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Weapons Training
History, Theory, and Benefits
copyright 1997, Ray Hayward

In recent years, we have taught many people solo and 2-person weapons. We have received requests for some in-depth knowledge and history about weapons and their usage. There are many reasons for weapons training and many solo and 2-person weapon methods. I will try to cover three areas in this article. The first part will be a basic history and evolution of the weapons, the second some theories and principles, and the third will examine the benefits of weapons training.

History
The history of weapons is as old as humanity. Weapons were originally needed for survival and later for warfare, and their modern uses, as in our case, they are for health training and sport. The earliest weapons were clubs, which evolved with the addition of various spikes. Then the spikes evolved to short blades, which became axes. As ax blades became longer and handles became shorter, the sabre or broadsword evolved. These kinds of weapons were primarily swung and relied upon the weight of the weapon and the strength of the arm of the wielder.

The second source of weapons was the stick or staff. Made of various lengths and held in two hands, it evolved to have a simple sharpened point, then to stone or steel heads affixed to one end. Thus the spear was born. Spears were made in many different ways. Some had ax-like blades or hooks attached to the sides, others were made of various lengths, and still others had varied shapes of points or spear heads. Gradually the spearhead became longer and the handle became shorter so the spear could be wielded with one hand. This weapon gradually evolved to be the double-edged sword. This kind of weapon was primarily pushed or thrust toward the opponent using parrying and dodging for defense and relying on speed and agility as opposed to brute strength.

There is a saying in T'ai-Chi: "If you swing the double-edged sword like the sabre, then the founder of T'ai-Chi will laugh at you from his grave." This shows that one must understand the differences in use, method, and power source between these two weapons.

In Chinese martial arts, there are many references to the four major weapons: the staff, the sabre, the spear and the sword. The staff and the sabre are called the "hard" weapons; the sword and the spear are called the "soft" weapons. The hard weapons are those that are heavy in weight, use blocks for defense, and generally require a reasonable degree of strength. The soft weapons are lighter and flexible. They use more parrying, sticking and dodging for defense, and they rely on speed and footwork to be effective. There are many other weapons such as flexible weapons, double weapons, and various long and short weapons. In T'ai-Chi, we use three weapons:. the sword, the sabre and the spear.

Theory
In this section, I'd like to explain three areas: the extension of ch'i, Hua-na-da, and three kinds of energy.

In the T'ai-Chi classics, there are many references to mind, ch'i, and the direction and extension of the ch'i or bio-energy:

• "Let the mind direct the ch'i so that it sinks deeply and steadily and can permeate the bones."
• "To direct the ch'i is like threading a pearl with nine crooked paths."
• "The mind is the leader and the body is the follower."

Master Liang has said, "If every movement can be directed by the mind-intent within and manifested without, then the internal spiritual aspect and external physical aspect will be united. Thus the body will instantly follow the dictates of the mind and the ch'i, and intrinsic energy will immediately reach the intended point." Master Liang also told us, "When practicing T'ai-Chi sword keep your eyes focused on the tip. This keeps the spirit of vitality alive and helps the mind-intent send the ch'i to the tip." "The reason we practice with weapons is so we can reach the tip with our ch'i. When we can direct energy to the tip of a weapon, it becomes easy to get it to circulate to the hands." "You have to learn to extend your energy, to go from the body to the hand and out to the tip of the weapon." And lastly from Master Liang, "Weapons training becomes more important than empty hand training only after you can circulate energy to the hands."

From the classics and from the teachings of Master Liang, we can see that weapons training is really for the circulation, direction, and extension of our mind and energy.

In T'ai-Chi Ch'uan as a martial art, each single technique can be broken down into three components. The first part of any technique is Hua. Hua means to neutralize or transform. This is the defensive aspect. The second component Na, means to seize or hold. This is for controlling the opponent by offsetting their balance or trapping their limbs and body. The third aspect, Da, literally means strike, but can also mean to issue your intrinsic energy. This is the counter-attacking part of the technique. Master Liang has always said, "When the Hua-Na-Da are separate, you are dancing with your partner. But when the three parts are done all at once, you will knock out your partner."

To train these three aspects, the Yang style uses three weapons: the sword, the saber and the spear. The sword corresponds to Hua. The sword using evasive and subtle defenses utilizes Hua to be effective. Thus we say that by training the sword we are strengthening the Hua aspect of our training.

