An interesting feature of Shaolin Kung Fu is its weaponry. No other martial art in the world can boast of the range of weapons as wide or as varied as that in Shaolin Kung Fu.

In most martial arts today students learn mainly unarmed combat, with some techniques for use against armed opponents. In Shaolin Kung Fu there are complete weapon sets, which are as important as unarmed sets in the standard curriculum.

In the past weapon sets were even more important than unarmed ones. This was natural at a time when weapons were carried more freely. However, carrying a weapon is now illegal in most countries. Why then, learn to fight with weapons if you are not likely to use them in real combat?

There are many good reasons why classical weapons are still being taught today, If you ask, a Kung Fu instructor why he teaches classical weapons, he may say that it is part of the tradition, and Kung Fu with out weapons is incomplete. Practising with weapons also gives a class a distinct Kung Fu flavour.

There are, of course, other reasons more relevant to self-defence. In a fight, under ordinary circumstances and in ordinary places, you can often find a piece of wood or a sharpened pole that can be used, even if only clumsily, as a rod or spear. Moreover, if other people use such weapons against you, you will be able to deal with them more competently if you have learned the principles and properties of their classical counterparts in your weapon sets.

Many modern improvised weapons are images of classical ones. A broken bottle acts like a dagger, a bicycle chain like a soft whip, a heavy object like a round hammer, an ordinary chair like a Kung Fu bench.


Contributor: Reg Penson      # ar0001