A pugil stick is a heavily-padded pole-like training weapon that has been used since the mid 1950s by military personnel in training for rifle and bayonet combat. The pugil stick is similar to a quarterstaff or Japanese bo and may be marked to indicate the end that represents the bayonet and the one that is the rifle butt. Dr. Armond H. Seidler, of the University of New Mexico, invented the pugil stick training method in 1955. It was initially adopted by the United States Marine Corps but was later included in United States Army combat training as well.