"Morning, class!" said Amaya, with the usual nod of greeting, the adjustment of her gloves, the pound of her fist into her palm to show she was ready to get going on the lesson for that week. "Now, thing is, with weapons, is there's only so many categories before they start to sort of resemble each other in one way or another, and while we've definitely got a few more categories to cover, tomorrow's one of the many holidays that this world has to offer, so Detective Diaz and I decided we might be a little topical about the whole thing and bring a nice focus on some shillelaghs to the table, because, apparently, around here, they have roots in Ireland, and that's what tomorrow's holiday has to do with!

"Not to put too fine a point on it...because, well, they're clubs, the point is that they don't really have points," no one should be as proud of as convoluted a pun as that one as Amaya Blackstone was, and yet there they were, "but a shillelagh is basically a cudgel, or a bludgeoning weapon, much like maces that we covered earlier in the semester, only distinctly made of wood, which is why I don't pay them nearly as much mind as a metalsmith. And, in the grand tradition of most simply weapons, there's a functional side to a shillelagh as well as a battle side, in that they are often used as walking sticks or staffs, depending on the side, when they're not being used to bludgeon people or things with.

"A nice, stout, knotty blackthorn, or sloe, is the preferred wood for a shillelagh," Amaya now picked one up from the table for demonstration, "although oak is often pretty popular as well, and its distinction comes in the knob at the top, which is typically formed out of the root of the wood, which is stronger, so it's less likely to break or crack. Commonly, the staff was then cured in a chimney for several months, sometimes years, to give it its distinctive shiny black appearance, although treatments of dung or slaked lime are often used, as well, then finished with polish and oils. Occasionally, you'd fine one that was actually brined, or treated in saltwater.

"Now," Amaya continued, "clearly, most shillelaghs are a good size for a walking stick, making them useful in that regard, but they mostly came about as a weapon to use in settling 'gentlemanly disputes,' better known as duels, as opposed to using a sword or a pistol. There's also the Irish marial art of bataireacht, which is mostly just a fancy way of saying 'stick-fighting' and seeks to elevate the act of just swinging around sticks at each other into a true art and a form of self-defense.

"That's just a basic overview of the shillelagh," she concluded with a nod, "though if you've got any questions or anything you'd like me to expand on, by all means, let's hear what you got. If not, though, we'll hand you on over to Detective Diaz here, who will teach you some of the techniques associated with bataireacht and you'll be right good shillelagh weilders in no time!"