Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Dual Weapons Continued: Deer Horn Knives

Deer Horn Knives or Lù Jiǎo Dāo (鹿角刀), which more closely translates as Deer Antler Knives, are rare weapons of Chinese martial arts. They are also known as Mandarin Duck Blades Yuān Yāng Yuè (鴛鴦鉞 ).  They are used, almost exclusively by the soft, internal style, known as Baguazhang.

Deer Horn Knives

Deer horn knives are short, but fast weapons, designed for piercing, hooking and trapping. A deer horn knife refers to the shape of knife, not the material used to make the handle, like some western hunting knives have also been called. It consists of two crescent shaped blades facing opposite directions. Most are symmetrical with four distinct points and nine sharpened edges. Others were asymmetrical with only three points

Asymmetrical Deer Horn Knives

Like the Chinese ring weapons, only the outside edges are sharpened, leaving the hands relatively safe to grip the weapon. Likewise the handle construction is usually very simple, utilizing only a grip wrap. Versions with wooden handle scales do exist, but they are far less common than their wrapped counterparts.

Length and size varied depending on the design of the knives. However, they generally fit into these size parameters. Upper points were around four to six inches in length. Lower points were around were two to four inches in length. Handle length was around seven inches. Each knife typically weighed one pound, or only a few ounces shy of one pound.

Deer Horn Knives are very exotic, and as far as I know, no antiques exist from earlier than the late nineteenth century. It is likely they were exclusively the weapons of  martial artists, and never saw combat beyond the personal duel or street brawl.

The next post will be the last in this series, the Butterfly Swords.

Monday, June 19, 2017

Dual Weapons Continued: Ring Weapons

Ring weapons are an uncommon type of paired weapon in China, and not many styles use them (mainly Tai Chi and Bagua). It is rumored that these weapons were originally brought to China by the Mongols, who would throw them from horseback. I think it is also likely that they have some distant connection to the Chakram, another throwing weapon used in Indian martial arts, as well as historically by Sikh warriors from the Punjab region of India.
Chakram

Ring Weapons in Chinese martial arts are used for both throwing and melee combat. There are several variations, but they mostly consist of a circular band, or ring that has been sharpened on the outside edge. Most have a short, unsharpened section that is wrapped with cloth, leather, or other material, thus forming the handle, or grip.

Heaven and Earth Rings

The two most common types are Wind and Fire Wheels (風火輪), which have flame shaped spikes along the outside edge, and Heaven and Earth Rings (乾坤圈) which have a crescent bladed hand guard. These extra appendages generally help in the weapons ability to block or trap an opponent's weapon as well as hook and stab.

Wind and Fire Wheel


The rings are generally around fourteen inches in diameter and weigh between one and two pounds for each ring.

While it's doubtful that these were ever true battlefield weapons, they nevertheless were derived from actual battlefield weapons and keep at least some of their original aspects.

Next week's post will be about Bagua's Deer Horn Knives.

Monday, June 12, 2017

Dual Weapons Continued: Hook Swords

The Chinese Double Hook Swords, Shuāng Gōu (雙鈎), also called Tiger Head Hooks, Hǔtóu Gōu (虎頭鈎), are weapons that are unique among other Chinese weapons. Typically seen in Kung Fu styles practiced in northern China. However, they have spread to styles across China in recent years.



Despite what others might claim, there are no historical examples of hook swords, dated before the Qing dynasty. They also were never officially used by soldiers, but possibly by local militias, and primarily by martial artists from this period.

Hook swords are almost always seen in pairs. They were not very long, with each blade around twenty inches in length, ending in a hook-shaped tip.

Hook swords typically have a six inch handle, ending in a spike that is almost ten inches long. Each also has a crescent shaped blade, mounted onto two parallel bars which altogether form the hand guard. The handle construction mainly varies between two types. One use only wooden handle scales which were pinned to the tang. The other uses a grip wrap made from silk or other corded material, wrapped on top of slightly thinner handle scales.

An antique Hook sword with Qing style grip wrap


In total, they were around thirty six inches in length, or just barely under one meter, with some variation.

Weight also varied, typically between one and two pounds for each sword.

It's blade geometry looks similar to a double-edged Jian, with a raised central ridge.
Supposedly, traditional hook swords were sharp on both edges, but the majority of those we see today are not sharpened.

It's unclear what use the hook swords had in actual warfare. It may well be that they were only used for martial arts display and street performance. They are certainly intimidating, but highly impractical.

For example, I've never seen a sheath made for them, which would certainly allow them to become dull very quickly, if they ever were sharpened. I'm not saying they weren't deadly. I am saying they were neither easy to carry nor maintain. Both of these aspects make them quite impractical as battlefield weapons.

That's all for now. Next week will be about dual ring weapons.

Saturday, June 3, 2017

New Series of Posts: Dual Weapons

The Chinese martial arts have many kinds of melee weapons that are organized into several categories.

One such category is dual weapons. Unlike western traditions, most of these dual weapons are identical in size, weight, and shape.

The first thing I want to talk about is in response to Matt Easton's video Dual-wielding axes - plausible combat style?




He alludes to the possibility that Kung Fu styles use dual axes, but thinks that axe and shield is a more plausible combination. While I somewhat agree that you are more protected while using a shield, the concept of dual wielded axes is still well grounded in history, at least in the Asian tradition.

Dual axes or Shuāng Fǔ (雙斧) supposedly originated in the Song dynasty, but most claims stem from the fictional book, Outlaws of the Marsh aka The Water Margin. Most claims point to Lǐ Kuí (李逵) aka, the Black Whirlwind, who is a fictional character from that novel. He is presumed to be the original user of dual axes.



Historically, they were used by the Qing dynasty's Green Standard Army (綠營), as referenced in the Huángcháo Lǐqì Túshì (皇朝禮器圖式), which may also suggest that it could be found earlier in the Ming dynasty as well. (As a historical side note, the Green Standard Army was originally constructed from remnants of the old Ming army.)

Dual axes were typically short, with a blade about four and a half inches tall, and a handle slightly over one and a half feet long, with each axe weighing in the vicinity of two pounds.

Typically, one axe is used for attack while the other is used for defense, but these roles are not fixed to one hand, and are interchangeable. This act of switching is done for purposes of both adaptability, and the potential to confuse the enemy.

They are used today by many styles of Chinese martial arts, such as Shaolin, Emei, Cai Li Fo, Hung Ga(r), to name a few.

This series will continue next week with a post about the Double Hook Swords or Shuāng Gōu (雙鈎).