A
weapon of
African origin that is very much like a cross between a
whip, a
baton, and a
sword. It is primarily used in non-
lethal roles such as
self-defense,
crowd control,
herding, and
other methods of
subjugating people or
animals that don't fully
agree with your
intentions. Its long, flexible "
blade" combined with its light
weight allows for
lightning-quick blows from a
safe distance. This makes it an
ideal weapon for fending off deadly
snakes as well as the occasional
brute who you
really would not like to be within arm's
reach of.
Sophisticated fighting
techniques have been
created from the
mastery of the sjambok. There is probably a
stance,
strategy, and whipping/striking
method for almost any
situation or target. Since almost any non-
lethal weapon is
lethal when used in the
correct way, the sjambok is also a
potent means of choking or
strangulation, and thus, when done for a
significant amount of
time, a
potent means of
killing your
target.
Most
modern renditions of the sjambok are made of
plastic, and although I'm
unsure as to what the
ancient forms of the sjambok were made of, I suspect that it's some fairly
flexible metal or
something else that's
bendable yet fairly
rigid.
Update : With the help of
achan I have concluded that the
ancient sjambok was made of the
hide of an
elephant or other
animal.