This list is extracted from The 100 Weapons of Kungfu: From Shaolin Staffs to Bruce Lee's
Nunchaku by Martha Burr and Gene Ching, which appeared in our December 2000 issue. For complete descriptions and pictures of each weapon, please refer to that issue.
The words in parentheses are the Mandarin terms using the pinyin romanization. To learn more about these weapons, refer to this article (or use our search engine.) This is not a comprehensive list.
The Four Basic Weapons
There are four basic kungfu weapons, two short ones and two long ones. All of
the other weapons derive from these four. These basic four bear a slight
northern accent. Some southern styles emphasize only two basic weapons: the long
pole and the butterfly swords. We will, however, honor these basic four, since
they are more universal.
- Staff (Gun)
- Broadsword (Dao)
- Spear (Qiang)
- Straight Sword (Jian)
Long Weapons
Long weapons are generally taller than the user and require both hands. Most of
these are pole arms, and kungfu has hundreds of variations of pole arms alone.
Every weird pole arm head has a different Chinese name, some of which are
redundant and overlapping.
- Dagger Axe (Ge)
- Lance (Mao)
- Long Stick Axe (Yue)
- Halberd (Ji)
- Single Halberd (Dan
Ji) - Double Headed
Spear (Shuang Tou Qiang) - Snake Spear (She
Qiang) - Hooked Single
Spear (Lian Dao Qiang) - Talon, Claw (Zhua)
- Pen (Bi)
- Buddha Hand (Fo
Shou) - Monk Cudgel (Chan
Zhang, Zen Stick) - Monk Spade (Chan)
- Gold Coin Spade (Jin
Qian Chan) - Rake (Pa)
- Hoe (Chu Tou)
- Tiger Fork (Hu
Cha) - Two Teeth Fork (Liang
Jian Cha, Two Point Fork or Niu Jiao Cha, Ox Horn Fork) - Flying Fork (Fei
Cha) - Dragon Whisker
Fork (Long Xu Cha) - Three-Point
Double-Blade Sword (San Jian Liang Ren Dao) - Long Handled
Sword (Da Dao) - Kwan Dao
- Eagle Head Sword (Ying
Tao Dao) - Pu Dao
- Horse Chopping
Sword (Zhan Ma Dao) - Heaven and Earth,
Sun and Moon Sword (Qian Kun Ri Yue Dao) - Cicada Wing Sword
(Chan Zi Dao) - Heaven Lotus
Phoenix Tail (Tian He Feng Wei Tang) - Wolf Spear (Lan
Qiang) - Wolf Teeth Club (Lan
Ya Ban) - Wolf Teeth
Spiked-Trident (Lan Ya Dang) - Lashing Staff (Shao
Zi Gun)
Short Weapons
Short weapons can be used one handed, like a sword. Generally speaking, these
are personal side arms. Many of these when used in pairs are twin weapons,
although our twin weapon list is limited to those weapons that are only used as
twins. Furthermore, some short weapons have soft versions.
- Nine Ring
Broadsword (Jiu Huan Dao) - Nine Hook
Broadsword (Jiu Gou Dao) - Southern
Broadsword (Nan Dao) - Ghost Head
Broadsword (Gui Tao Dao) - Swallow Tail
Broadsword (Yan Zi Dao) - Long Broadsword (Zha
Dao) - Straight Sword
Piercer (Jian Ci) - Snake Straight
Sword (She Jian) - Whip (Bian)
- Mace (Jian)
- Hammer (Chui)
- Eight Corner
Hammer (Ba Ling Chui) - Steel Fan (Tie
Shan) - Iron Smoking Pipe
(Tie Yan Dou) - Iron Flute (Tie
Di) - Cymbals (Ba)
- Iron Ruler (Tie
Chi) - Crutch or Cane (Guai)
- Fly Whisk (Fei
Mao Dan) - Shield (Dun)
- Water Parting
Shield (Fen Shui Dun) - Bench (Ban
Deng) - Two-Handed
Broadsword (Shuang Shou Dao, also Bagua Dao) - Two-handed
Straight Sword (Shuang Shou Jian) - Push Dagger (Chi
Shou)
Soft Weapons
Soft weapons, or flexible weapons, have a joint or are attached to a rope. These
weapons require great skill, since they are always changing. Many of these can
also be hidden weapons, since they are very compact when collapsed.
- Meteor Hammer (Liu
Xing Chui) - Rope Javelin (Sen
Biao) - Flying Weight (Shuang
Tao Fei Chui) - Mother and Son
Hammer (Zi Mu Chui) - Three Section
Staff (San Jie Gun) - Two Section Staff
(Er Jie Gun) - Whip Chain (Qi
Jie Bian, Seven Section Whip or Jiu Jie Bian, Nine Section Whip) - Dragon Head Stick
(Long Tao Gan Ban) - Double Flying
Claw (Shuang Fei Zhua) - Four Section
Sickle (Si Jie Tang)
Twin Weapons
Twin weapons are two mirror-image weapons, one held in each hand. In modern
kungfu, the practice of twin weapons balances out the left hand with the right,
since many styles have a predetermined dominance.
- Twin Broadswords (Shuang
Dao) - Twin Straight
Swords (Shuang Jian) - Butterfly Knives (Hu
Die Shuang Dao, Butterfly Double Sword or Niu Er Jin Dao, Ox Ear Sharp
Sword) - Axe (Fu)
- Sickle (Lian
Dao) - Hook (Gou)
- Nine Teeth Hook (Jiu
Zi Gou) - Twin Halberds (Shuang
Shou Ji) - Twin Daggers (Shuang
Bi Shou) - Ring (Huan)
or Wheel (Lun) - Iron Ring (Shuo
Huan) - Deer Antler
Knives (Lu Jiao Dao) - Iron Comb (Tie
Su Zi) - Iron Chopsticks (Tie
Kuai Zi) - Emei Piercers (Emei
Ci) - Horse Halberd (Ma
Ji) - Unicorn Horn
Sword (Lin Jiao Dao) - Mandarin Duck
Spade (Yuan Yang Chan)
Hidden and Flying Weapons
Hidden weapons are a fascinating sub-topic of Chinese weaponry. Used to expand
the range of offense beyond close combat, a great number of ingenious hidden
weapons were created to surprise the enemy. Small enough to be hidden in a
sleeve or robe, and particularly useful in a surprise attack or when you are
outnumbered, these are generally small weapons, with the exception of the bows.
- Arhat Coin (Luohan
Qian) - Flying Knife (Fei
Dao) - Flying Dart (Fei
Biao) - Sleeve Sword (Shu
Jian) - Iron Toad (Tie
Chan Chu) - Flying Locust
Stone (Fei Huang Shi) - Scholar's Brush (Pan
Guan Bi or Zhaung Yuan Bi - Judge's Brush or Champion Place Brush) - Wolf Teeth Hammer
(Lan Ya Chui) - Bow (Dan Gong)
- Crossbow (Lu)
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