Traditional Weapons Training
Very often people are attracted to Chinese Martial Arts because of the absolute array of weapons present in the system. No other ethnic combat system can boast such a plethora of sharp and shiney, blunt and edged, long and stout tools of defense and war. However, aside from being a “marketing” ploy, many others ask, "what is the use of training in such archaic tools for combat?" I will introduce a classification of weapons called the Four Great Weapons. I will then explain why I believe it important to continue training in these weapons despite the fact that the carrying of such items would either be considered illegal or simply a societal oddity.
Four Great Weapons:
In Chinese Martial Arts, weapons are usually broken down into three categories. The first category is the Four Great Weapons. The second is what is commonly called the Eighteen Classical Weapons though, oddly enough, there is some wiggle room depending on who you ask as to what constitutes as part of this family. Examples include the Guan Dao and the Double Sabres. Despite some variation though, the concept remains fairly constant throughout the majority of schools. The final category encompasses Specialty Weapons, weapons that are style specific or unique to an individual but later made standard. Examples would be the Deer Antler Knives or the Butterfly knives (not those flippy knives kids play with… these are about the length of your forearm). The latter two categories are not for discussion this time. We will be focusing on what may be called the Four Great Weapons/Four Ancestral Weapons/Four Basic Weapons etc.
The Four Great Weapons refers to the Staff, the Spear, the Broadsword (though I refer to it as a Sabre) and the Straight Sword.The staff is called the Grandfather of all weapons, the spear is called the King of all weapons, the sabre is called the General/Marshal of all weapons, and the straight sword is called the Gentleman/Scholar of all weapons. It must be noted now that I do not plan to go even into moderate depths as to the usage and techniques of said weapons.That article will come later as it is a very comprehensive topic that requires separate time and consideration.
The staff is called the Grandfather of all weapons because it is the first of all weapons. From the moment that man conceived a stick could increase range of motion for swinging and striking, the staff, as a weapon, was born. Obviously one could argue that the cudgel, a stout piece of wood no longer than the length of your arm, is the original weapon, but we won’t get into that discussion either. The power of the staff is produced by the arms. The shoulder and the wrist are the primary generators of the force involved with staff strikes. This weapon is intended for wide sweeping motions and an overall defensive/offensive position granted by reach advantage and sturdiness of equipment. The combat range of a staff is second largest, with the maximum effective range ideally being one foot distance between your opponent and the tip of your staff with whatever ready position that you choose. Obviously there are exceptions and such things will be discussed in a different piece focusing on methodologies of combat. The length and thickness of the staff is dictated by whatever school and style one may practice. It is ideal for those that wish to defend themselves while stubbornly adhering to a policy of no intentional bloodletting.
If the staff is called the Grandfather of all weapons, what, then, is the spear? From a rather pedestrian stance the spear is nothing more than a staff with a spike, often of metal, but can crudely pass with a wooden point. But let us briefly engage in a metaphorical break down.
From a slightly more metaphorical standpoint, the staff, which is the grandfather, symbolizes elders and advisors of the court. Though commanding in their own right, they lack the charisma and visible authority allotted to a king. Though powerful as an entity, in a monarchical society, the primary purpose of the advising court would be to rally and give their support to a distinguished head who wields ‘visible power’, that being the spearhead or, in accordance with the metaphor, the ruler of a country. Thus the spear is the King of all weapons. It rules the battlefield with uncompromising authority and enforces its presence with a keen, unforgiving edge. It can be used as a staff to command and solidify a position, but it can also effectively advance through the ranks by way of thrusting and cutting with the head. The power of the spear comes from a pliable waist and powerful, stable arms to guide the point of the spear true and through a target. It can be utilized as a staff, but the true power comes from the point. It has the longest range out of the Four Great Weapons as it can be swung like a staff, but it has the lethality of a bladed weapon, due to the presence of the tip. Truly the King of All Weapons on the ancient battle field.
