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“The techniques of employing these sticks may have also been influenced by Central African ritual body postures. These postures were utilized while holding the stick at both ends as a means to guard the body physically and spiritually simultaneously. This distinctive defensive method was at the core of the kalenda style and was evident from the second half of the eighteenth century. However, if the particular style of using sticks was acknowledged as being related to Central African traditions, it was adopted by black communities throughout the Americas regardless of African ethnic origins.”
-T.J. Desch Obi, Fighting for Honor: The History of African Martial Art in the Atlantic World
