四大名器

Sì Dà Míng Qì

The Four Classic Chinese Weapons

Moving Beyond Choreography into Combat

武術 Wǔshù

武 Wǔ: Military, Martial

術 Shù: Method, Skills, Art

Chinese civilization as we know it was born out of war. The centuries of incessant warfare, that gave rise to the Qin and then the Han, laid the foundations for empire and expansionism. Centuries upon centuries of violence have embedded martial culture into the Sinitic peoples. By the Ming dynasty, the Chinese martial arts and weapons had developed through the medieval era’s armor and gunpowder as well as received regional and Turko-Mongol influence. From militia to military the Chinese martial arts were well tooled to drill men in the use of arms. Til the end of the Qing dynasty, most villages had a martial artist who taught the locals how to fight, often beginning with staves as a foundation then branching in other weapons.

The Ming dynasty saw intense innovation and optimization in order to face the threats posed by the Mongols to the north and the Wako pirates to the south. Some of the martial skills came up from the regional level and were disseminated across the empire, while other skills filtered down to the folk level from the military. The Qing dynasty continued many of these methods and civilians often trained Wushu to protect their villages from bandits and rebels or to serve in the Green Standard Armies of the Qing.

The Wandering Warrior’s journey has seen him train in a variety of Chinese martial arts. The battlefields of old have faded into history, yet he is determined to revive the skills for the sake of the culture.

棍

Staff

The 棍 Gùn “staff” was the quintessential self-defense weapon for travelers as the Chinese countryside was fraught with wild animals and bandits. It was also the basis of most polearm training and so gave the user excellent foundational coordination.

槍和刀

Spears & Sabers

The 槍 Qiāng “spear” was the primary battle weapon. More than any other civilization, Chinese spearmen utilized the sliding thrust to devastating effect. The spear continued to be used by village militias into the 1920s. The 刀 Dāo “saber” was the sidearm of Chinese soldiers, bandits, and guards. It has ferocious cutting power and is effective on horseback and on foot.

劍

Sword

The 劍 Jiàn “sword” was the weapon of gentry and local strongmen leading the militias. In the Qing dynasty, Guizhou was famous for sword-armed duelists and vigilantes. The double-edged cut and thrust capabilities of the Chinese sword made it a versatile weapon for dueling, self-defense, and battle.

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Wushu Crucible

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Our wushu is a mixed martial art composed of various weapon skill sets. Through Shifu Randy Brown and those he learned from, we have inherited 五郎棍 Wulang staff, 華林棍 Wah Lum staff, 梅花槍 Mei Hua spear, 燕青刀 Yan Qing dao/saber, 軍中大刀 Military dadao, and some 太極劍 Taiji jian/sword. To that we've added more saber skills, 武當劍 Wudang sword, 峨眉槍 Emei spear, and Ming era wushu manuals such as pikemanship, crossbow, and two handed saber. It is from this base of traditional Chinese martial arts that we created the system of training for the 四大名器 Sì Dà Míng Qì：The Four Classic Chinese Weapons.


    Vincent has gone on to learn the Hokkien-Taiwanese skills in staff fighting, use of 掃刀 naginata-like glaives, 關刀 Guan Dao, 藤牌 Rattan shield and 蝴蝶雙刀 paired butterfly swords and the battlefield know how of his people. Taryk has fully dedicated himself to the way of the sword and its essential principles and strategies. Both have cross-trained in other weapon arts.

  • This is an arduous process that begins with studying the historical and cultural context behind the skills we've inherited. We must also study the material culture, i.e. antique swords or other weapons. We may also utilize perspectives gained from other weapon arts, physics, kinesiology, etc. to bolster our understanding. With that multi-disciplinary approach we can create training regimens that make full use of the movements and skills of wushu by creating microcosms of their intended contexts... and then spar frequently and with purpose.

  • Yes, a lot. After having established our foundation in wushu, we branched out into various arts to gain other perspectives on weapons fighting and dueling. Vincent continues to delve into Taiwanese, Filipino, and Spanish methods. Taryk studies The Book of 5 Rings, kendo, La Verdadera Destreza (mainly rapier), European longsword, and spadroon. We cross-train, spar, study, and analyze other arts to gain an understanding of the underlying universal principles and better contextualize the efficacy and specialties of Chinese wushu.

  • Culture is incredibly important. When training wushu, it is best for one to embody the ethos of the Chinese warrior - whether a farmer as a militiaman, a pioneer fighting on the frontier, a caravan guard fending off bandits, or a soldier sent to far off battlefronts. To properly incubate the skills and mentality for wushu, we promote these values:

  • If you take the Online Course: 四大名器 The Four Classic Chinese Weapons, or train with us in person, if you have proven yourself in fighting and conduct yourself in the values of the martial culture, then you will be considered. Those who are certified will be recognized by us here as a registered and certified master-at-arms.

Sharpening a dulled martial art

With advent of modern firearms and the fall of the Qing dynasty, cold weapon skills became less and less relevant on the field of battle. Additionally the Chinese government pursued a policy of promoting acrobatic expressions of 套路 Tàolù (forms, sequences) as 武術 Wǔshù, further neutering combat capabilities. However, legitimate taolu and training manuals as well as some of the knowledge was passed down to us.

Taryk Alsagoff and Vincent Tseng set out to take the dulled but still intact skills of Chinese Wushu and sharpen them, both within themselves as fencers, but pedagogically as well so that they could teach these martial skills better than they themselves were taught.

Beginning with weapon sets from Yang Taiji and Seven Star Mantis Boxing’s curriculums, they used a principles and physics based methodology for understanding, training, and transmitting Wushu. Later, training manuals from the Ming and Qing dynasties became readily available. They also cross-trained and competed in other weapon arts to gain understandings from different perspectives.

By combining the skills and wisdom of the past with a disciplined and respectful, but fundamentally combative training environment, Taryk and Vincent were able to revive these skills which had begun losing their edge. Methods are constantly tested in a Darwinian fashion. Concepts and techniques which do not stand up to battle are reworked and improved. Thus, our “Wushu Crucible” was born.