Weapons & Warriors: The Dadao of the Shaolin

The Dadao is also called a Chinese sabre, Chinese Big Knife, or Chinese Great Sword. This heavy blade has served several purposes over the centuries in China. Some Shaolin monks train in the use of this sword and some daring monks train to use both the Dadao and the Jiujie Bian together. One way to describe the Dadao is that of a machete on steroids.

The blade of the Dadao is perfectly designed for chopping and was modeled after an agricultural tool for harvesting. The Dadao is considered a peasant's sword because it is a pretty simple and does not require a lot of training. The heavy blade and long handle balances the sword so that it is not difficult to maneuver despite its weight. Although it is not a light sword, it is not as heavy as an axe. However, the broad blade is designed to cut with the same power as an axe. The long handle allows for wielding with one or two hands.

The blade is only about two feet in length and the handle is just over a foot. The entire sword’s weight will vary from two pounds to close to four pounds depending on the type of and quality of metal used to forge it. The blade widens at the tip and curves slightly back to the wielder to increase the momentum of the tip. The width of the blade gives the Dadao the strength and speed to chop through bone and leather armor with ease.

Weapons & Warriors: The Kilij of the Ottoman Cavalry

This week I’m doing a special Weapons Weekly on one of the grandfathers of the modern cavalry sabre, the Kilij. Unlike most other sabres, the Kilij had a special design that not only made it more dangerous than other sabres, but gave it an exotic appearance that fit well into the Turks that wielded it. The sabre was not a sword designed for fighting on foot such as the longsword and broadsword, but was specifically designed for cavalry. Sabres have curved blades that are sharp on only one side. Their blades were forged to handle slicing without shattering. The Kilij was one of the few sabres that were designed with thrusting as an option, but like all sabres, slashing at an opponent was still far more deadly.

The Kilij was a redesigned version of the Turko-Mongolian Sabre, which may have been the first sabre ever recorded in history. The Mongolians were notorious cavalrymen and had a heavy influence on Turkish culture after the Mongols invasions of the Turkish and Arabic lands. The difference between the Kilij and most other sabres is the tip. It had a double edged tip that flared out making the tip stronger and heavier. This added weight gave the Kilij an axe-like quality in that it was capable of cutting through bone with one swipe.