Wing Chun Sect's Unique Cold Weapon - Wing Chun Twin Knives

The Wing Chun Sect's unique cold weapon - Wing Chun Twin Knives

The Chinese martial arts have a long history and have developed into numerous martial arts sects. Each school has its own unique weapons and techniques, unique to China's Southern Boxing Butterfly Twin Knives and its knife is one of the essence of the Chinese martial arts. When was the Butterfly Knives born?

Origin

It is difficult to find written records about the origin of the Butterfly Knives. An early legend has it that the Butterfly Knives originated from the Cai Li Fo school of martial arts in Guangdong. The legend is that when Lin Zexu was training the navy, Chen Xiang, the patriarch of Guangdong Cai Li Fo School, taught the Qing army officers and soldiers the butterfly double knives, which were used to fight against the British army's gun bayonets that invaded China. At that time, the Butterfly Double Knives used by the Qing army officers and soldiers were each held in the left and right hand. Butterfly double knife blade is shorter, the back half of the blade is thicker, sharp tip, handguard set into the shape of a hook.

This form is good for poking and stabbing, and easy to block. The name of the Butterfly Twin Knives comes from this - the two knives were used at the same time, and the two knives were crossed and placed flat together, just like a butterfly. In close combat, the Qing army used the Butterfly Double Swords, first of all, one knife slapped the lance and hooked open the barrel, followed by another knife waiting for an opportunity to attack, stabbing at the British army. Butterfly double knife of this knife method is good, but because of the Qing army was already retreating, and the knife is difficult to deal with firearms, and ultimately did not win the battle with the British. (To learn more about the sword, add the master of WeChat: longquanjian1)

Shape

Butterfly Double Sword's blade length is about the same as an adult's forearm, which makes it easy to hide the knife in loose sleeves or boots, and more suitable for turning and other operations in close-range battles. The Butterfly Twin Knives have a wide blade that resembles two large sheets of iron.

There are also butterfly knives with long, narrow blades and sharp points for poking and stabbing, and they were used in the old days of warfare. Most modern martial artists use butterfly knives with wide blades and curved tips, such as the quarter-circle. These butterfly knives are mainly used for cutting and slashing, which is not fatal to opponents in actual combat.

Design

Traditional butterfly knives only have an edge from the middle of the blade to the tip, but not from the middle of the blade to the hilt, a feature that can be seen on butterfly knives made during the Qing Dynasty. The reason for this design is that the bladeless part of the blade can be used for non-lethal attacks, and can also be used to block an opponent's weapon in a sparring match to avoid blade damage.

The design of the Butterfly Dual Knife can be modified to suit different techniques, from the choice of material, blade length, blade width, to the shape of the handguard, and can even be customized to suit the user's personal preferences. As a result, the traditional Butterfly Dual Sword was not a mass-produced weapon, and there are almost no two sets of identical Butterfly Dual Swords to be found in surviving collections.

Transmission of the knives

In the Wing Chun school, the Butterfly Knives of the Grandmaster Ip Man were taught only to a few of his early disciples, and not to those who came later, such as Bruce Lee. Usually, when practicing the Butterfly Dual Sword, the beginner first holds a knife in one hand to practice the single knife technique, and then holds a knife in each hand to practice the whole set of knife technique after the single knife technique is well practiced.

After practicing the set of knife skills, then advance to the actual combat skills. In the practice of actual combat knife skills, the old generation of boxers are used to practice with wooden knives and bamboo knives without blades, which will not cause any major injuries. In the process of sparring, gradually work out the judgment of size distance in sparring, the timing of the response to change and the ability to perceive the scene.

Beginners practice, the most basic stance is to keep the two knives in a figure-eight shape, the tip of the two knives facing outward, the distance between the two knives is fixed, the direction of movement is the same, which is equivalent to the user holding a figure-eight weapon. Therefore, when a beginner learns the Butterfly Twin Knives/Eight Cutting Knives, he usually bolts a rope between the two knives to keep the distance between them.

Summary

To this day, the Butterfly Double Knife is still considered by many Chinese martial artists to be the perfect combination of offense and defense. The Butterfly Double Knife is extremely popular among the vast number of martial arts enthusiasts in the southern region of China. A large number of folk practitioners of schools such as Wing Chun and Hung Gar Kung Fu are also dedicated to practicing and passing on the Butterfly Double Knife style. In addition to martial arts enthusiasts, the Butterfly Double Knife has also attracted many people to practice it for physical fitness.