Chinese Staff
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A ''gun'' (pronunciation , English approximation: , ) or ''bang'' () is a long staff
weapon A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...
used in
Chinese martial arts Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...
. It is known as one of the four major weapons in Chinese martial arts, along with the ''qiang'' (spear), ''dao'' (sabre), and the ''
jian The ''jian'' (Mandarin Chinese: , , English approximation: , Cantonese: ) is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China. The first Chinese sources that mention the ''jian'' date to the 7th century BCE, during the S ...
'' (straight sword). It is called, in this group, "The Grandfather of all Weapons". In Vietnam (as a result of Chinese influence), the gun is known as ''côn'' in
Vietnamese martial arts Traditional Vietnamese martial arts (''Võ thuật Cổ truyền Việt Nam''; Chữ Hán: 武術古傳越南) often referred to as Võ thuật (Chữ Hán: 武術), can be loosely divided into those of the Sino-Vietnamese descended from t ...
.


Variants and styles

The gun is fashioned with one thick end as the base and a thinner end near the tip, and is cut to be about the same height as the user or 6 foot. Besides the standard ''gun'', there are also
flail Flail may refer to: * Flail (tool), an agricultural implement for threshing * Flail (weapon) A flail is a weapon consisting of a striking head attached to a handle by a flexible rope, strap, or chain. The chief tactical virtue of the flail i ...
-like two section and three section varieties of the staff as well as non-tapered heavier variants. Numerous Chinese martial arts teach the staff as part of their curriculum, including (in English
alphabet An alphabet is a standard set of letter (alphabet), letters written to represent particular sounds in a spoken language. Specifically, letters largely correspond to phonemes as the smallest sound segments that can distinguish one word from a ...
ical order): *
Bagua The ''bagua'' ( zh, c=八卦, p=bāguà, l=eight trigrams) is a set of symbols from China intended to illustrate the nature of reality as being composed of mutually opposing forces reinforcing one another. ''Bagua'' is a group of trigrams—co ...
seven star rod () or Seven Star Stick (Qi Xing Gun), also called the Whip Stick (Bian Gun) or Heart High Stick (Xin Gun) - it is lighter and faster than the Ba Gua Staff, it can be used one-handed or two-handed. * Bailangan, Northern staff () *
Nangun The Nangun () is a variation of the application of the "gun" (northern Chinese staff), which is an event in competitive wushu taolu. It is based on staff techniques emanating from Southern Chinese martial arts ( nanquan). Its movements stress hit ...
, Southern staff () * Pigua Zhang's Feng Mo Gun - 'Frenzied Demon Staff' (劈掛拳 瘋魔棍). * Shaolin Zhui Feng Gun - 'Wind Chaser Staff' (虎勇敢) * Qún Yáng Gùn, Shepherd staff (This routine is performed with a straight heavy red oak staff) * Six and a half point pole () * Staff of five tigers and goat herds () * Taiji staff () * Taiji thirteen staff () Bailangan and nangun are frequently found in modern wushu competitions in gunshu and nangun events respectively. The IWUF has created three different standardized routines and an elementary routine for gunshu and two different routines for nangun.


In contemporary wushu

''Gunshu'' refers to the competitive event in modern
wushu Wushu may refer to: Martial arts * Chinese martial arts, the various martial arts of China * Wushu (sport) Wushu () (), or kung fu, is a competitive Chinese martial art. It integrates concepts and forms from various traditional and modern ...
taolu where athletes utilize a gun in a routine. It was one of the four main weapon events implemented at the 1st World Wushu Championships due to its popularity. Modern staffs are often made from
wax wood ''Ligustrum lucidum'', the broad-leaf privet,Weed profile: Privet
New So ...
or
rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan (from Malay language, Malay: ''rotan''), is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the clos ...
, both of which are strong woods, but flexible and light. Some versions may also feature metal or rubber parts, and the current modern staffs for competition are usually made of light carbon fiber. The newer staffs do not break like the wax wood ones and are even lighter. The IWUF has also created three different standardized routines for competition as well as an elementary routine. The first compulsory routine was created and recorded by
Yuan Wenqing Yuan Wenqing (; born 1966) is a retired professional wushu taolu athlete from Shanxi, China. Nicknamed 'the prince of wushu,' he was known for his explosive speed and power, and is still widely regarded as one of the greatest wushu practitioner ...
in 1989. Gunshu routines in international competition require certain staff techniques including: Píng Lūn Gùn (Horizontal Cudgel Windmill Wave), Pī Gùn (Cudgel Chop), Yún Gùn (Cudgel Cloud Waving), Bēng Gùn (Cudgel Tilt), Jiǎo Gùn (Cudgel Enveloping), Chuō Gùn (Cudgel Poke), Lì Wǔ Huā Gùn (Vertical Figure 8 with the Cudgel), Shuāng Shǒu Tí Liāo Huā Gùn (Two-handed Vertical Cudgel Uppercut). Only the Píng Lūn Gùn and Lì Wǔ Huā Gùn techniques have deduction content (codes 64 and 65 respectively).


See also

*''
Ruyi Jingu Bang Ruyi Jingu Bang (), or simply Ruyi Bang or Jingu Bang, is the poetic name of a magical staff wielded by the immortal monkey Sun Wukong in the 16th-century classic Chinese novel ''Journey to the West''. Anthony Yu translated the name simply a ...
'', Sun Wukong's weapon *'' Ji'', halberd *''
A (''pong'' (Korean); ''pang'' (Cantonese); ''bang'' (Mandarin); ''kun'' (Okinawan)) is a staff weapon used in Okinawa. ''Bō'' are typically around long and used in Okinawan martial arts and Japanese arts such as bōjutsu. Other staff-relate ...
'' and ''
A is an approximately wooden staff, used in some Japanese martial arts. The martial art of wielding the jō is called ''jōjutsu'' or ''jōdō''. Also, ''aiki-jō Aiki-jō (Kanji: 合気杖 Hiragana: あいきじょう) is the name given ...
'', Japanese staves *''
Quarterstaff A quarterstaff (plural quarterstaffs or quarterstaves), also short staff or simply staff is a traditional European polearm, which was especially prominent in England during the Early Modern period. The term is generally accepted to refer to a s ...
'', European staff *''
Juego del Palo or banot (, ''game of the stick''; ) is a traditional martial art/folk sport of stick-fighting practiced in the Canary Islands. It involves the combative use of a slender stick from long, wielded in both hands, and characterised by fluid motio ...
'', Canarian (Spanish) staff *''
Canne de combat Canne de combat is a French combat sport. As weapon, it uses a ''canne'' or Stick-fighting, cane (a kind of walking-stick) designed for fighting. ''Canne de combat'' was standardized in the 1970s for sporting competition by Maurice Sarry. The ''c ...
'', French staff *''
Jogo do Pau () is a Portugal, Portuguese and Spain, Spanish martial art which developed in the regions along the Minho (river), Minho River: Minho (province), Minho, Trás-os-Montes (region), Trás-os-Montes, Province of Pontevedra, Pontevedra and Province ...
'', Portuguese staff


References


External links


Some Basic Staff TutorialsShifu Alan Tinnion Representing Great Britain at the Open-World Invitational International Tournament of Chinese Games At Xian 1985 Gold Medal Performance 左 手 棍 Left Hand Staff
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gun (Staff) Ancient weapons Chinese martial arts Weapons of China Chinese polearms Events in wushu Stick and staff weapons