[WushuPadawan001]

Quick questions on Chinese weapons

First: In Fist of Legend (remake of Fists of Fury) Jet Li uses his belt in the last fight as a sort of whip. I?m trying to figure out what weapon this was adapted from because it seems to be very practical. Seems to me that a belt resembles a?..nine section chain? Is that what it?s called?

Second: Just out of pure robo-curiosity, were there any Kung Fu styles that used a bow? Probably not, just archery, but you never know. I?ve looked around the web but found nothing. You never know (hell, there?s a form that uses a stool as a weapon, not sure what style though). I can think of some cool moves that could be done with a bow in melee combat.

[Tease T Tickle]

In a pinch, a bow can be used to strike, much like a quarter staff, but the wood needed for bows has to light and flexible to give the arrow as much snap as possible, whereas staves need to be rigid to be effective striking weapons. You could use a bow as such, but you'd probably just break it, and then you couldn't be a good archer anymore.

[Bloodybirds]

Wushu, there is another movie, I cannot remember which one, where Jet uses a fire hose as a rope dart to great effect....it was awesome. The moves you are talking about in Fist of Legend with the belt are closely aligned with both 9 chain whip and rope dart, two weapons Jet is very proficient with, but not as good as his Beijing Wushu teammate in Arizona Jing Hung Le (spelling may be off, same guy that has a large internet martial arts supply business and is at most tourneys, Wushu he is at both Orlando and Dallas. Besides Sifu Bolt of course, this wushu master in Arizona is a teammate of Jet's and considered the best in the world at rope dart and 9 chain whip. He never lost with either in many years of competition in China with the Beijing troupe).

[BLACK PANTA]

now you know i have to be a stickler. Fist of Legend wasn't really a remake, but more of a tribute to Bruce Lee.

[Bloodybirds]

I agree with that assessment, though wasn't the person he portrayed, a historical figure, out for revenge after his master was poisoned? BP, I believe in both movies there was some historical context to this? Just like alot of movies by Jet and Jackie portrayed Wong Fei Hung in one manner or another.

[BLACK PANTA]

The beauty of KF, is that just because a form has you using a stool, or a sword doesn't mean you are only restricted to those specific weapons. There are stick forms that can be performed without the stick. The forms are to teach you how to move, positions, reaction, familiarity etc etc. It is not a surprise to see someone using a belt, shoelace, or even a branch they've found on the road.

[Bloodybirds]

In the end, is that not one of the end games of Chinese weapon training...besides learning to extend one's power, reach, chi, etc. but able to take empty hand forms and convert into weapons and vice versa. Doing this will allow, like BP points out, to adapt to one's surroundings in the modern era and use what is available. Wushu, just watch Sifu sometimes when he is running a weapon and then runs the same form with out it. As a matter of fact, our two person tai chi gim set is actually Sifu Bolt's adaptation of a Shaolin set to taiji methodologies, both with and without the weapon.

In fact, in the old days (ha, ha) I remember my first two teachers showing me how to use the sash (belt) as a defensive weapon against knives and empty hands...besides striking weapons, they can be used effectively as quasi chin na and deflection weapons. Try it, you'll like it.

[setsu nin to]

I dont remember that I watch Fist of Legend, but that weapon could be Nine sections whip, chain, string dart, or some other similar weapon.

[samurai6string]

There is a Ryu of Jujutsu that focuses on using the obi (belt) in much the way you are describing, BloodyBirds, for deflection/parrys and for locks and takedowns.

[Bloodybirds]

Sashes and belts are wonderful defenses against knife attacks and other armed assailants, especially from a control and deflect methodology.