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.
