when west african slaves would covertly do this, kalinda. >> rondel: this martial art based on our research is maybe 500/600 years old. >> keegan: stick fighting variations occur throughout the caribbean but in trinidad and tobago it's like deep in their blood. >> anthony: this martial art was illegal for many, many years yes? >> keegan: yeah. >> anthony: i mean certainly during slavery times it was illegal. >> rondel: to this date i believe there are still laws on our books that ban this stick and if you're caught with it you can go to jail. >> anthony: the laws of slavery times forced this sport underground. like capoeira, it often has to be disguised as a dance, but this ain't no dance. >> rondel: the guys with the whip and the guys with the stick were all the guys saying you have not broken us. we will continue to resist till the ends of time.