Martial Arts Weapons: the Ultimate Primer!

By Al Case

People are always asking me questions about the various Martial Arts Weapons. Why are they odd shaped and does a person use them? What's the best Weapon in Aikido, or Kenpo, or jujitsu, or whatever.

The truth of this matter of sharp and shiny things is expressed in a concept so simple that most people never really figure it out. There is, you see, an easy way to understand what the swords and knives and things are, and this will give intuitive grasp as to how they are used. That simple notion is...geometry.

A killing implement, no matter what the shape, is generally based on the idea of a straight line. The simplest and most basic straight line is a pole. The pole is designed for two specific things, poking and bashing.

Fix a knife to the tip of the staff and you have a spear. Decorations, grips, or whatever, this is just a pole with a sharp end. It is great for bashing of a delicate sort, and plain, old, simple poking.

Cut that pole in half and sharpen it all the way, and you have a sword. A Chinese Tai Chi Chuan sword, commonly called a Jian, is a rather lengthy knitting needle. You can use the tip for extended and rather delicate bashing, or you can just poke with it.

Put a bend on that tai chi sword, thicken it up a it, and you have a sword a samurai might carry. Or a cutlass for a pirate, or some other type of sword. Great for poking, but bashing is what you use the thicker tool for.

Shorten the sword, shrink it down a bit, and you have a knife. Good for poking and Close Quarter bashing, if the guy is within arm's reach. Easily hidden, great for opening boxes or prying lids, and swell for playing matador with that mugger who tries to take your wallet, grab your wife, invade your home, and so on.

So, knife to sword to pole to even gun...there is a line, usually straight, that is used. The line can be hinged not at all or many times (nunchucks or nine section staffs), or handled with little hand grips (a tonfa) poking out the side, and so on. And the geometry, the ultimate geometry of all martial arts weapons, is deciding whether the shape of the tool best supports poking or bashing.

About the Author:

There is a lot more to Martial Arts Weapons, and the most important work on their use, how to teach them, and so on, is available through the Blinding Steel course. Mouse over to Monster Martial Arts.