Trident

The trident or Chā (叉) is a Long weapon, used commonly in southern Chinese martial arts, but it can be seen in styles all across China.

Historically, the trident was a hunting tool as well as a battlefield weapon.

Historical versions sometimes had flattened, sharp, cutting edges. These may have originally come to China from India.

Historical Chinese Trident

Modern versions have more rounded edges, and taper to very thin, cone-shaped points. They also often have a horse-hair tassel.

A modern style trident with horse-hair tassel

Most tridents  are between  2.6-2.9 meters or 8.5-9.7 feet long.

There are multiple designs of trident in Chinese martial arts. The most common is the 3-pronged trident.  Others can have 2 or sometimes even more than 3 prongs.

Out of all of them, the "9 DragonTrident" (九龍大叉) used by the Cài Lǐ Fó /Choi Lei Faht style (蔡李佛) has the most peculiar design.

Cai Li Fo's 9 Dragon Trident