Camouflaged weapons 🥢🪭

“The shorter it is – the more dangerous. The more ordinary looking – the deadlier it is.”

~ Chinese saying regarding weapons.

With the Billinge, Ashton and Newton-le-Willows classes forging ahead (and surprising even me!) with the chopstick and fan forms I find myself suitably inspired to put pen to paper.

Both of these everyday objects fall under the heading of “Kei Mun” or “The World of Hidden Weapons” comprising of ingenious and unusual weaponry.

Forms created for objects of daily use grew out of a need for a weapon that allowed people to go about their business confident that they were equipped to meet a deadly assault.

Chopsticks: The most ubiquitous eating implement in the East, also used in religious rites and as hair ornaments (did someone say concealed carry?...definitely wasn’t me!).

The old form I teach in class uses a range of piercing energies matching that of swords and daggers but cleverly adapted to a weapon that can be used split in a single hand for double penetration strikes, often balanced out with a ‘Pran Mudra’ type hand position which doubles as a secondary chopstick for Dim Mak attacks (which also occurs in Baguazhang and Nine Little Heavens Taoist Temple Boxing). This nimble form energetically feels like a cannon fist routine as it contains a lot of elbows and splitting techniques.

Chopsticks are weapons of last resort but could well mean the difference between life and death, and as such were a staple of vagabond stylists, bodyguards, spies, undercover police and even assassins – Japanese Ninja Clans would use them as calling cards by leaving one sticking out of the ear of a victim (giving a whole new meaning to the phrase “I gave him a right earful!”).

The secret to effective use of these tiny weapons is to develop a keen sense of Li Hai.

Fans: Once again these everyday inconspicuous accoutrements are universal in the East for cooling oneself or helping to get a fire going, and also feature strongly in many religious ceremonies.

Generally considered to be an internal weapon because it uses the ‘soft’ to overcome the ‘hard’ and the ‘short’ to overcome the ‘long’.

Parrying and deflecting are its stock in trade but the steel ones can also block (especially when held along the forearm).

Striking, thrusting and pommelling accupoints are the order of the day here, but a longer fan can also be used to apply chokes – if I’ve ever taught you William Kengla’s short end method you’re already good to go!

The Japanese systems tend to use tessen fans with wakizashi techniques, whereas the Chinese systems tend to use fans as a cross between a dagger and a baton. The trick is to execute strikes with fa jing (penetrating force), while maintaining speed and accuracy.

In the past martial artists got rather creative with their fans adding edges and points, retractable blades, darts, garrottes and even pairing them with small chain hammers.

Back to the aforementioned classes well done all, well done indeed. Looks like you’ll be skilled in no time.

Respectfully

Mathew

Facebook Post 08/02/24