The Four Basic Weapons       

       

        There are four basic kungfu weapons, two short ones and two long ones. All of the other weapons derive from these four. These basic four bear a slight northern accent. Some southern styles emphasize only two basic weapons: the long pole and the butterfly swords. We will, however, honor these basic four, since they are more universal.

 

01.   Broad Sword  ( Darn Dao )

02.   Strait Sword  ( Gim or Jian )

03.   Spear  ( Qiang )

04.   Stick or Staff  ( Gun )

 

Long Weapons
        Long weapons are generally taller than the user and require both hands. Most of these are pole arms, and kungfu has hundreds of variations of pole arms alone. Every weird pole arm head has a different Chinese name, some of which are redundant and overlapping.

 

05.   Dagger Axe  ( Ge )

06.   Lance  ( Mao )

07.   Long Stick Axe  ( Yue )

08.   Halberd  ( Ji )

09.   Single Halberd  ( Dan Ji )

10.   Double Headed Spear  ( Shuang Tou Qiang )

11.   Snake Spear  ( She Qiang )

12.   Hooked Single Spear  ( Lian Dao Qiang )

13.   Talon, Claw  ( Zhua )

14.   Pen  ( Bi )

15.   Buddha Hand  ( Fo Shou )

16.   Monk Cudgel  ( Chan Zhang, Zen Stick )

17.   Monk Spade  ( Chan )

18.   Gold Coin Spade  ( Jin Qian Chan )

19.   Rake  ( Pa )

20.   Hoe  ( Chu Tou )

21.   Tiger Fork  ( Hu Cha )

22.   Two Teeth Fork  ( Liang Jian Cha, Two Point Fork or Niu Jiao Cha, Ox Horn Fork )

23.   Flying Fork  ( Fei Cha )

24.   Dragon Whisker Fork  ( Long Xu Cha )

25.   Three-Point Double-Blade Sword  ( San Jian Liang Ren Dao )

26.   Long Handled Sword  ( Da Dao )

27.   Kwan Dao

28.   Eagle Head Sword  ( Ying Tao Dao )

29.   Pu Dao

30.   Horse Chopping Sword  ( Zhan Ma Dao )

31.   Heaven and Earth, Sun and Moon Sword  ( Qian Kun Ri Yue Dao )

32.   Cicada Wing Sword  ( Chan Zi Dao )

33.   Heaven Lotus Phoenix Tail  ( Tian He Feng Wei Tang )

34.   Wolf Spear  ( Lan Qiang )

35.   Wolf Teeth Club  ( Lan Ya Ban )

36.   Wolf Teeth Spiked-Trident  ( Lan Ya Dang )

37.   Lashing Staff  ( Shao Zi Gun )

 

Short Weapons
         Short weapons can be used one handed, like a sword. Generally speaking, these are personal side arms. Many of these when used in pairs are twin weapons, although our twin weapon list is limited to those weapons that are only used as twins. Furthermore, some short weapons have soft versions.

 

38.   Nine Ring Broadsword  ( Jiu Huan Dao )

39.   Nine Hook Broadsword  ( Jiu Gou Dao )

40.   Southern Broadsword  ( Nan Dao )

41.   Ghost Head Broadsword  ( Gui Tao Dao )

42.   Swallow Tail Broadsword  ( Yan Zi Dao )

43.   Long Broadsword  ( Zha Dao )

44.   Straight Sword Piercer  ( Jian Ci )

45.   Snake Straight Sword  ( She Jian )

46.   Whip  ( Bian )

47.   Mace  ( Jian )

48.   Hammer  ( Chui )

49.   Eight Corner Hammer  ( Ba Ling Chui )

50.   Steel Fan  ( Tie Shan )

51.   Iron Smoking Pipe  ( Tie Yan Dou )

52.   Iron Flute  ( Tie Di )

53.   Cymbals  ( Ba )

54.   Iron Ruler  ( Tie Chi )

55.   Crutch or Cane  ( Guai )

56.   Fly Whisk  ( Fei Mao Dan )

57.   Shield  ( Dun )

58.   Water Parting Shield  ( Fen Shui Dun )

59.   Bench  ( Ban Deng )

60.   Two-Handed Broadsword  ( Shuang Shou Dao, also Bagua Dao )

61.   Two-handed Straight Sword  ( Shuang Shou Jian )

62.   Push Dagger  ( Chi Shou )

 

Soft Weapons

        Soft weapons, or flexible weapons, have a joint or are attached to a rope. These weapons require great skill, since they are always changing. Many of these can also be hidden weapons, since they are very compact when collapsed.

 

63.   Meteor Hammer  ( Liu Xing Chui )

64.   Rope Javelin  ( Sen Biao )

65.   Flying Weight  ( Shuang Tao Fei Chui )

66.   Mother and Son Hammer  ( Zi Mu Chui )

67.   Three Section Staff  ( San Jie Gun )

68.   Two Section Staff  ( Er Jie Gun )

69.   Whip Chain  ( Qi Jie Bian, Seven Section Whip or Jiu Jie Bian, Nine Section Whip )

70.   Dragon Head Stick  ( Long Tao Gan Ban )

71.   Double Flying Claw  ( Shuang Fei Zhua )

72.   Four Section Sickle  ( Si Jie Tang )

 

Twin Weapons

        Twin weapons are two mirror-image weapons, one held in each hand. In modern kungfu, the practice of twin weapons balances out the left hand with the right, since many styles have a predetermined dominance.

 

73.   Twin Broadswords  ( Shuang Dao )

74.   Twin Straight Swords  ( Shuang Jian )

75.   Butterfly Knives  ( Hu Die Shuang Dao, Butterfly Double Sword or Niu Er Jin Dao, Ox Ear Sharp Sword )

76.   Axe  ( Fu )

77.   Sickle  ( Lian Dao )

78.   Hook  ( Gou )

79.   Nine Teeth Hook  ( Jiu Zi Gou )

80.   Twin Halberds  ( Shuang Shou Ji )

81.   Twin Daggers  ( Shuang Bi Shou )

82.   Ring  ( Huan ) or Wheel  ( Lun )

83.   Iron Ring  ( Shuo Huan )

84.   Deer Antler Knives  ( Lu Jiao Dao )

85.   Iron Comb  ( Tie Su Zi )

86.   Iron Chopsticks  ( Tie Kuai Zi )

87.   Emei Piercers  ( Emei Ci )

88.   Horse Halberd  ( Ma Ji )

89.   Unicorn Horn Sword  ( Lin Jiao Dao )

90.   Mandarin Duck Spade  ( Yuan Yang Chan )

 

Hidden and Flying Weapons
        Hidden weapons are a fascinating sub-topic of Chinese weaponry. Used to expand the range of offense beyond close combat, a great number of ingenious hidden weapons were created to surprise the enemy. Small enough to be hidden in a sleeve or robe, and particularly useful in a surprise attack or when you are outnumbered, these are generally small weapons, with the exception of the bows.

 

91.   Arhat Coin  ( Luohan Qian )

92.   Flying Knife  ( Fei Dao )

93.   Flying Dart  ( Fei Biao )

94.   Sleeve Sword  ( Shu Jian )

95.   Iron Toad  ( Tie Chan Chu)

96.   Flying Loc ust Stone  ( Fei Huang Shi )

97.   Scholar's Brush  ( Pan Guan Bi or Zhaung Yuan Bi - Judge's Brush or Champion Place Brush )

98.   Wolf Teeth Hammer  ( Lan Ya Chui )

99.   Bow ( Dan Gong )

100. Crossbow ( Lu )