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In the early years of Chinas history people lived in
the mountains in caves. The people at that time used branches from
the trees to defend themselves against attacks from wild animals and
snakes. This was the first attempt to use the stick or staff as a
weapon. The length of the staff or stick depended upon the height of
the user. But as a principal rule you can say it have to be the same
length as from the ground to the eyebrows. Of course was the
circumference of the staff much larger, than that of the long spear
or saber, because it didn't have any blade, the weight was of
decisive importance in combat.
The staff was made out of a plant called - Teng -
which mainly comes from China and the East Asian Countries. It's a
plant, that's from nature is very harsh and it's not very easy to
break. In China it grows particularly in the Honan and Shantung
Provinces. It was mainly used to make the shaft of the spear. There
are two species: one is white, the other green. The white with bark
is considered to be the most suitable. Other types of wood Ex. teak
is also a very used material. The standard weight is about 4.5-6.8
kg, all depending upon its length and circumference. Some people
preferred to use metal such as, iron or copper. In this case they
could weigh about 18-23 kg.
The staff as a weapon system originates originally
from the Shaolin monastery in the end of the Tang Dynasty. With the
exception of the Shaolin Boxing, the monks from this monastery were
mostly known for their competence in the use of the staff, when they
had to defend their religious belief. These techniques was never
passed on to anyone outside the monastery. The first emperor in the
Sung Dynasty (927 AD) - Chao Kuan Yen - was very skilled with the
staff. He had trained his soldiers thoroughly, with the result that
he with his troops in the end neutralized all the rebels and with
great success founded a kingdom, that lasted for more than 200 years.
In the category for the staff there is also the two
and three jointed rod. The Nunchaku - a weapon Bruce Lee made very
popular - is in the class of the two jointed rod. It is said that
these rods was made by Chao Kuan Yen.
Once he mobilized most of his army to fight a fierce
enemy coming from north, all of them used sabers in one hand and a
cane in the other hand served as protection. The enemy was so fierce
and brave that Chao had found it very difficult to conquer them. To
cope with the special weapons of the enemy, Chao had designed the
Jointed rod. With such rods, Chao's soldiers had been successful in
defeating his enemies. One section of the rod was used to block the
enemy's saber, the other section to strike against the enemy behind
his shield.
The Tai Chi mythology involves the story about, how Chang
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San Feng after he had been meditating, saw a golden
light near the mountain peak. He walked toward the light and found
acave. In the cave he saw two golden snakes. It seemed like , they
came toward him. He tried to strike them with his flywhip. He could
now see, that it was two staffs (lances), which each was 2,5 m long.
He saw a light come out from the end of one of the staffs. He walked
a little closer and saw it was a manuscript, which contained a poem
about the Tai Chi lance. The manuscript said, that no matter who read
it, he would understand the principles and master the use of the lance.
Amongst the old practitioners of the staff, Yang Lu
Chan was the most famous. He was so skilled, that he with a twist
could pick up different things from the ground with the shaft. A
story about him says, that one day a man came to his house to borrow
some money. Lu Chan decided that he would tease the man and said, if
he could keep a firm grip on the shaft, then he would get the money.
The man, who was very nervous, held convulsively on to the shaft.
Quickly Yang Lu Chan threw him toward the ceiling, and then he lent
him the money.
The staff looks like an other classic Chinese weapon -
the spear. If you have learned how to use the staff or lance, then
it's not very difficult to learn the movements of the spear.
It's not possible with absolute certainty to pin point
a year, where the spear was used for the first time. Still it's
interesting, that it was not just weapons like bow and arrow, that
was at hand for about 5000 years ago in Huang Ti, the first Chinese
emperors time, but also the so-called spear, was in use at that time.
This is due to the fact, that such a weapon could reach an opponent
at a distance.
The spear was about 2.5 meter long and weighed about 8
kg. It could be used at foot as well as on horseback. Many Chinese
generals preferred this weapon in stead of others, because it was
lighter and more handy. Yu Fei, who was a very loyal and brave
general in the Sung Dynasty (1130 AD), trained his soldiers to use
the spear with such an efficiency, that they could conquer the
invasion from Jin Wu Chu from the northern China. At this time Yu Fei
made a very long spear with a metal hook. His troops used this very
effectively to pull the enemy down from the horses. That's why
Yu’s spear was well known in the Chinese history and therefor
became one school for the fighting ways of the spears. |