The saber utilizes Na, or holding, to be effective. The drag step and the lunging and grabbing are ways that the saber trains the holding or controlling techniques. So we say that by training the saber we strengthen the Na aspect of our training.

The spear corresponds to Da. The spear uses direct strikes while using the follow step to illustrate the point that the best defense is offense. The length and weight of the spear require you to use your whole body when you issue energy. So we say that the spear strengthens the Da.

From this example, we can see that the solo weapons each contribute to the self-defense aspects of the T'ai-Chi techniques.

The old masters insisted that three kinds of energy must be developed. They felt that the energy must be directed first in a straight line, then on a plane, and finally, at the highest level, on a pinpoint. This means that the mind would direct the energy which would be projected out of the body in one of these three ways.

The first way of issuing energy, which is a straight line, is to learn how to use the body as one unit and project the energy straight out from your body. When we train with the spear, this is the kind of energy we use. The spear helps to develop straight line energy.

The second way we learn to issue energy is across a horizontal plane. This requires training in the waist and legs. The saber uses this kind of energy, thus the saber will help to train your energy to project out on a horizontal plane.

The highest level is pinpoint energy, where all the body's energy is focused to a very small area. Because we focus on the tip of the sword, this kind of energy is naturally developed through sword practice. The sword uses many pinpoint techniques such as dien, which means pointing, and peng, which means snapping. These techniques clearly show the body energy focused through the weapon to a very small area. So we say that the sword helps to train pinpoint energy.

Benefits
In this section, I will explain some of the benefits and lessons of weapons training.

To practice T'ai-Chi without weapons is to strengthen the muscles of the body, and to practice T'ai-Chi with weapons is to strengthen the sinews and bones. When practicing T'ai-Chi with weapons, the body, the hands and the weapon should act as one unit so that
the intrinsic energy will reach to the tip of the weapon.
~Liang Tung-tsai

From the above quote from our teacher, we can see that the weapons play an important part in the strengthening process of T'ai-Chi. The weapons are our "weight-lifting" so-to-speak, but we want strong sinews, ligaments, tendons, and bones as well as strong and supple muscles. The solo form and pushing-hands are enough to strengthen the legs and waist, although the more advanced stances and footwork of the weapons forms can still further exercise our lower bodies. The weapons mainly give us our upper-body workout.

All the weapons have the benefit of strengthening the fingers and hands. The sword, with its intricate angles and circles, works the wrist and upper arm. The knife, or sabre, by using large sweeping movements, exercises the upper arm and shoulder. The spear, with its added length and weight, strengthens the shoulders and back. Of course, the weapons are to be wielded by the entire body, which gets exercised, but these areas receive more attention and benefit.

It is said that the sword corresponds to the sword-hand strike, also called the Immortal Strike, which uses the index and middle finger joined together to strike at vulnerable points. The sword form strengthens this hand position. The knife corresponds to the knife hand, the James Bond Karate chop, and helps develop that strike. The spear corresponds to the spear hand, or the thrusting hand, which uses all the fingers to stab the opponent. The spear movements help strengthen this strike. On a side note, the staff corresponds to the fist and helps develop punching techniques.

There is also the Theory of Refinement for the weapons. The sword is said to refine the spirit and feeling, the knife refines the footwork, and the spear refines the ability to issue energy (fa-ching). The weapons also factor in the theory of Taoist alchemy. The spear changes ching, or sexual energy, to ch'i, or breath energy. The knife changes ch'i to shen, or spirit. And the sword changes shen to hsu, or emptiness.

I see the weapons as the Taoists' revenge. Taoism is a pacifist religion/philosophy based on harmony and balance of opposites. The Taoists took instruments of killing and destruction and used them for the purposes of building health and strength, cultivating spirit, and expressing a moving art form. They could have easily exercised with brooms, shovels, bricks or ladles.

I'd like to end this article with an observation made years ago while watching a movie of Professor Cheng Man-ching demonstrating the solo form and the sword form. After the movie, we asked Master Liang why Professor Cheng's solo form and sword form, although both were relaxed, looked so different to us. They were both T'ai-Chi forms and the same person was performing them, why would the energies look so different? Master Liang answered, saying, "Because in the solo form, Professor Cheng worked with the principles, but in the sword form, he played with the principles."

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