Lesson 4 – The weapons in fundamental training

The weapons in 6 Dragons Kung Fu

In addition to free-body combat, our style also teaches the use of various categories of martial weapons:

• Proper weapons (some from Ninjutsu, some from Shaolin, etc.)
• Improper weapons (improvised defense objects, blunt objects, etc.)
• Throwing weapons (rocks, knives, etc.)
• Impact weapons (sticks, tonfa, etc.)
• Cutting weapons (swords, kama, etc.)
• Rigid weapons (sai, arnis, etc.)
• Flexible weapons (nunchaku, 9 section chain, etc.)
• …

Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to attend our home study classes here Learn Kung Fu online: a beginner-to-expert course).

2 important premises before continuing:

• 6 Dragons Kung Fu is against any form of violence (read The 3 alerts of a Shaolin monk)
• The use of weapons outside of training as well as the reckless abuse of martial technique (read The fighter and the warrior)

A note by Master Kongling – Firearms (pistols, shotguns, etc.) and hunting weapons (bows, crossbows, etc.) do not fall specifically within our field, even if, in purely theoretical terms, there is no doubt that the psychomotor skills acquired through Kung Fu make immensely more simple learning and using these tools.

What is the training application of weapons?

In our school, we start with (training / safe) weapons since the beginning.

The design effectiveness of martial weapons (in terms of mobility, amplification of power, etc.) has much to teach us in terms of combat mechanics: the fact of using them forces you to harmonize with their performance improving yours.

This type of practice is not optional, it represents a crucial part of body education in 6 Dragons Kung Fu’s method (read Learn to use basic weapons).

The primary goal

The goal:

• Is not primarily to learn to use fighting tools that are thousands of years old
• Is not a cultural / historical re-evocation of ancient practices / vestiges

The idea is to educate the body and mind to use your limbs to the maximum of their capability.

This way you will improve exponentially:

• Speed
• Power
• Reach
• Mobility
• Spatial intelligence
• Reflexes
• …

The second step

Only later, at a more advanced level, the goal truly becomes the learning of the weapon itself:

• To be able to handle “any” type of combat tool (even improper, read Improper weapons in a real situation) suitable to prevail in situations of personal defense (maybe only as a deterrent without having the need to actually use it)
• To be able (in extreme self-defense situations) to attempt to disarm potential aggressors (it is not too logical to teach how to disarm a weapon that you do not know)

A note by Master Kongling – It is important to stress that weapon disarming techniques must be seen as an extreme attempt in a situation that is tremendously unfavorable: it requires high-level constant specific preparation and even with these premises, in most cases, it does not work.

Over time you will learn to instinctively apply (even in real combat) a wide range of weapon capabilities, before being inspired by its mobility and then with its actual physicality.

How to learn to use weapons

The study of 6 Dragons Kung Fu’s weapons starts from the 2 most fundamental ones (read The basic equipment for training in 6DKF and 6DKF’s basic equipment: explanation):

• The short sticks (read At the base of each weapon: the short stick and The basics of short sticks: safety and grip)
• The rope (read Stance and basic rotations of the rope and Loop rotations of the rope)

For these training tools, what we said in Lesson 2.3 (exercises, setting, etc.) is still valid (in the next chapter we will see how to include them in our daily sessions).

These are the first steps in the path towards the most dangerous and complex weapons (read Learning the use of real weapons), the ones for which are mandatory:

• Good reflexes
• Conditioned limbs
• High-level spatial intelligence
• High concentration (quick reasoning, etc.)
• …

In-depth articles

• The 6DKF’s diagram about the use of violence – How and when a 6 Dragons Kung Fu’s practitioner is allowed to apply his skills (in terms of self-defense)
• How to use martial arts in a real fight – All that you need to know to use Kung Fu (and in general martial arts) in a real fight situation

<< Lesson 2.3 – Index – Lesson 3.1 >>

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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