Next comes the broadsword. Those that know me should know that I shun using the term ‘sword’ for this weapon. That is because for Chinese people, the word ‘sword’ specifically labels something which is double edged, whereas the term ‘knife’ denotes all things with a single edge. Therefore the Chinese ‘broadsword’, being endowed with only a single edge, falls categorically under the label knife; those that have looked at the Chinese character for the Chinese ‘broadsword’ will be astounded to realize that it IS actually simply the character ‘knife’. That is why I insist on using the word sabre since sabre, in the western world, refers to a curved single edged weapon with a guard over the hand. Digression aside, the Sabre is the Marshal/General of all weapons. The translation varies but I work under the assumption that the Chinese meant to say that the Sabre has full command of the battlefield after the King so, with that assumption in mind, Marshal is a higher rank than General so the weapon will be henceforth termed Marshal of all weapons. Where the staff is support and the spearhead the authority, the dirty work of taking life belongs to the subordinate warriors of the king. Though lacking in reach, the sabre borrows the authority from the ruler and swiftly dispenses punishment on the battlefield. The sabre is a hack and slash weapon. It requires powerful arms and a coordinated body to allow the full weight of a person to chop through a target.Elegance is an unnecessary luxury which has no place for the average soldier on the battlefield. Thus the standoffishness of a staff, or the regal bearing of a spear, are best left to the side in favour of a more direct and maneuverable weapon, that being the sabre. It was easy to mass produce and easy to train for practical combat on the field. It was therefore the weapon of choice for all soldiers of the imperial army and, consequently, one of the most widely used by martial artists in ancient China.
The last of the Four Great Weapons is the Chinese straight sword.This is called the Scholar of all weapons. Originally a standard weapon during war, it was largely abandoned early on in favour of the sabre due to the sturdier nature of the latter weapon which allowed for a heavier chopping action. Though carried by generals of the army, it was largely a symbol of class rather than an oft used weapon though, if it was the only weapon on hand, it still functioned as such. The straight sword is more ideal for single confrontation rather than multiple individuals brawling due mostly to the construction of the weapon. Compared to the other three weapons, the straight sword is relatively frail and possesses a rather high learning curve, [one of my primary suspicious as to why it was relegated to a ‘scholarly’ position; the parallel being that scholars are not truly fighters and are therefore frail in body but strong of mind].If you see the bias, then kudos to you. If not, then let me spell it out specifically: I am not a fan of the straight sword. Though useful in certain situations, I think the sabre can perform just as well in most situations. For the niche situations that only a straight sword would do compellingly well in, just count yourself unlucky and hope your training in an overall better weapon can pull you through the debacle. That or you can strap yourself down with one of each weapon and walk around with your personal armory at all times. The straight sword, even before the creation of flimsy performance blades, has always been the flimsiest of the four weapons. What chance did it have? Two of them are a body of wood. One of them was created primarily to hack a person in two while derivatives of that one became weapons to chop off the legs of horses. The straight sword had no chance in a competition amongst such a robust group.
Why We Train in Weapons:
Often times people see the many weapons of Chinese martial arts and pass them off as either marketing ploys, or as outdated, superfluous practices that have no place in modern day. In all honesty, for some schools, low quali McDojos as we call them, the weapons truly are a marketing ploy. They are placed for display purposes only or, given the low quality of the instructor, the instructor might be a forms collector and might have picked up a form or two with a weapon for the sole purpose of selling sub par information to justify the fees charged. There is no defense for this type of practice. However, the second category, that of being a superfluous practice that is anachronistic, I can, and will, defend against.
There are three main reasons why TCMA continues to teach weapons. Note that I said ‘main reasons’. I am positive there are several peripheral reasons, but those are subjective in nature, differing amongst schools and practitioners. The three reasons which I believe can be unanimously agreed upon are 1) preservation and dissemination of an art 2) force training and 3) improvisation training.
As stated, one of the reasons why learning traditional weapons is important is because it preserves and allows the further dissemination of that style. Why is that important? What is a style? A style of fighting is essentially the crystallization of a philosophy for movement; a way in which the progenitor of said style thought it best for the body to move in such a way, in such a situation in order to maintain the best advantage. They are evidences of a certain type of thought process conceived, codified, and believed valid for relevant situations during the period of their creation. On a rather shallow level, it can be learned for the simple appreciation of preservation, just as how art pieces, classical literatures and ancient philosophies are considered important and preservation worthy. On a slightly higher level, the style can be learned to know what is already available with regards to a specific fighting philosophy. Doing so will allow one of three things: It will humble you to know that someone before you has conceived of an idea, it will provide a head start should you wish to develop a certain tactic more fully or seek to branch from an already established template, or it will tell you of glaring mistakes which do not stand the test of time and, therefore, should be avoided in future advancements and practices. However, regardless of the motivation for wanting to preserve a particular form of combat, the first reason is almost a purely academic reason; the same reason one would want to preserve anything old and interesting… not a truly compelling reason all on its own for the mass dissemination of a particular art form. After all, though the Ancient Greeks knew the Earth was round before people started to chart the oceans, they arrived at the correct conclusion in the wrong fashion.We don’t teach the Greek Theory to EVERYONE because it’s not worth preserving on a MASS scale… just for the specialists in the field i.e. Philosophy Students, World History Students etc.
