REVIEW OF THE UK SUMMER CAMP 2007 WEAPON COURSE
Using short Butterfly Knives to counter a long spear thrust
The Weapon Course at the UK Summer Camp 2007 was unprecedented. Within a few days participants not only learned and performed reasonably well the Butterfly Knives, the spear and the sword, which represent a double weapon, a long weapon and a short weapon, they also understood and practiced their combat applications.
At the beginning of the course, participants holding a pair of short Butterfly Knives felt quite helpless when facing an opponent with a long weapon like a spear. But by the end of the course they could competently handle opponents with long weapons.
The spear is considered the king of weapons because its thrust is technically the most formidable. Participants had some insight into the spear thrust as well as other fundamental spear techniques.
The sword is considered a master's weapon as it requires great skills to use it competently. Applying the dainty sword against heavier weapons gave the participants a rare opportunity to appreciate deeply the importance of agility and fluidity of movements.
Sparring with weapons highlighted the reality of self-defence. Participants could not afford to be hit even once. This was a great contrast to sparring in many martial art schools where being hit was taken for granted. But the most significant aspect of the course was that everyone had a lot of fun.
The Butterfly Knives and their Combat Applications
The Butterfly Knives are a pair of short, light weapons, and the set selected for training is called the “Human-Character Double Southern Knives”, or “Jen Tzi Seong Lam Tou” in Chinese (Cantonese). For many people it would be quite impossible to use these short, light weapons against long or heavy weapons like a spear and a staff, or a master's weapon like a sword. But a skillful practitioner can use the Butterfly Knives effectively against these and other weapons.
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Traveling Dragon Thirteen-Technique Spear
The spear is considered the king of weapons because the spear thrust is technically the most difficult attack to defend against. Why is this so? It is because being light and long a spear can be speedily pulled back for another thrust after one is made. If an opponent attempts to dodge a spear thrust, a skillful spearman would turn the spear at the opponent and thrusts him again or slices him with the spear blade. If an opponent attempts to deflect the spear, the spearman would circle the spear around the opponent's weapon.
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Traveling Dragon Sword
The Chinese sword is regarded as the choice weapon of the scholar-warrior. Some martial artists may wonder how a Chinese sword, which is dainty and elegant, can be used against a heavy, long weapon. But in the hand of a master, the Chinese sword is as deadly as it is beautiful. The sword set demonstrated here is called “Shaolin Traveling Dragon Sword”. It is Grandmaster Wong's favorite weapon.
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