Draco Order Community amateur sports club (CASC)
The Traditional Romanian martial arts are based on real historical events, dating from 168 BC–106 AD. Most of the weapons Dacian used to fight against Roman Empire are described thoroughly by Romans, especially on Trajan Column in Rome and Tropaeum Traiani (Roman Civitas Tropaensium, built in AD 109 in then Moesia Inferior, to commemorate Roman Emperor Trajan's victory over the Dacians, in the winter of 101–102, in the Battle of Adamclisi).
Ininitially Dacians used 'Falx' curved blade to fight Romans, and similarly, there are the Sica and the rhomphaia. The sica is a much smaller variation, some with very dramatic curves or bends. The rhomphaia is often larger and used with two hands, though there were someone handed ones.
Later on, Middle Age Romanians, called Vlachians used similar weapons and variations, including wooden staff, shillelagh type of sticks and all sorts of blades and weapons against intrusions from Ottoman Empire. Nowadays, in the rural area of Eastern Romania (Moldavia) there are still some several villages that keep the tradition and once a year men meet for a stick fight called Batalia de la Ruginoasa (Battle of Ruginoasa, county Iasi), where the best team wins after a brutal stick fighting.
Our Draco Order Community amateur sports club (CASC) based in the UK took over the historical techniques and standardized the moves and made them accessible to all (from young age to adults) using a foam stick safety training weapon or padded sparring staff. Our outcome is to preserve historical name, tradition and techniques of Romanian Martial Arts Stick Fighting, and in the same time to be offered to the larger public.
Marius Cristian Boda
