The Windmill Disarm

The Windmill, formerly known as the cauldron, is the basic disarm technique used in the Rince an Bhata Uisce Bheatha style of Irish stick fighting. It's a scooping and turning motion similar to a combination of the motion used in shoveling snow and the motion of a blade on a windmill. It will help to keep these two images of motion in mind while looking at the photos since it is difficult to demonstrate this move with still photographs.

The two sets of photos below show the windmill from two different angles. Each sequence of photos represents one continuous motion lasting only a few seconds.

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Windmill Sequence: View Point 1
Click on any of the pictures to see an enlarged version

1. Glen starts with a stick punch which Oliver blocks. (Oliver is using a make-shift bata because an authentic bata was not available at the time the photos were taken.)
2. Glen simultaneously does a charge-in allowing him to get in close to Oliver.
3. Immediately following the charge-in Glen says hello by jabbing Oliver in the gut throwing him off guard which gives Glen the opportunity to start the Windmill disarm.
4. This is the start of the windmill. In a scooping motion Glen weaves his bata down over Oliver's stick and under Oliver's wrist creating two new pivotal points. The first is where Glen's bata is on top of Oliver's stick near Oliver's hand. The second is where Glen's bata is under Oliver's wrist.
5. Glen rotates his bata by pushing down with both hands. He gets leverage from where the two sticks are in contact. As his bata rotates it presses under Oliver's wrist.
6. Glen's bata rotation causes Oliver's stick and arm to rotate, eventually throwing Oliver off-balance.
7. At this point if Oliver doesn't let go his wrist will break so he releases his stick.
8. Glen continues the rotation as Oliver begins to fall to the ground.
9. Using the ends of his bata as extensions to his fists, Glen stick punches Oliver in the kidney and...
10. ... and then stick punches Oliver in the head.
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Windmill Sequence: View Point 2
The exact same technique but from the opposite angle.

Start with the Say Hello. Note it's not necessary to do the Say Hello first but it catches the opponent off guard and sets up the perfect opportunity to scoop your bata into position.
Glen scoops his bata into position so it is weaved in over Oliver's stick and under Oliver's wrist.
Glen pulls the bata slightly back towards himself and down starting the rotation.
Glen's bata rotation causes Oliver's stick and arm to rotate.
As the rotation is completed, Oliver must let go of the stick and he loses his balance as well.
In a boxing motion, Glen uses the ends of his bata as extensions of his fists to get in a few more hits.
Note that the same windmill technique can also be used against an opponent fighting with a one-handed grip. As long as you can "weave" your stick over from the outside of your opponent's bata and under their wrist creating the two pivotal points you can get the leverage you need to do the windmill. For this reason, the windmill would work best as a continuation of a block of an opponent's side swing. (Photographs demonstrating this will be added soon.)

Film-strip versions of the two sets of photos are shown below. (You may have to scroll horizontally to see the whole strip.)

 

 
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Photos: Copyright © 2001 Kimberley Stickel Web site: Copyright © 2002 Lisa T