Weapons and Warriors: The Guan Dao of the Shaolin

Art by TL Jeffcoat

This crazy looking pole weapon is related to the Samurai’s Naginata, but is not exactly the same. There are several variations and names for this weapon in China: Ta Dao, Da Dao, and Guan Dao. The Ta Dao was found on lists of the 18 weapons of the Shaolin, while the Da Dao was described in some places as a pole weapon, the Da Dao I know of is more like a large sabre. The name of Guan Dao seems to be the most common and accurate and it came with a popular story that I found to have some fictional mysteries surrounding the credited creator of the weapon.

In the book, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, General Guan Yu was said to have crafted this weapon in the 200’s AD. There were also stories that it weighed 40 pounds (18.14 kg), which you might believe that the weight is a clue that it must be a myth. No weapon could ever weigh that much and be used in battle, well, you would be wrong about that. Although no weapon on any battlefield in history, that I’ve read, has anyone wielded a weapon weighing more than 25 pounds (11.34 kg), there are a couple museums that display a Guan Dao weighing around 45 pounds (20.41 kg). The extremely heavy Guan Dao was not used in combat, but was instead used to build strength and endurance and to test soldiers seeking advancement in the military.

When a man tested for rank in the military he performed maneuvers with an ultra-heavy Guan Dao which was an excellent tool to see the strength of the man, his ability to control that strength, and the dexterity he might have to avoid dropping such a weapon. It’s pretty impressive if you think about it. The better a man tested the higher up the chain of command he could go. That made the general the last man you wanted to stumble into on the battlefield; unless you were a highly trained warrior, you were most likely going to die.

The myth of Guan Yu’s Guan Dao weighing 40 pounds is not a myth because it would be too heavy for him. According to some historians, Guan Yu was nearly seven feet tall (2.13 meters). That’s a big man, especially in the early 200’s. The reason Guan Yu’s massive weapon is a myth is because there are no historical documentations of a Guan Dao being used or produced by anyone before 1000 AD. Some historians have reported that Guan Yu wielded dual swords of some kind that may have been larger and heavier than normal.

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 Jiujie Bian of the Shaolin

If you thought the idea of beating someone to death with a chain was thought up by some mobster or street gang, you’d be wrong. The Shaolin Monks have been administering chain whippings since before 500 AD. However, the difference between a monk and a thug is a wide gap in training and expertise. The Shaolin don’t just use any chain either. They have specially designed chain whips called the Jiujie Bian.

More commonly referred to as the Nine Section Chain Whip, or Nine Link Chain Whip, the Jiujie Bian is the most dangerous weapon in the Shaolin arsenal to train with and possible one of the most dangerous weapons to learn in the history of Earth. The Shaolin Monks train for many years to master this dangerous device. More people are reported injured while training with the Jiujie Bian than with any other weapon in the world. Many monks still train and practice to this day for showing off their techniques to tourists. There are also other versions of the Jiujie Bian that vary in the number of links from seven to thirteen.

Weapons & Warriors: The Liuxing Chui of the Shaolin

There are two variations of the Liuxing Chui, also known as the Meteor Hammer or Dragon Fists. It gets its name from the lightning speed and power at which it strikes an opponent. The Liuxing Chui is one of the many chain weapons used by Shaolin Monks and requires excellent strength, reflexes, and years of and training to use safely. Once mastered, this blindingly fast weapon is virtually impossible to predict. It’s capable of disarming and then crushing a man’s skull in seconds.

The design of the Liuxing Chui is very simple. The chain or rope has a steel ball attached at either one end or both ends. The chain or rope varies in length depending on the version of weapon. Each steel ball weighs over 6 pounds. The ball is swung in circles as fast as possible before striking at opponents. Six pounds at high velocity is enough force to shatter the skull like a watermelon that’s been slammed on the ground, very messy.

Weapons & Warriors: The Fu Tao of the Shaolin

If you have ever played any recent versions of Mortal Kombat, then you have seen the wickedness of the Fu Tao. Kabal's favorite toy is not a game designers conjured up idea of a crazy pair of swords. These things are for real, and they are really deadly.

To watch a Shaolin Monk perform with Fu Tao is a wonder to behold. These hooked swords are as dangerous to the Monk wielding them as they are to their opponent. The monk will constantly twirl the swords and with a flash he can strike with the razor sharp edges.

The sword blade is narrow and the tip curls forward into a hook. The edges are sharpened so that anything that slips into the hook can be snared. The hooks have a variety of uses, including tripping an opponent or disarming. Another trick used by Shaolin is hooking two swords together to double the reach of the deadly blades twirling them out and slashing with the razor sharp dagger below the handle. The hand guard is a sharpened crescent moon with the points facing away from the hand. No matter what angle the blade strikes from, it can slice into a foe with ease.

Weapons & Warriors: The Yueya Chan of the Shaolin

This crazy looking pole arm is better known as the Monk’s Spade. Shaolin Monks carried a shovel when they traveled for various reasons, including digging holes for any corpses they might came across, so that they were given proper burial. The flat sharp blade also served as a weapon used in self-defense. The Shaolin Monks are pacifists and will not harm anyone, unless they are attacked. Once threatened however, the Shaolin have proven to be lethal adversaries.

The spade eventually evolved into the pole arm it is now and is one longest lasting weapon arts still practiced in the Shaolin arsenal today. I read somewhere it first appeared over 2,500 years ago. A crescent moon shaped blade was added to the pole opposite of the spade to sharpen both ends, and offer more balance to the cumbersome weapon. The overall length of the Yueya Chan is between six to seven feet and can vary in weight from 10 to 25 pounds, or even more. The width of the flat blade ranged between eight inches to more than a foot.

Weapons & Warriors: Update on Future Plans

For those of you looking for this week’s “Weapons Weekly” post, I just want to say thanks for the support and blog traffic. Weapons Weekly has really taken off since January and I am a little stunned and overwhelmed by the number of views the Weapons Weekly page itself has received. This week, however I am still researching 3 warrior cultures that I plan to post about over the next couple months. I don’t want to publish anything that is not fully explored or edited. I have had to correct a couple of my former posts because I found out after publishing that my research was not thorough enough. One I caught myself; another was pointed out to me. I find that embarrassing. I never claim to be an expert on anything, but I do have some pride. Research is vital.