Wind and Fire Wheels

 

Wind and fire wheels are paired melee weapons associated with Chinese martial arts such as baguazhang and taijiquan. Visually, they resemble chakrams, although unlike chakrams, they do not throw weapons.

Each wheel is a flat metal ring about 38 cm (about 15 inches) in diameter. One quarter segment has a padded handle with a cross guard; the other three segments have protruding flame-like blades. With one wheel in each hand, the practitioner can slash, stab, parry, or disarm an opponent.

In the mythological story Fengshen Yanyi, Immortal Taiyi gave Nezha a wind wheel and a fire wheel. They stood as a magical tool while chanting spells.

Hook Sword

 

The hook sword, double hooks, fu tao, hu tou Gou (tiger hook) or Shuang Gou is a Chinese weapon traditionally associated with northern Chinese martial arts styles and wushu weapon practices, but is now commonly used in southern styles as well.

Reliable information about hook swords is hard to come by. Although it is sometimes referred to as an ancient weapon and described as dating from the Song Dynasty to the Warring States or even earlier, most ancient examples and artistic depictions date from the late Qing period or later, suggesting that it is a relatively new design. They were also exclusively civilian weapons, not included in any of China's official weapon lists. Extant pointed examples indicate actual use as weapons, but their rarity and the training required to use them strongly suggest that they were rarely used as such.

Also known as "tiger hook swords" or Qian ku ri Yue dao (literally "Sword of Heaven and Earth, Sun and Moon"), these weapons have a sharp blade similar to the Jian, though perhaps thicker or sometimes unsharpened, with a barb or a spike. hook (as a shepherd rogue) near the end. The guards are prominent, in the style of butterfly swords. Often, the hooks of paired weapons can be used to grab or redirect other weapons.

 A halberd has five parts:

• Back, often used as a normal sword.
• A bar hook was used to trip enemies, grab weapons and strike.
• The end of the handle that is sharpened.
• A crescent shield used for blocking, grappling and slashing.
• The link used when using a pair.

The two hooks can be loosely connected and the swordsman swings one hook sword, the other extends further, almost six feet. When the other is in the air, the dagger in the handle will cut the target. In this way, the operator can extend his reach from three feet to six. Hook sword exercises are taught in northern schools such as Northern Shaolin and Seven-Star Mantis, as well as some southern martial art schools such as Choy Lay Fut. Modern hook sword routines are often very spectacular and may include techniques such as combining paired weapons and using them as one long, flexible weapon. One person does most of the routines. Some Baguazhang schools also teach a similar weapon, often called the "deer antler knife" or "mandarin duck knife."

These weapons usually have a much shorter or missing main hook and instead focus on various cutting and stabbing blades around the sheath. Due to the various protruding parts and the high probability of accidental hooking or stabbing, they are almost never used in fighting and are rarely used in two-person routines.

Deer Horn Knives

 

Deer Horn Knives, also known as crescent knives or duck blades, are special Chinese bladed weapons consisting of two crossed blades. They are used in Chinese martial arts. This junction gives rise to four curved claw-like points, one of which is extended into a "head lobe".

The practitioner grasps the wrapped center of the elongated crescent while the other acts as a hand guard. They are relatively short weapons that can be easily hidden by traditional Chinese clothing and are usually used in pairs, one for each hand. Deer Horn Knives are particularly associated with the mild-style Chinese martial art of Baguazhang, known for its versatile weapons. They are mostly used to grab an opponent's weapon to help bind or break an opponent's weapon, arm an opponent, and other melee programs. Deer Horn Knives are usually used for longer weapons such as spears, swords, broadswords, or any weapon that uses a safe distance to attack. One advantage of the Deer Horn Knife over a longer weapon is that because Deer Horn Knives are direct appendages of the hands, they can be used with great speed and precision and are easily concealed and can easily be used to catch an opponent off guard.

Some variations of horn cutters include pairs where one crescent is longer than the other, with the larger blade presumably used as the "head hand" and the smaller blade as the "guard hand". Another variant of this weapon called Duck Knives.

Mandarin Duck Knives