Weapons Of The Seven Star Praying Mantis Style

 

There are 16 different single weapon in 26 forms, and 12 two person weapon forms within the Style. Long, short, & flexible. Two person weapon sets include (Weapon v Weapon) or (Weapon v Empty Hand) or (Double Weapon v Single Weapon) 




    Below is a list of the Weapons used in the Seven Star Mantis Style



Red Tassle Lance (Spear)

Gwan Dao (Knife Of General Gwan Gung)

Three Sectional Staff

Single Broad Sword (Willow Leaves Single Knife)

Big Knife (Horse Cutting Sword Knife)

Nine Section Steel Whip Chain

Double Broad Sword (willow Leaves Double Knife)

Tiger Head Double Hooks

Fong Tin Lance (Snake Headed Lance with Crescent Moon attachment)

Double Seven Star Cane

Double Seven Star Hammer

Seven Star Single Sword (Gim/Jian, Straight sword)

Long Stick (Staff)

Single / Gouble Tiger Hook/s

Double Daggers

Long Stick (Staff )

The Broad Sword, Spear and Straight Sword are often referred among Chinese martial artists as the 100 day, 1000 day and 10,000 day weapons respectively due to their level of complexity to master.

Chinese swords primarily used for slashing and chopping (sabres), often called a broadsword in English translation because some varieties have wide blades. In China, the dao is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the Gun/Kwan (staff), Qiang/Chi'ang (spear), and the Jian/Gim (sword), and referred to as "The General of All Weapons". Dao is actually a generic word used to denote any member of a family of single-edged, broad-bladed cutting or slicing tools, but in common, everyday usage means knife. The weapon, also known as dan dao 單刀 (single knife) when just one is used, is thereby thought to be an adaptation of the kitchen knives common to Chinese cuisine. Dao also appears in the names of such polearms as the pudao and guan dao, indicating that their blades were primarily intended for slashing and cutting attacks rather than stabbing ones. (Below Sifu Riley) Willow Leaf Double Knives

 Straight Sword.

'Alive hold the sword, dead hold the sabre'. This Chinese idiom means that the Broad Sword is rigid and inflexible where as the Straight Sword is lively and flowing.

Chinese call it “Gim” in Cantonese and “Jian” in Mandarin.The jian is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China. The first Chinese sources that mention the jian date to the 7th century BCE during the Spring and Autumn Period.The weight of an average sword of 70-centimeter (28-inch) blade-length would be in a range of approximately 700 to 900 grams (1.5 to 2 pounds).[2] There are also larger two-handed versions used for training by many styles of Chinese martial arts. The first jian used in China were little more than bronze double-edged daggers primarily created for close fighting in closed packed environments such as small towns and cities where spears and polearms might prove inconvenient. By that time, jian swords were made from varying lengths to modern lengths by roughly 500 BC. Though there is significant variation in length, balance, and weight of the jian from different periods, within any given period the general purpose of the jian is to be a multipurpose cut and thrust weapon capable of stabbing, as well as making both precise cuts and slashes, as opposed to specializing in one form of use. Although the many forms and schools of swordsmanship with the jian vary as well, the general purpose and use is still not lost. Sometimes a tassel is attached to the hilt. During the Ming Dynasty these were usually passed through an openwork pommel, and in the Qing through a hole in the grip itself; modern swords usually attach the tassel to the end of the pommel. Historically these were likely used as lanyards, allowing the wielder to retain the sword in combat. There are some sword forms which utilize the tassel as an integral part of their swordsmanship style (sometimes offensively), while other schools dispense with sword tassels entirely. The movement of the tassel may have served to distract opponents, and some schools further claim that metal wires or thin silk cords were once worked into the tassels for impairing vision and causing bleeding when swept across the face. The tassel's use now is primarily decorative.

