El Matrag (Algeria)

It is difficult to accurately trace the history of this sport, but it is certain that its cradle is the Oran province, that is, the northwest region of Algeria, and it appeared more than two centuries ago. According to some sources, the shepherds of this region have defended themselves in this way against herds thieves. However, it seems that this sport originally has roots in war because the moves are very similar to saber techniques. Even if we can only speculate, with the lack of tangible sources on this topic, we can imagine that the Berber Arabs have practiced the fight for sticks from ancient times because there are several reasons in the history of these people with long series of constant conflicts with different intensity. Therefore, the values and traditions of warriors were at the center of men's lives which logically resulted in continuous training of the warriors and rivalry preparing for real fights. In addition, it seemed more logical to use olive tree sticks to train sabers fight that were easily available. A different situation was with sabers that had to be kept. Moreover, the length and weight of these sticks were similar to sabers, we know, for example, that the Berber warriors of Kabila have been using Flyssa since the 18th century, which is a sword that can be long up to one meter. Studies show that one of Berberian large sabers can reach up to 1m 15cm, i.e. the size of Matragas. In addition, Berbers from the times of Emir Abdelkader used a slightly curved long sword of Turkish origin, less than one meter long called "yatagan" in battle.

The unreliable information about the origin of Matrag reaches back to the genesis of its practice, as we know it today, exactly in the time of Emir Abdelkader, that is, at a time when a large proportion of Algerians are armed with resistance against the French invasion that began in 1830. It seems obvious that this state of intense and almost continuant war which lasted over fifteen years (from 1830–1847), favoured and developed even more belligerent practices in the Arab-Berber tribes of the Algerian West, which as it should be remembered, was the main area of the Muslim struggle against the French occupier. Therefore, it is probably no accident that the Matrag art has been particularly developed in this region to this day. Moreover, there is a direct relationship between the Matrag and Kader's resistance to the French. The style of this struggle was finally shaped and codified. However, it contains a strong symbolic element because to this day the Matrag in some way embodies the spirit of fight and insubordination of Algerians against the enemy and injustice.

It is worth to remember that the great masters ("sheikhs") of Matrag often refer to a verse from the Koran that refers to this practice, this gives Matrag the deep Arab-Muslim identity of this martial art: "He (Moses) says:" This is my stick on which I withstand, which I use to tear off (trees) for my sheep and use it for other purposes” (Koran 20/18). This is a fragment of the Koran in which Moses is in the holy valley of Tuva, where Allah addressed him directly, saying: "And what is in your right hand, Moses?" He says: "This is my stick on which I withstand, which I tear off (trees) for my sheep and use it for other purposes." [Allah] said to him, "Drop it, Moses." He dropped it and there was a slithering snake. [Allah] says: "Grab him and do not be afraid of anything: we will restore him to his first state" (Koran 20 / 17-21). So the Matrag masters see in the sentence "[...} and I use it for other purposes" that there is a reference to stick fighting. Perhaps this is why some say without evidence that a practicing Matrag can become a champion only after facing the snake with a cane, as part of a kind of initiation and secret ritual

This practice was passed and practiced discreetly during the colonial period. The French authorities were reluctant to look at this martial art that connected the "natives" with the deeply rooted culture that the occupier wanted to wipe. Spirit of a fight among them but mainly prepared them specifically for armed combat. It would seem that the Matrag was not so clearly visible during the days of the first leaders of independent Algeria. In the early 1980s, this art came out of some sort of oblivion, since it was actually practiced far away from human clusters, especially in forests. It should be noted that some old Matrag masters still have a concern to pass on their knowledge in a discreet manner to their "guendouz" (the student chosen to receive the entire master's knowledge) or their students in general. Nevertheless, in Algeria, there are many Matrag clubs with their headquarters in cities.