Hook sword
Encyclopedia
Background
Reliable information on hook swords is difficult to come by. While sometimes called an ancient weapon and described as dating from the Song dynastySong Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
to Warring States
Warring States Period
The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, or the Warring Kingdoms period, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BC to the reunification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC...
or even earlier, most antique examples and artistic depictions are from the late Qing
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
era or later, suggesting that they are actually a comparatively recent design. They were also an exclusively civilian weapon, appearing in none of the official listings of Chinese armaments. Surviving sharpened examples point to actual use as weapons, but their rarity, and the training necessary to use them, strongly suggest that they were only rarely used as such.
Characteristics
Also known as tiger hook swords or qian kun ri yue dao (literally "Heaven and Sun Moon Sword"), these weapons have a blade similar to that of the jianJian
The jian is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China. The first Chinese sources that mention the jian date to the 7th century BCE during the Spring and Autumn Period; one of the earliest specimens being the Sword of Goujian.Historical one-handed versions have blades...
, though possibly thicker or unsharpened, with a prong or hook (similar to a shepherd's crook
Shepherd
A shepherd is a person who tends, feeds or guards flocks of sheep.- Origins :Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool...
) near the tip. Guards are substantial, in the style of butterfly sword
Butterfly sword
The butterfly sword is a short dāo, or single-edged blade, originally from the South of China, though it has seen use in the North.The blade of a butterfly sword is roughly as long as a human forearm, which allows for easy concealment inside loose sleeves or boots, and allows greater...
s. Often used in pairs, the hooks of the weapons may be used to trap or deflect other weapons.
There are five components to the hook sword:
- The back, which is used as regular swords.
- The hook, which is used to trip enemies and to catch weapons, not to mention the rather more obvious use of slashing.
- The end of the hilt, which is sharpened into daggers.
- The crescent guard, which is used for blocking and slashing.
- And the link, which is used when you have a pair. The two hooks can loosely connect together, and the wielder swings one hook sword, so in a way that the second is extended further out, almost 6 feet. While the second is in the air, the dagger upon the hilt slashes any target. In this way, the wielder can extend his/her reach out from three feet to six.
Use
Routines for hook swords are taught in such Northern schools as Northern Shaolin and Seven-Star Mantis, and in some schools of Southern arts such as Choy Lay Fut. Modern routines for hook swords are often very flashy, and may involve techniques such as linking paired weapons and wielding them as a single long, flexible weapon. Some schools of BaguazhangBaguazhang
Bāguàzhǎng is one of the three main Chinese martial arts of the Wudang school, the other two being Taijiquan and Xingyiquan. It is more broadly grouped as an internal practice...
also teach a similar weapon, often called "Deer Horn Knives
Deer Horn Knives
Deer Horn Knives , also known as crescent moon knives, are specialised Chinese bladed weapons consisting of two steel crescents crossing. They are used in Chinese martial arts. This crossing produces four curved, clawlike points, one of which is extended as the "main" blade. The practitioner grips...
" or "Mandarin Duck Knives." These weapons typically feature a much shorter or entirely missing main hook, and instead focus on the various cutting and stabbing blades arranged around the guard.
In popular culture
- In the movie The One Armed Swordsman, the villain Long-Armed Devil and his men use hook swords with a mechanically enhanced hook.
- In the duel between Shulien (Michelle YeohMichelle YeohMichelle Yeoh Choo-Kheng is a Hong Kong-based Malaysian Chinese actress, well known for performing her own stunts in the action films that brought her to fame in the early 1990s....
) and Jen Yu (Zhang ZiyiZhang ZiyiZhang Ziyi is a Chinese film actress. Zhang is coined by the media as one of the Four Young Dan actresses in the Film Industry in China, along with Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei, and Zhou Xun...
) in the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden DragonCrouching Tiger, Hidden DragonCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a 2000 wuxia film. An American-Chinese-Hong Kong-Taiwanese co-production, the film was directed by Ang Lee and featured an international cast of ethnic Chinese actors, including Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, and Chang Chen...
, Shulien uses a number of traditional Chinese weapons in turn, one of which is a pair of hook swords. The other weapons she uses are the four major weapons of Chinese martial culture: the single-edged sword or DaoDao (sword)Daois a category of single-edge Chinese swords primarily used for slashing and chopping , often called a broadsword in English translation because some varieties have wide blades. In China, the dao is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the gun , qiang , and the jian , and referred...
; the spear or QiangQiang (spear)Qiang is the Chinese term for spear. Due to its relative ease of manufacture, the spear in many variations was ubiquitous on the pre-modern Chinese battlefield...
; the staff or GùnGun (staff)The Chinese word gun refers to a long Chinese staff weapon used in Chinese martial arts. It is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the qiang , dao , and the jian , called in this group "The Grandfather of all Weapons".-Variants:There are various kinds of gun, and they include the...
; and the double-edged straight sword or JianJianThe jian is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China. The first Chinese sources that mention the jian date to the 7th century BCE during the Spring and Autumn Period; one of the earliest specimens being the Sword of Goujian.Historical one-handed versions have blades...
. She also picks up but does not manage to use a Monk's SpadeMonk's SpadeA monk's spade A monk's spade A monk's spade (Traditional Chinese: 月牙鏟; Simplified Chinese: 月牙铲; pinyin: yuèyáchǎn; literally "Crescent Moon Spade"; also, Traditional Chinese: 禪仗; Simplified Chinese: 禅仗; pinyin: chánzhàng; literally, "Zen Weapon"...
or Yuèyáchǎn. - In Avatar: The Last AirbenderAvatar: The Last AirbenderAvatar: The Last Airbender is an American animated television series that aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. The series was created and produced by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who served as executive producers along with Aaron Ehasz...
, Jet wields hook swords. - In the Mortal KombatMortal Kombat (series)Mortal Kombat, commonly abbreviated MK, is a science fantasy series of fighting games created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The first four renditions and their updates were developed by Midway Games and initially released on arcade machines. The arcade titles were later picked up by Acclaim...
series of games, Kabal and MavadoMavadoMavado may refer to:*Mavado *Mavado, a character in the Mortal Kombat series...
both use hook swords - In the Kingdom Hearts (series) keyblades are inspired by hook swords.