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Hammer and a Golden Hammer Warriors--pottery figurine of Ming Dynasty. |
There are various kinds of hammers such as the long-handled single hammer, short-handled twin hammer and chain hammer.
The hammer with handle was first seen and became the widely used weapon during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.
Because it is shaped like a melon, it is also called the standing melon or lying melon. There are also square and octagonal shaped hammers. In ancient times, holders of the hammer were called the Golden Melon warriors.
Short-handled twin hammers are very heavy and need greater strength in practice. Its techniques include rinsing, dragging, hanging, pounding, pestling, punching, floating and covering. Of these, rinsing and dragging are the main movements of hammer play.
Chain hammer, also called meteor hammer, is an iron hammer tied with a rope in recent years. Its use is similar to that of the rope-dart.
The hook is an ancient weapon that was evolved from the dagger-axe. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the dagger-axe, hook and halbert were used at the same time. According to a bronze hook unearthed from a tomb of the Wei State, the hook looks like a halbert. The difference is that the halbert has a sharp blade on the head while the hook has a small hook on its head.
The General Outlines of Wushu shows there were varied shapes of hooks in the Song Dynasty including the claw cudgel, the fire hook with the double-hooked knife as its blade, and the fire fork, with an iron trident head.
The long hook is held by two hands while the short hook was held by one hand. When the short hook is played, the Wushu practitioner has a hook in each hand or a hook in one hand and other weapon in another. There is also the flying-hook with a long four-blade head linked by an iron chain.
The hooks used in Wushu include single hook, twin hooks, antler-shaped hook, long-handled hook, and tiger head-shaped hooks in Wushu play. Of them, the twin hooks are the most used and belong to multi-blade weapons. The techniques of the hook play include hooking, drawing, hugging, carrying, holding, pressing, piercing, shaping, hanging, pulling, lifting and locking. It is said the twin hooks were used first by Dou Erdun of Xianxian County in Hebei Province in the reign of Emperor Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty.
The hook play routines include Cha-style, traveling, 12-speed, plum blossom and tiger-head, snow flake and curtain raising. Paired practice routines include tiger head hook versus spear. The styles of play differ from school to school.
The axe is one of the earliest production tools. In the Stone Age, primitive man fixed edged stone on a wooden handle for cutting. In the Shang Dynasty, there were battle axes used for the guarding of the Gods or as implements of punishment.
The axe and battle axe belong to the same family, the difference being that the cutting edge of the axe is narrower than that of the battle axe. The cutting part of the battle axe is broad and arc-shaped and looks like a crescent. In the Qin and Han dynasties, the axe was the main weapon. The axe mentioned in the General Outlines of Wushu has a one sided-edge with a long handle. Its names include mountain cutting, still swallow and invincible. There was also the Emei axe with a head of about 30 cm long and an edge about 15 cm wide, and a one-meter-long handle, and the phoenix-head axe has a head of about 28 cm long and a handle of 80 cm.
The short handled axe belongs to the twin weapons. Because it looks like a slab, it was named the double-slab axe. Playing the double-slab axe requires boldness and bravery. The playing techniques, similar to those of the long-handled spear, include chopping, cutting, hugging, wiping, floating and slicing. In addition, it could be used for hooking and hanging as there is a hook on the back and pricks on the end. The single play routines include swinging chopping while turning the body and leaping, straight swinging on foot, wiping on horse. The routines of the long-handled axe, twin axes and mandarin-duck battle axes with one in each hand are still maintained in today's Wushu.
The trident-halberd originated during the Ming Dynasty. It has a 0.5-meter-long sharp steel head with a crescent crosspiece, fixed on a 2.5-meter long shaft. At the end of the shaft is an iron taper (Fig. 15)
The trident-halberd was used for hitting, thrusting and blocking. As it is long and heavy the users must be tall and strong. Similar kinds of trident-halberd include phoenix-wing, swallow-wing, dragon-beard, ox-head and gilded halberd. The playing techniques include throwing, patting, holding, hiding, pushing, turning, supporting and blocking. The basic stances include thrusting and twisting, straight attacking, dragon-riding, jumping over and hiding below. In trident-halberd play there are no dancing movements and turning is the main action. For holding the weapon, one hand is in the front and another below and the two hands could change positions. The routines include swallow-wing play.
The fork is one of the long-handled Chinese Wushu weapons. With two prongs on the head it is called the horn fork, while the one with three prongs is called the trident or three-pronged fork. The handle is 2.3-2.7 meters long and weighs about 2.5 kilograms. Of the three-pronged fork, the central part protrudes 10 cm. At the end of the handle, there is a melon-shaped hammer. In the remote ancient times, the fork was used for fishing. The primitive fish-catching fork unearthed in the ruins of Banpo Village near Xi'an in Shaanxi Province has a joint at the end of the handle for fixing a rope. When the fork is thrown out, the fork can be taken back by pulling the rope. The hitting techniques of the fork include blocking, covering, poking, turning, rolling, beating, smashing, drawing, digging and patting. The routines of fork play include the Flying-Tiger and Tai-bao).