria da Silveira, the founder of the Lisbon school of jogo do pau in the 19th century)