The effective weapon methods of the Weng Chun Kung Fu The long staff
Today I ' d like to give you the opportunity of learning the useful methods of fighting with weapons, with which Shaolin monks in China reached great success on the battlefield for centuries. When we talk nowadays about effectiveness in weapon fighting, martial artists usually think first of Filipino systems, like Escrima. Unfortunately, at present most of the the traditional Kung Fu weapon styles have degenerated into a sort of dance show. But we are lucky that the Weng Chun has left us the most efficient and realistic Chinese method of fighting with weapons.
Follow me step to step in the learning of the long staff method of Weng Chun, with the help of the " six and a half steps " of its aprenticeship.
To start with, it is essential to know the proper way of grabbing the long staff, with both hands by the rear end of the weapon, which is a little thicker, keeping them separate approximately at the shoulder distance. The important thing here is not to close the front hand thumb, but keep it on the long staff. Should you fail to do that, a clever adversary could break the metacarpophalangeal joint of your closed thumb during the fight with weapons, putting you immediately hors de combat. The long staff rear end is called tha“ dragon ' s head”. The tip is the“ dragon ' s tail”; the long staff gets sharper toward tip, which usually appears coated with iron or is specially hardened. This is the part with which most of blows and stabs are carried out.
The aim is to generate power at the tip of the long staff. The basic stance is the Cat Position, in which the long staff touches the front leg, making it possible to coordinate the strength of arms and legs.
Basic Concept 1: Tsin( turning), also known as Huen / Wun
First the student learns to execute small, medium and large circles with the staff. This teaches him the three main aspects of the weapon fighting:
1. Control of the distance to the aggressor with the help of the space diagonal.
2. Let the aggressor ' s blocking attempts fall into the void and then attack from the other side.
3. Having contact with the opponent ' s weapon you can twist and return the aggressor ' s strength with the principle of the circle. So you can unbalance him and disarm him, or create a space to attack. Basic Concept 2: If( tearing) Thanks to the concept of turning you can achieve the control of the space; being in contact with the weapon of the opponent, with the Si concept you can destroy his structure or even disarm him by executing a short move in semicircle and a shock stroke.
There exist a basic exercise for this purpose. Both training partners stand with the tips of their staffs touching one another, then one of the fighters presses laterally, to which the opponent responds begining to turn to let the strength pass, and executes a quick blow to the hands of the aggressor.
Basic Concept 3: Cheun( pricking), also known as Biu Lung Cheung
The long staff is held laterally. The long range of this weapon should let us keep our attacker at a distance and teach us to maintain control. After having struck the opponent ' s hand like in the previous exercise, you can now add the Cheung exercise, using the gap thus created to carry out a stab. Here is a basic exercise. Your training partner grabs the stick by its middle section and strikes alternating both ends. The Weng Chun long staff fighter must keep his partner at distance through the footwork in angles and at the same time make his opponent ' s blows harmless with direct pricks. Basic Concept 4: Tun Tun is an impulsive maneuver, quick and surprising, that usually leads to the disarm of the opponent or causes him to receive a quick and short strike destroying his structure, which leaves him open to consecutive attacks and the possibility of being controlled.
After the first Tsin( turn) exercise, we can hit directly the aggressor ' s hand once we ' ve dodged him; this attack is followed by a powerful prick( Cheung).
As a consequence of our pricking attack the opponent will lean slightly forward or backward, which in turn, gives us the possibility of executing a short blow( Tun), upward or downward. Another exercise for an effective fight is: The partner carries out a pricking attack with his long staff; the Weng Chun fighter takes a step in angle and strikes with the help of the Tun concept on the opponent ' s hand, what makes him withdraw his weapon to prick by the other side- then the exercise starts again on this other side. Advanced students should be able to perform this exercise also at different heights.
Basic Concept 5: Dik( short prick, surprising)
When using weapons, pricking is so important that you not only practice the Cheung strong prick moving forward with the long staff, but also the Dik surprising short prick.
Dik is comparable to a direct punch of a boxer, fast, amazing, feeling the distance, keeping your adversary spaced out; it makes it possible to build up a concept of attack.
The first basic exercise is provoking your partner with a prick, until he performs a blocking action or tries to hit your hand. This action is used to place your next Dik short pricking attack, from the other side or turning in a semicircle. Basic Concept 6: Tsau( pulling backward or upward) By pulling, the strength of your opponent ' s long staff comes inverted and his structure ' s broken. Here is a corresponding basic exercise:
You start out with Dik, a short prick aiming at the opponent ' s leg who tries to block, which we receive with a smooth " stuck " action, followed by an upward Tsau pull and a step forward. Thus, we unbalance the adversary and we can go on with Cheung, Tun, etc.
Basic Concept 7: Got( downward cut) or Saat( destroy)
With a powerful cut in bow and in a semicircle, the entire structure of the opponent ' s long staff is destroyed.