The boys begin to train in the fight with sticks at five or six years of age. In primary school, there are championships from which a territorial champion comes out. In addition to being a childish diversion, the children are aware that their skill with the stick will allow them to defend themselves better against the wild animals and against other boys who try to displace them from the good lands in which they are taking care of the family cattle.
When a Zulu boy reaches the age of 15, his family takes him to the forest where he will make his own set of sticks and will have a specific preparation in this art. The purpose of this period in the forest is the mental and spiritual preparation of the young. There are strict rules that combatants must adhere to in combat. The two men square in front of each other, beat their shields with the stick, and at the shout of "-Here’s the bull," the fight begins. Although there are referees who control the fight, the public will intervene if they think that the way to fight is not the right one. If one man loses his stick for a moment, the other must wait for him to recover it and it would be very despised to take advantage of that weakness of the opponent to attack him when he is helpless. This attitude is regarded as a lack of security in itself on the part of the attacker.