The Chinese Spear: “King of the Long Weapons”

By Instructor Candidate Danny Hall

The spear or Qiang in Chinese evolved very early in Chinese history. Originally tapering down the end of a bamboo stick or rod made the spear. Eventually later adding a tapered metal head that was sharp on both edges modified it. Throughout the years there has been many versions of the spear. The design of the spear normally depended on the dynasty it was in. It was said that in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1280 A.D.) that General Yue Fei added a hook, which was sharp on both edges to the metal end of the spear. This gave him an advantage because he could also cut of the legs of horses. Generals even added the metal taper on both ends to increase the weapons killing potential. The double spear was called Shuang Tou Qiang. Many Generals preferred the use of the spear because its techniques and applications were superior to those of other weapons. Because the spear was normally light it could be wielded around with quickness and agility. The spears movements are normally compared to a swimming dragon. The spear was primarily used for stabbing although it could be used for sweeps, slashes and blocking. Blocking is usually done with the shaft part of the spear. Since the spear was so versatile it was given the title “King of the Long Weapons”. The one major disadvantage of the spear was that is it couldn’t block heavy weapons such as a long handled saber (Guan Do). The Shaolin spear in which most of you are familiar is made up of a white wax wood. That only grows in Northern China. This wood is used because of the flexibility and spring-like quality. The spears butt or end is thick but tapers down in thickness, as it gets closer to the tip. The tip of the spear is made of steel and is shaped like an arrowhead with two edges. One of the most noticeable characteristics is the red tassel that was bound at the spearhead base. These can also be referred to as the horsetail tassels because they were made of horsehair. The tassel served a couple purposes to the Generals when they were on the battlefield. First off the tassel was used to distract the opponents attention away from the spearhead. Second, and more importantly the tassels stopped the flow of blood from the blade onto the shaft of the spear. This was very crucial because the spear could become very slippery to hold and also if the blood would get onto the shaft and began to dry the stickiness could affect the sliding techniques of the spear. For those of you that have had the opportunity to work with the spear you could imagine how difficult it would be to thrust the spear out to strike if it was sticky. The reason I chose the spear to write about is because it is my favorite weapon. When most people see a spear they think of a javelin type weapon with some red tassel on it. Hopefully this will help you as a practitioner or non practitioner understand the spear more thoroughly. The characteristic that I like the most about the spear is because it can be used for close and long-range techniques. It is said that it takes a 1000 days to master the spear. This means training everyday continuously for three years before you have mastered the techniques. Not just when you feel like it for three years. If you have not worked with the spear stay diligent with your training and your time will come. Good luck and train hard.