Fifteenth in a series: Sifu Randy Choy is a well-respected martial arts teacher in Hawaii. Sifu Fong thanks him for graciously sharing his thoughts on training here.

Spring and Autumn Large Knife

The military sage, General Guan Yu, made the large knife famous during the Three Kingdoms Period (A.D. 25-220). He was known for his tremendous strength, his fighting abilities, and for being a champion for the opposed.

Even the originator of Taijiquan Boxing, General Chen Wangting, used the large knife as his favorite weapon of choice. General Chen appears in a painting with Jiang Fa holding a large knife on the wall of the Chen family shrine.

So, the Chen family did practice the large knife. They called it, "Spring and Autumn Large Knife" (Chun Qiu Dai Dao). This is a very unique weapon form consisting of thirty movements. The have such unique movements as, "General Guan carrying the large knife, the white ape draws the large knife, the tiger leaps suddenly, holding the moon, the bronze gavel, the iron bar, the rolling curtains to dragon wading in the water." In order to learn this large knife style, you have to practice thirteen large knife techniques. They are as follows: to chop (Pi), to cut (Kan), to stir (Liao), to hang (Gua), to cut circularly (Zhan), to smear (Mo), to intercept (Jie), to obstruct (Lan), to pluck (Tiao), to thrust (Ci), to push (Tui), to drag (Tuo), and to block (Jia).

It was said that General Chen Wangting of Shangdong Province had once defeated more than a thousand bandits and was given the nickname, "Equal to Guan Yu." If you want to acquire such a distinguished title, start practicing General Guan Yu's large knife and the principles of his life.

In the Taiji Praying Mantis Boxing style, there are three large knife forms. There is the horse cutting knife (Jhau Ma Dao), the Green Dragon Crescent Moon knife (Ching Long Yian Yue Dai Dao) also known in Vietnam as (Lu Lian Dai Dao), and the Spring and Autumn Large Knife (Chun Qiu Dai Dao). Both Spring and Autumn large knife forms of the Chen family boxing style and the Taiji Praying Mantis boxing style, each have their own distinct flavor with similar knife techniques. The Taiji Praying Mantis Spring and Autumn Large Knife form consist of sixty-three movements and sixteen large knife techniques. They are as follows: to chop (Pi), to stir (Liao), to intercept (Jie), to cut circularly (Zhan), to press down (Ya), to cut (Kan), to block (Jia), to pluck (Tiao), to smear (Mo), to embrace (Bao), to sharpen (Xue), to slap (Pai), to push (Tui), to hang (Gua), to cut upwards (Ge), and to handle block (Gua).

The first knife technique is the chop. There are two kinds of chops: the vertical chop (Zheng Pi) and the slanted chop (Xie Pi). The vertical chop is found in posture 3, "Turning around to chop the mountain," in postures 12, 14, 16, and 37, "Turning body, chopping the mountain," in posture 13, "Spiritual dragon rides and chops," in posture 21, "Enter the circle to chop the mountain," in posture 29, "Turn back chopping the mountain," in posture 35, "Right hill climbing, chopping the mountain," in posture 41, "Forward step and chop the mountain," and in posture 56, "Jade ring chops right." The slanted chop is found in posture 39, "Drag leg cutting the neck," in posture 58, "Right hill climbing, chopping the neck," and in posture 59, "Turn body, left hill climbing, chopping the neck."

The second technique is the stir. This is a very common technique found in posture 3, "Zhao Chong offers his knife," in postures 11 and 20, "Turn knife around searching for the crotch," and in postures 32, 50, 51, and 52, "Searching the crotch and kick."

The third technique is to intercept. You can find this technique in postures 8, 47, and 57, "Snowflakes covering overhead," and in posture 49, "Small dragon swings its tail."

The fourth technique is the circular cut. It is found in posture 9, "Turn body and cut the waist in two," and in posture 48," Left hill climbing, cut the waist."

The fifth technique is to press down, found in postures 15, 30, and 36, "Falling wild goose makes the sand smooth."

The sixth knife technique is to cut, found in posture 17, "Turn body and cut right," and in posture 24,"Turn back the knife and cut."

The seventh technique is to block, found in posture 18, "Tyrant king lifts up the cauldron," and in posture 26, "Display the knife and support the leg."

The eighth knife technique is to pluck, found in posture 22, "Famous General Gwan wearing his clothes." The ninth technique is to smear. It is found in posture 23, "Chai Yang cuts his adversary," in posture 27, "Horizontally sharpen ten thousand times," and in posture 53, "Right hill climbing, smearing strike to the neck."

The tenth is to embrace, found in posture 42, "Tie the horse to the post," and in posture 44, "Tyrant king invites his guests." The eleventh knife technique is to sharpen, found in posture 31, "Spiritual dragon swings its tail." The twelfh technique is to slap, found in posture 52, "After searching the crotch, right kick.

The thirteenth technique is to push, found in posture 61, "Left hill climbing push the pillar."

The fourteenth knife technique is to hang, found in posture 17, "Turn body over and chop right."

The fifteenth technique is to cut upwards, found in posture 45, "Defeated gesture." And the sixteenth technique is the handle block, found in posture 62, "Equal step shakes the pillar." Like many of the long weapon styles, you can use the knife butt as a strike, found in posture 25, "Single leg stance, offering the knife, " in posture 40, "Side-by-side with butt end strike," and in posture 54, "Hanging stance with butt end strike."

In conclusion, the core teaching of the Chen family says that, "A decent and upright person learns the large knife in order to keep his body healthy and strong, and to defend himself..." So don't get lazy, get smart. Proper and correct, persistent and continuous training, will bring you continued success in the martial arts.

Mahalo,
Professor Randy Choy
Founder of the Chinese Athletic Arts Academy
Advisor to the Hawaii Martial Arts International Society
Chuk Kai Tai Chi Praying Mantis Organization, Hawaii

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