Below, Sifu Riley with straight Sword Gim/Jian

The Chinese Spear: The King of Chinese Weapons

"When you use the spear you must judge where you are going to hit and focus your eyes on the target. Focus your eyes on your opponent's head, torso, or foot. When the spear is thrust, you should coordinate the weapon with your mind, hands, and feet. Your spear should shoot like a dragon rising from the sea. The motion must be able to surround the opponent body. With that action, you will be able to hit him."

The spear (ch'iang/qiang) is as ancient as China. Not only is it considered to be the oldest military weapon in China, the spear was originally developed as a horse soldier's weapon. Before 400 B.C., foot soldiers used either a nine foot spear or an eighteen foot spear. These spears combined a thrusting point with a hooking or slicing blade.

As a footnote, there are other types of spears-snake-head pattern spear, single hook spear (hooking fish spear), and double hook spear (hooking fish spear). (This particular topic will be discussed in a later article on Chinese weaponry.)

Unlike the spear that is used in other parts of the world, the Chinese spear was never meant to be thrown. Instead, a specialized set of techniques was developed that strongly resembled the single-headed staff techniques. Staffs of various lengths derived spillover value from some of the spear tactics, although they have complete systems of their own.

HISTORY

In ancient China, many advanced martial artists/warriors knew that this pointed implement under the usage of a proficient spear player was usually both lethal and formidable.

Two of the top spear proponents were the famous General Yueh Fei and the first Woman Warrior-Fa Mu Lan. Both warriors were considered invincible due to their proficiency of the spear in combat. (Stories have it that General Yueh Fei developed the Xing Yi mind-shaping boxing system based on his proficiency with the spear and other martial art systems.)

It has been rumored that during the "Water Margin" period of ancient China some of "Leung Mountains" heroes of the "Water Margin" fame were proficient spear players. The best spear player of that group was a "Leopard Head" Lin Chung whose finishing move was the "Returning Horse Spear Thrust." This movement was a reverse body, retreating tactic that lures the pursuing attacker into a state of frenzy. Then the spear player would abruptly stop and deploy an overturning body spear thrust at his opponent. When executed correctly, the spear rarely misses its target.

Yang Cheng Fu of the Yang Family Tai Chi fame always carried a short single-head spear for protection. It served the dual training function of a straight sword and a short staff.

Under the guise of warfare, the British in the mid-nineteenth century concluded that the Chinese spear was far superior to their bayonets. Currently, the weapon is smaller and its uses are compressed into about thirty different methods.

Chut Sing Sern Choi's (Seven Star Double Hammers)

Melon hammers are most commonly used in pairs. The hammer with handle was first seen and became the widely used weapon during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Because it is shaped like a melon, it is also called the standing melon or lying melon. There are also square and octagonal shaped hammers. In ancient times, holders of the hammer were called the Golden Melon warriors.

Sern Bi Shou (Double Daggers)

Double daggers (Bi Shou) are for the agile and the quick. Daggers like this were often kept in the boots and drawn out by their rings at the butt end: therefore also known as Ring Daggers

Tiger Hook Swords or Qian Kun Ri Yue Dao (literally "Heaven and Sun Moon Sword"),

These weapons have a blade similar to that of the jian, though possibly thicker or unsharpened, with a prong or hook (similar to a shepherd's crook) near the tip. Guards are substantial, in the style of butterfly swords. Often used in pairs, the hooks of the weapons may be used to trap or deflect other weapons.

There are five components to the hook sword:

The back, which is used as regular swords.
The hook, which is used to trip enemies and to catch weapons, not to mention the rather more obvious use of slashing.
The end of the hilt, which is sharpened into daggers.
The crescent guard, which is used for blocking and slashing.
and the link, which is used when you have a pair. The two hooks can loosely connect together, and the wielder swings one hook sword, so in a way that the second is extended further out, almost 6 feet. While the second is in the air, the dagger upon the hilt slashes any target. In this way, the wielder can extend his/her reach out from three feet to six.