Eighteenth 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.

Chinese Long Handle Battle Axe

The ancient Chinese axe (Fu), often referred to as the Buddhist axe, is one of the twelve insignias of Chinese imperial power. During the Shang Dynasty (1751-1111 BC), the long handle battle axe was used by its soldiers on horseback. Other historical accounts of the battle axe had placed it around the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). Today, the long handle battle axe is listed as one of the eighteen classical weapons of the Chinese martial arts. Since there is very little information on the subject, let me offer you more insight on this ancient Chinese weapon. There are basically five types of Chinese long handle battle axes. They are: the large axe head (Da Fu Tou), the iron plated axe (Ban Fu), the filing axe (Tso Ji Fu), the moth eyebrow axe (Ngo Mei Fu), and the male phoenix head axe (Feng Tou Fu).

In the Zhaobao town of Henan Province, China, the long handle battle axe is taught at the Zhaobao style Taiji Quan Association. This forty-five movements form is called, "Zhaobao Grand Ultimate Large Axe" (Zhaobao Taiji Da Fu). Learning this form will teach you sixteen basic axe techniques. They are: to stir (Liao), to chop down (Kan), to point (Dian), to split (Pi), to embrace (Bao), to cut into two (Zhan), to cloud (Yun), to flick (Tiao), to stab (Zha), to support (Tuo), to obstruct (Lan), to press down (Ya), to sweep (Sao), to smear (Mo), to intercept (Jie), and to push (Tui). Trust me, this heavy weaponry form will give you a demanding workout.

If you are up for another challenge, there is the "Taiji Praying Mantis Splitting the Mountain Axe form" (Taiji Tang Lang Pi Shan Fu). In 1987, my teacher, Mr. David Cheng gave me the opportunity to go to Hong Kong and learn more Taiji Praying Mantis Boxing from his teacher, Grandmaster Chao Chu Chi. My brothers, Brian Cheng and Bob Tom also went to Hong Kong to pay their respect to and learn from Grandmaster Chao.

This long handle axe form consist of forty-five movements and twelve basic axe techniques. They are: to stir (Liao), to split (Pi), to stab (Zha) to block (Jia), to cover (Gai), to press downward (Ya), to chop downward (Kan), to intercept (Jie), to obstruct (Lan), to circularly cut (Zhan), to embrace (Bao) and to push (Tui).

The first axe technique is to stir. You can find this technique in movements 2, 12, 14, and 25, "Step forward and stir the axe" and in movement 20, "Turn the axe around and search the crotch."

The second technique is to split. There are three kinds of splitting techniques: the vertical split (Zheng Pi), the slanted split (Xie Pi), and the backward split (Xia Pi). The vertical split is found in movements: "Legs together to split the mountain" and in other splitting the mountain movements while turning the body, stepping forward, turning around or riding the horse stance. The slanted split is found in movement 4, "Turning the body, left climb the mountain splitting the neck." The backward split is found in movement 36, "Hua Shang cuts the back."

The third axe technique is the stab. There are three stabbing techniques, the upward stab (Shang Zha), the middle stab (Zhong Zha), and the backward upward stab (Hou Shang Zha). The upward stab is found in movement 26, "Right climb the mountain while pointing at the moon." The middle stab is found in movement 8, "Left climb the mountain, stab the heart axe" and movement 23, "Sweep of a thousand troops." The backward upward stab is found in movements 5 and 40, "Pointing to the star while looking at the moon."

The fourth axe technique is to block. As you might have already guessed, there is the upward block (Shang Jia) and the downward block (Xia Jia). The upward block is found in movement 11, 18, 30, and 32, "Tyrant King Wang lifts up the cauldron" and in movement 28, "Middle obstructing axe." The downward block is found in movement 31, "Right climb the mountain while pushing pass."

The fifth and sixth axe techniques are to cover and to press downward. Both of these techniques can be used together, found in movement 24, "Change handle and cover up-side-down," in movement 15 and 35, "Falling wild goose makes the sand smooth," and in movement 27, "Seizing the axe and press."

The seventh technique is to cut downward, found in movement 17, "Turning over the body while splitting right."

The eighth technique is to intercept, found in the first part of movement 23, "Sweep of a thousand troops."

The ninth technique is to obstruct, found in movements 28 and 29, "Right and left obstructing axe."

The tenth axe technique is to cut circularly, found in movement 37, "Turning around, entering the circle to cut opponent's wrist" and in movement 38, "Turning the body while entering the circle to cut opponent's wrist."

The eleventh technique is to embrace, found in movement 39, "Tie the horse to the post."

And finally, the twelfh axe technique is to push, found in movement 44, "Right climb the mountain while pushing the pillar."

In conclusion, this ancient Chinese weaponry requires more than just learning axe techniques. It requires a strong stance foundation along with quick and tactical footwork in order to master its functions of attacking and defending. In the eyes of the practitioners of Chinese martial arts, Chinese weaponry represent a living document and reference of the evolution of Chinese Boxing.

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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