Wen Hsiu Quan

Now that I have written about some weapons that do not seem to make any sense in actual combat, let's look at something simple. In fact- this weapon is so simple that I am not even going to write anything about its history. Just about every civilisation in history had this weapon. The only difference that we may find is the techniques used from people to people. While Chinese forms are famous for their spectacular staff movements we find that the forms taught by the Okinawan and Japanese schools used more direct and pragmatic movements. The Quarterstaff that we know from our medieval stories was the Western version of this universal weapon. The main reason why one would want to use such a long stick for a weapon is reach.  A staff has longer reach than most swords, definitely more reach than a knife or dagger and also more reach than most blunt weapons that we know. That means that you don't really have to know any special defensive...

Hello, everyone and welcome back. In last week's post I said that we will be looking at yet another weapon that defies logic. Yesterday we looked at the Sai and speculated about why on earth one would want to add prongs to a metal truncheon. Today's weapon is the tonfa or- as it is known in Chinese, the guai. In modern days this weapon goes by the designation PR24 (what that is supposed to mean I do not know at all.) Before I even knew that this weapon had its place in classical Chinese weaponry I have already learnt that it was the handle of a grindstone. Now- Asian grindstones are fairly simple. Two circular stones on top of one another, fashioned so that the one is slightly hollow and the other fits into the hollow. The top stone has a hole in it. A stick (which for some reason is not always attached to the device) gets inserted into the hole to be used as a handle. My friend Leo showing me the hole in the tofu maker where the handle woul...

Hello, everyone! Welcome back to the next installment of my newly begun series of posts on my weapons. I know by now that most of my followers know what these are.  The Sai is most commonly associated with Okinawan martial arts, that are known to us today as Kobujutsu and Kobudo.  Had to do the Wolverine! :D This weapon, however, has a long history of being used in China. Thanks to Jesse Enkamp sharing his research on Karate's Chinese roots I have found that it was actually well known in Southern China. A number of Kung Fu Elitists who would not mind telling you that they study Mok Gar (Mok Family Style) will tell you that the Sai is known to them as the Tee Chek or Iron Ruler. The easiest Mandarin name that I have ever heard for the weapon is Cha- which is not to be confused with the Mandarin word for tea.  Researching this weapon's history is a tricky affair. You can run into somebody tell you th...

Much of my childhood was spent playing Ninja. With the television as the authority of what Ninjas did and what weapons they used I have deemed the Nunchaku the most essential part of my arsenal. When I got my hands on martial arts books, however, I found that the Nunchaku and the Ninja did not have any connection whatsoever. I have learnt that the Nunchaku rather shared its history with Karate on the Ryukyu Islands of which Okinawa is the capital. I still loved the weapon regardless of this revelation. Now... like many Kobudo and Kobujutsu students and people who have gotten their information from the same sources as I would tell you that this weapon was originally a farm implement. I had no reason to doubt this story, but I was to learn a new story long after I had finished high school. You see... Some people swore that this flail weapon was used by Ryukyu farmers to beat rice grains off the stalks. To this day I wonder whether it is the most effici...

Welcome back, everyone. Christmas is by now a pleasant memory, some of us have already settled into the habit of writing the date correctly- 2020 is here and we are ready to work... One of the disadvantages of training alone is that there is nobody but you to keep your mind focused on the job. I have found that I have a lot on my mind this year. Nothing special- we all do at some time. And- it does affect our training. The funny thing about it is, however, that you need to leave all thoughts and cares outside the dojo when you are training, right? Well- this is why I love martial arts. Once you learn to properly focus on your training, you learn to give yourself a break from all those work problems, family issues and whatever is waiting to eat you outside the dojo. Giving your mind that break actually helps you better to reach a solution for whatever problem it is with which you may be dealing at any given time. Thing is- life is always going to ...

This is usually the time when we take some time to look back to the highlights of a year. This year I became aware of the end to three things approaching. The first thing that I have seen coming to an end is this blog. Well- I am not done yet, but I can see that I am running out of things to say here. :D I used to announce my December Break from blogging at this time of the year, but this is the first year in which I have stopped writing new posts for a long time to come. Still- the Wenhsiuquan Facebook Page got started this year. You might find some new posts from me or some shared posts from other martial artists on it from time to time. Be assured, though, that I may stop blogging sometime, but I will never stop training. The next thing of which I have seen the end is single life. :D In this case I have not just seen it coming. It has arrived.  Xiaowei and I have been dating since July now. This in itself...

Hello, everyone. :) Recently I have begun teaching someone. As is often the case- this student did not approach me to learn a martial art, but needs to learn to defend himself. Well... self defense is only about a third of what Wenhsiuquan is all about, but I am always happy to share what I know in order to get the word out there. A question that came up in our conversations during lessons was what to do when somebody grabs your leg. It is not the first time I had to answer this question and I think we have the Gracies to thank for that. You see- long before they cake and ruined it for everyone schoolyard fights and barroom brawls had pushing, punching and maybe the odd bit of wrestling. Nowadays, however, a lot of kids watch MMA takedowns and now choke holds and leg takedowns get seen a lot... So... where a lot of us used to learn and rehearse responses to punches, kicks, front grabs and wrist grabs- we now have to know defense against leg takedowns as well. Before I get ...