The Bâton français, French for 'French staff', also known as French stick fighting, is a European fencing discipline which uses a staff about 4 feet long. The techniques have much in common with longsword and quarterstaff.

The origins of this system are lost in antiquity but probably share a common root with other European stick fighting systems such as quarterstaff, German Stockfechten, Portugal Jogo do Pau etc.

The Bâton was systematized in France during the 1800s and is still part of a set of skills associated with the modern French martial art of boxe française (Savate).

See also

*fencing
*Stick fighting
*La canne
Category:Stick fighting
Category:fencing
Category:Pole weapons