Editing Quarterstaff (section)

==Historical practice==
{{More citations needed section|date=July 2011}}
[[File:Robin_Hood_and_Little_John.jpg|thumb|upright|Robin Hood and [[Little John]] fighting with Quarterstaffs as illustrated by [[Louis Rhead]]]]
[[Paulus Hector Mair]] in his martial arts compendium of the mid-16th century, details techniques of fighting with the staff in the [[German school of fencing]] of the [[German Renaissance|Renaissance]].

There is some variation as to the proper way to hold a quarterstaff. According to the 16th to 18th century writings of Silver,<ref name="George Silver 1605. pp.115-24" /> Swetnam<ref name="Joseph Swetnam 1617" /> and Wylde,<ref name="Zach Wylde 1711" /> the quarterstaff is held with the back hand at the butt end of the staff and the other hand about {{convert|1|to|1.5|ft|cm}} above it. According to the 14th to 16th century writings of Johannes Liechtenauer<ref name="Johannes Liechtenauer">{{cite web |url=http://www.thearma.org/Manuals/dobringer.html#.VNEYwS5z7f1 |title=Dobringer Manuscript |publisher=TheArma.org}}</ref> and Paulus Hector Mair, the quarterstaff is held with the back hand a hand's breadth from the butt end of the staff, and the other hand up to the middle of the staff.<ref name="Compendium of Paulus Hector Mair">{{cite web |url=http://www.thearma.org/Manuals/Mair/Mair.htm#.VNEVCS5z7f0 |title=Mair Manual |publisher=The Arma.org}}</ref> This is likely because of the transition of techniques from quarterstaves to polearms in Mair's compendium.

Of these the low guard is considered the central guard. Blows were primarily delivered downwards either directly or at angles. Parries of blows to the legs were done either by lifting the leg away from the line of attack or by thrusting one end of the staff into the ground and releasing the foremost hand which was in danger of being struck. Thrusts (called "darts" by Wylde) were often performed with the release of the forward hand and a step with the forward leg like a [[lunge (fencing)|fencing lunge]], stretching forward the back hand as far as possible. Longer thrusts were delivered with a full step forward with the back leg accompanying the back hand. It was recommended that when delivering a blow that at the end of it the back leg and foot should be compassed about so as to fall roughly into a line with the front foot and the point of the weapon. The same circling round of the back leg was applied to parries also. Singularly among the three authors, Swetnam recommends preference of thrusting over striking. Silver and Wylde describe striking and thrusting as equally valid attacks.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/paradoxes.html |title=Paradoxes of Defence, by George Silver (1599)|website=www.pbm.com|access-date=2018-10-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thearma.org/Manuals/swetnam.htm#.W8US8ntKjcc |title=Joseph Swetnam -- Part One|website=www.thearma.org|access-date=2018-10-15}}</ref><ref name="Zach Wylde 1711" />

The position with one hand held at the quarter and the other at the middle of the staff is not found in these early modern manuals, but it is described in the quarterstaff manuals published in the late 19th century, e.g. McCarthy (1883): "both hands should be {{convert|2.5|ft|cm}} apart, and the same distance from each end".

The quarterstaff is also mentioned in England's legend of [[Robin Hood]]. In ballads and tales of the famed yeoman, the quarterstaff is often mentioned. For example, in "[[Robin Hood and the Tinker]]" and several other tales, the quarterstaff is the weapon in hand as the two engage in a duel, as the Tinker was apparently sent to bring Robin Hood to justice at the hands of the Sheriff of Nottingham. This implies that the quarterstaff was in use before and during the 16th to 18th centuries, as the tale of Robin Hood is mostly written of during that time frame.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://americanliterature.com/author/howard-pyle/book/the-merry-adventures-of-robin-hood/robin-hood-and-tinker|title=The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood - Robin Hood and Tinker|website=americanliterature.com|language=en|access-date=2018-10-15}}</ref>