weapons

The weapons used by Wushu masters originate mainly from ancient military weapons. The Eigh-teen-Arms, the term used to describe Wushu weaponary includes the sabre, spear, sword, halbert, axe, battle axe, hook, fork, whip, mace, hammer, talon, trident-halberd, cudgel, long-handled spear, short cudgel, stick and meteor hammer. Some weapons are used to fight at a distance, while others at close range. Some are overt whereas others are covert. Some are hard while others are soft. Their functions are wide ranging-they beat, kill, hit, shoot and block with cutting blades, hooks, points or pricks.

 

The assortment of Wushu weapons has added to the colorful programs of martial arts, and pro-ficiency in Wushu involves being skilled in the techniques and usage of the Eighteen-Arms. A brief introduction to the weapons and their individual characteristics follows.

 

Sword   The sword is called the "gentleman of all weapons." It is the most widely used of all weapons and its influence goes beyond the field of Wushu. Every school of Wushu uses the sword as the basic weapon for rigorous training.

 

It is said that the Chinese sword play, although a simple form of play with hand weapons, has deep ideological connotations. From emperors, high-ranking military officers and ministers to common people, experts and scholars, the wearing of swords shows them to be a refined person signifying they are cultured and familiar with the arts. The skill and theory of sword play was perfected and eventually formed the distinctive "Sword Culture" in China.

 

Sabre  Sabre is called the marshal of all weapons.

It is one of the most used weapons in Chinese Wushu. According to the shape and size, it is divided into short-hiked sabre, twin short-hilted sabre, sabre, nine-ring sabre (named as nine rings on the handle), broad sword, long-bladed short-hilted sabre and others.

 

Sabre play demonstrates hardness and powerful-ness, but not always. In defence and dodging actions, suppleness is needed.

 

Spear  The spear is called the king of all weapons. It is one of the major long-shaft Wushu weapons. There are different types of spear, such as carefully-designed and delicately-made "flowery spear," thick and bold spear, zigzag spear with a sharp point and blade, double-head spear with blades on both sides. The spear was the major military weapon in ancient times and compact technique was developed.

 

The main routines include Bagua (eight-diagram), Liuhe (six-combination), Double-Head, Yueya (crescent), Meihua (plum blossom), Shewei (snake-tail), Yang-family, Siping and Big Spear play as well.

 

Cudgel  The cudgel is called the "father of all weapons" meaning all other weapons were developed from it. As the cudgel is easy to make and use, and is practical, it has become a very popular weapon.

 

Cudgel play lays stress on a sweeping action so the saying goes "with a cudgel you sweep all around." Some tricks employed for other weapons (such as spear and sabre) can also be used in cudgel play. There are many methods of playing the cudgel. Among the most commonly used are chopping, swinging, jabbing, hanging, jumping, leaping, smashing, pointing, blocking, sheltering, holding, piercing, floating, carrying, poking, and lifting. The different schools of cudgel play have different emphasis.

 

Cudgels are mostly made of wood but some are made of metal. In addition to long cudgels, there are two-section cudgel and three-section cudgel.