“Haitian Tire Machèt: 5-Cut Machete Drill | Exploring the Blade (Episode 1)”

Tire Machèt and Tire Bwa are the sophisticated machete and stick systems developed in Haiti — arts deeply shaped by Indigenous African martial knowledge and the spiritual traditions carried across the Atlantic. These disciplines played a pivotal role in the Haitian Revolution, as enslaved Africans adapted blade work, footwork, and ritual practices into powerful methods of resistance and self-determination in the fight for freedom.

Today, Tire Machèt lives on in the countryside of Haiti, carried through generations by families who preserved its knowledge in movement, memory, and ritual. I am a practitioner of the Avril family system, but my mission is to study and understand as many martial traditions as I can from across Africa and the African Diaspora.

In today’s episode, we break down a 5-cut sequence from a different style of Tire Machèt. I don’t yet know the official name of this system — it may be the Basilik style or a lineage from the Artibonite region. We’ll learn more together as we explore this art in future episodes.
If you want to watch the original videos I’m referencing, check out Legenda Ayiti 509:
   / @makendiello  

patreon.com/u2468032

🔺 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• The structure and rhythm of the 5-cut drill
• Blade angles & cutting mechanics
• Footwork concepts inside the sequence
• How traditional Haitian machete systems organize technique
• Cultural context behind Tire Machèt traditions

🔺 About This Series — Exploring the Blade

This video is Episode 1 of Exploring the Blade, an ongoing series documenting the blade and stick traditions of Africa and the African Diaspora — Haiti, West Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, and beyond.

If you want to see Episode 2 (footwork, defense, or partner work), drop a comment below. Your voice helps shape the direction of this journey.

🔺 Connect With My Work

Instagram:   / damonstith  
TikTok:   / nomadicstar  
Facebook:   / damon.stith.7  
Patreon: patreon.com/u2468032
YouTube Playlist: Exploring the Blade
Workshops & updates coming soon.

🔺 My Mission

My work is dedicated to honoring, preserving, and sharing the martial knowledge of Africa and the Diaspora — keeping our stories alive through movement, culture, and practice. This series is part of that path.

🔥 Rooted in Resistance 2026 — global martial gathering of the African Diaspora.