The second, and more pertinent reason, is force training. What do I mean by force training? A powerful strike requires proper generation and termination of force. If I want to strike with my fist as the primary weapon, then at the last moment, all the force my body generates during a strike should ideally go to my fist and exit into my target from that location. Same thing can be said if I wish to throw a block with my forearm or wish to strike with my shoulder. The force generated would ideally flow and exit from my chosen striking tool and terminate completely into the target. If, however, I have bad habits and keep shoulders tensed or forearms flexed or fingers clutched too tightly, or body angled oddly, or an assortment of other physical complications, then the generation and termination of force is tainted with bad union. A good empty hand strike, therefore, requires a good unification and synchronization of joints, muscles, posture, breathing etc. A weapon does two things. Firstly, it adds a certain type of resistance training, not unlike weights but less “weightier” than the usual amount when applied for purely lifting exercises. Secondly, it teaches the wielder to direct power through a larger, slightly more disconnected object. The former goal is obvious, resistance training and what not. The latter however, is not so obvious. To put it simply, if I can exercise control and swing an 8ft pole while generating powerful strikes from anywhere between the middle of the staff to the very tip of the staff successfully, then generating that type of force will be that much easier when I have no external, disconnected, unwieldy implement in my hands but, rather, just simply waving around my arms or hands. Training to send my power or, as Cantonese people say, “faat ging lik”, through a staff will make it that much easier, and that much more powerful, when I use purely empty hands. The same goes for other types of weapons as well. In one more short example, take the sabre. Though sometimes used in conjunction with a shield or, even more uncommonly, with another sabre, it is usually a single weapon in a single hand. Wielding a sabre causes the body to be imbalanced since the weapon is in one hand while the other hand is empty. The format in which a sabre is used requires literally a compromising of weight distribution and balance. Training with the sabre then forces increased attention on establishing a strong root to offset the weight distribution discrepancy, and forces the wielder to train a union of torso, waist, and lower body to maintain balance during the broad, quick chopping motions that require whole-body union and balance.
The final reason why training in classical weapons, especially the Four Great Weapons, is an essential part to TCMA, is because it allows for improvisation. What do I mean by improvisation? Obviously, in most parts of the world, they will not allow you to strap a spear to your back or walk around town with a sword at your side or an 8ft long ‘walking stick’ [I did while I was at school though. University police gave me such awkward stares]. However, there will always be a need to defend yourself regardless of how benign a situation may seem; a 0.5% chance of being mugged is still more than a 0% chance… and we do not live in a world of absolutes… just ‘as close as possible to absolutes’.
In such situations of necessary defense, there may be benign objects which you can use immediately during a confrontation: a briefcase, an umbrella or a hat. At worst you need to look around the area, or perhaps escape to an area, to procure items for self-defense. Thus we require improvisation.
A person skilled at using a staff will undoubtedly wield a discarded broom, laundry dowel, mop etc far more proficiently against assailants then an individual desperately scrounging for an item, unsure as to how they can best use it, and relying on intuitive, but otherwise random, flailing. There just isn’t any competition as to who has a better chance of emerging from the confrontation victorious.
A person trained in using a sabre can easily pick up a discarded rod, perhaps a conveniently thrown away meat cleaver [you ran into the alley of a Chinese Restaurant] or, in a desperate move, a heavy article of clothing which might have buttons and zippers. If you’ve ever seen a Chinese sabre/broad sword demonstration, you will understand why a heavy coat with buttons and zippers might prove effective in an absolutely desperate situation [I speak hypothetically about the coat… I have never seen nor done this myself… always at least a rod in my situation].
If you have an umbrella or a cane and you know straight sword, you immediately have a way of defending yourself. With regards to an umbrella, it is very unwise to actually swing it like a club, as seen on cartoons, as the metal ribbings are quite fragile and not made for constant impact (unless you get that $100+ self defense umbrella that functions perfectly as an umbrella even after breaking watermelons and getting run over by a car). Trust me, in those situations, best to use it as a straight sword. Unless, of course, you are using those small compact, point-less umbrellas that look more like clubs. That being the case, I hope you know how to use butterfly knives (STILL not referring to those tiny flipping blades). The point is, classical weapons training is transferable to everyday objects that can be improvised to serve in the stead of actual weapons.
~Thunder Palms
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