Construction And Training Methods Of The Ancient Chinese Qiang (part One)
The Ancient Chinese spear, commonly called the 'Qiang,' is sometimes referred to as the King of Weapons. The reason for this is because in the hands of a master, the long length would give one an edge in combat. In this article we will first go over the construction of the Qiang, and in part two of this article we will describe a couple of Martial Arts training methods.
The Qiang has been around as long as people have found straight branches. It is predominately a pre-modern martial arts weapon, and it is popular in many schools of Gung Fu, notably Shaolin and Tai Chi Chuan. Several schools, such as Hsing i and Bagua Zhang, claim that the weapon was crucial to the founding of and the main concepts of their particular schools.
The shaft of the weapon is made out of wax wood, which is very resilient and springy, and it normally ranges in length from 6 to 12 feet. One can make a small circle at the wrists, and because the wood bends so easily, the tip will make a big circle. This also gives a tremendous amount of back and forth 'snap,' should the practitioner so choose.
The steel blade is shaped in the pattern of a leaf. This makes it excellent for either small knife-like cuts when you circle or slash the tip back and forth, And, of course, the straight forward thrusting power of the tool is, well, awesome.
The blade is built atop a tube, which is nailed or screwed to the end of the shaft. The tube is hollow, and it has a hole in the side and a small steel ball inside. This specific arrangement is amazingly intelligent, and shows the Chinese genius in designing the blade.
The hole, when the spear is moving at speed, will make a whistling sound. This can easily distract the enemy. The ball bearing inside the hollow pushes any blood that has seeped into the tube right back out.
Lastly, we have the tassel, a hunk of horsehair affixed to the base of the blade. This is incredibly useful, as it blurs the sight of the attacker being 'jabbed' (smile), so that they cannot make a defense, or even grab the spear, A second reason for the tassel is to stop any flow of blood from coming down the shaft of the Qiang and making it difficult to use.
In summation, a Qiang is a potent and far reaching martial arts weapon. A favorite of ancient armies, it could be used to keep attackers at bay, and even kill a war horses. Please look for part two of this article, in which we will deal with the training techniques for the ancient Chinese spear.
The Qiang has been around as long as people have found straight branches. It is predominately a pre-modern martial arts weapon, and it is popular in many schools of Gung Fu, notably Shaolin and Tai Chi Chuan. Several schools, such as Hsing i and Bagua Zhang, claim that the weapon was crucial to the founding of and the main concepts of their particular schools.
The shaft of the weapon is made out of wax wood, which is very resilient and springy, and it normally ranges in length from 6 to 12 feet. One can make a small circle at the wrists, and because the wood bends so easily, the tip will make a big circle. This also gives a tremendous amount of back and forth 'snap,' should the practitioner so choose.
The steel blade is shaped in the pattern of a leaf. This makes it excellent for either small knife-like cuts when you circle or slash the tip back and forth, And, of course, the straight forward thrusting power of the tool is, well, awesome.
The blade is built atop a tube, which is nailed or screwed to the end of the shaft. The tube is hollow, and it has a hole in the side and a small steel ball inside. This specific arrangement is amazingly intelligent, and shows the Chinese genius in designing the blade.
The hole, when the spear is moving at speed, will make a whistling sound. This can easily distract the enemy. The ball bearing inside the hollow pushes any blood that has seeped into the tube right back out.
Lastly, we have the tassel, a hunk of horsehair affixed to the base of the blade. This is incredibly useful, as it blurs the sight of the attacker being 'jabbed' (smile), so that they cannot make a defense, or even grab the spear, A second reason for the tassel is to stop any flow of blood from coming down the shaft of the Qiang and making it difficult to use.
In summation, a Qiang is a potent and far reaching martial arts weapon. A favorite of ancient armies, it could be used to keep attackers at bay, and even kill a war horses. Please look for part two of this article, in which we will deal with the training techniques for the ancient Chinese spear.
