Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts Blog

Six Reasons Why You Should Train with Traditional Martial Arts Weapons

internal arts training martial arts weapons traditional weapons Jul 22, 2014

Ken Gullette (right) practicing spear fighting techniques with Chris Miller.

I saw a cool video today that I'm not putting up because of the profanity involved. Two men on a commuter train begin punching and kicking another man repeatedly as other people in the train car look on, afraid to help. Except for one bystander who happened to be carrying a samurai sword. This young guy pulled out his sword and held it above his head in a good Samurai pose, ready to strike. He moved toward the attackers. They ran away and got off the train.

Apparently a sword can be an intimidating weapon in modern times.

I have some instructional weapons videos on YouTube, including one video on the fighting applications of the straight sword. Occasionally, an anonymous idiot will flame the video with a comment such as "That sword would be useless against a 9mm."

Ken practicing the Chen Double Broadsword Form with Kim Kruse.

To an outside observer who has never studied traditional martial arts, ...

A Lesson in Kung-Fu Etiquette for the Straight Sword (Jian)

chen straight sword form jian kung-fu weapons martial arts weapons Mar 03, 2014

Some people think it's useless to train in martial arts weapons such as the straight sword because we no longer have swordfights on the street.

I believe training with weapons is important to train body mechanics, coordination, and the ability to transmit internal power through the weapon. The same techniques that make a straight sword useful can also be used if you are attacked and can pick up a stick.

And, of course, weapons are cool, and isn't that one of the reasons we began studying in the first place? One of the coolest parts of Enter the Dragon was when Bruce Lee whipped out different weapons. His nunchaku action was a crowd favorite. I saw that movie in 1973 and spent a lot of time practicing nunchaku moves.

I still train weapons including the single and double sticks, staff, straight sword, broadsword, spear, and elk horn knives.

The straight sword, known in Chinese arts as the "Jian," is considered the "master's" weapon because of the skill it requires. In traditional A...

Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

Six Reasons Why You Should Train with Traditional Martial Arts Weapons

A Lesson in Kung-Fu Etiquette for the Straight Sword (Jian)

Some people think it's useless to train in martial arts weapons such as the straight sword because we no longer have swordfights on the street.

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