Spear and other Long Range Weapons
The spear (qiang) is a weapon of war par excellence, revered as the king of long weapons by the Chinese, just as the sword (jian) is valued among short weapons. Unlike the straight sword however, the spear is not just designed for war. Its roots go further back than that, into human prehistory when it was a weapon designed for hunting and survival, a weapon of life.
The spear was the standard issue for foot soldiers in ancient Chinese armies owing to its reach and advantages when used in formation. The tactics then were simple: kill your enemy from a distance where they can not reach you. The spear under these circumstances was used to stab and to ward off, for which little skill was required.
However, in parallel to this mass use, the spear was also adopted as a weapon of individual prowess by some of China's greatest warriors and leaders, foremost amongst them generals Zhang Fei (3rd century AD) and Yue Fei (12th century AD). Men such as these pushed the boundaries of what the weapon was capable of, which in turn drove technological innovation, with hundreds of different types of spears created and many more other long range weapons.
Long range weapons based on the spear design require the practitioner to be able to transport his or her power along the whole shaft of the weapon to the very tip. Considering that some of these weapons can be 9 feet long or more, this is not as easy as it sounds. The basic principle is that power for these weapons is generated from the waist and directed by the arms.
The waist has to have great strength and great flexibility. This is because the advantage of size for these weapons can quickly become a hindrance if the opponent is allowed to enter inside their range.
Suddenly, a broadsword rushes towards you along the shaft of your spear, coming inside its natural range and quickly bearing down on your body. (RELATED VIDEO: Spear vs. Broadsword and Crutch). Your only option is to redirect the incoming blade quickly by moving your waist and leveraging the length of the spear against the sword. Of course, in principle, using the flexibility of the waist and clever footwork, a spearman should never allow their opponent such an advantage.
The spear is extremely versatile. It can stab and cut with its lethal head, but it can also use the spring power laden in the wood shaft to whip, sweep and knock down your opponent like a staff. It has the flexibility of wood and hardness of steel combined. In the North of China the shaft tends to be longer and the wood is usually the very flexible rattan. In the South, shorter shafts and harder woods are used, but today this distinction between North and South is purely arbitrary. In reality both types co-exist.
There are many variations on the basic design of the shaft and head. The shape of the head for example can vary enormously. It can be broad like a leaf, or almost circular, or wave shaped like that of the Snake Spear, to increase the damage made as the edges slice through unprotected flesh. It can have one or more hooks, which give the spear extra directions of attack by allowing a reverse strike as the weapon is pulled back after a stab.
Over the centuries the spear has become a prototype for a whole range of related long range weapons:
- the halberd (Ji), distinguished from the spear by introduction of one or more extra blades to the side of the spearhead - see the video of the Horse Halberd (ma ji) released with this issue
- the fork (cha)
- the spade (chan)
- the long handle saber (da dao), of which General Guan Yu's weapon of choice, the guan dao, is the most famous
These weapons get heavier the further down the list they appear and with the added weight they loose an equal amount of flexibility. This means that the principles of their use are radically changed. The heaviest of them, like the guan dao, rely on the momentum of the weapon itself for its effectiveness and this requires continuous movement. Compare the videos of a light long range weapon like the Buddha Hand (fo shou) and the heavy guan dao(Buddha Hand, Guan Dao). The movement is totally different, as weight is gained and flexibility lost.
China is not the only culture to have preserved the knowledge and skills of using traditional weapons, but it is unique in the sheer range of weapons on offer, perhaps more so than all the other countries combined. This is an insight into Chinese spirit and its ongoing respect for its national heritage. But the relevance of such a weapon in today's world is questionable. Impractical to carry, unwieldy and difficult to master, many modern students prefer to concentrate on open hand, street-effective disciplines over traditional weapons such as the spear.
But learning a weapon like the spear is about learning to use your body. The weapon must manifest itself as an extension of your arm, and ultimately the extension of the energy in your dan tian. If you can bring your energy out to the tip of a nine foot spear and control it perfectly, how much better will you understand how your own body works.
Learning the spear in the modern era is as much about art as physical training. It connects the practitioner with centuries of history and tradition that are so easily forgotten. Any art that can inspire a student to strive for perfection in this way demands to be preserved.
