II.
THE MEDIEVAL WEAPONS

 

4 - The Shock-Arms

 

 

The BLADE-BREAKERS

« GIẢN »
(鐧)
&
« NGẠNH-TIÊN »
(硬 鞭)

 

 

 

 

      Although the Blade-Breakers - Giản (鐧) have a length equal to those of Sword and Sabre, a guard and a handlewith pommel like to those of Sword and Sabre, the body of Blade-Breakers is more heavy than those of Sword and Sabre, because they belong to «Shock-Arms» as the War Maces Chùy (鎚) and Trùy (錐).

 

 

 

     The Blade-Breakers wielding includes using techniques of « Single Blade-Beaker - Độc-Giản» (獨 鐧) and of « Two Matched Blade Breaker - Song-Giản» (双 鐧).

 

     
      The techniques of Blade-Breakers wielding have been celebrious since TANG period (618-907) throughout the figure ò Tần-Thúc-Bảo 秦 叔 寶 (Died in the year of 638), illustrious generallissimo well accustomed to the Blade-Breaker use.

      The Blade-Breakers have different names according to the respective forms of Blade-Breakers :

      1.- Hoàng-Kim-Giản ( 黄 金 鐧 ) = The Body of Blade-Breaker having four faces (with Square Section) ;
      2.- Lục-Lăng-Giản ( 六 稜 鐧 ) = The Body of Blade-Breaker having six faces (with Hexagonal Section) ;
      3.- Cữu-Tiết-Giản ( 九 節 鐧 ) = The Body of Blade-Breaker having nine internodes.

      In reality, the «Cữu-Tiết-Giản» (九 節 鐧) belongs to the category of « Rigid War Flails - Ngạnh-Tiên » (硬 鞭).

      When the internodes are slightly proeminent giving the striped appearance of tiger's tail to Blade-Breaker, this Blade Breaker is named « Tiger's Tail Rigid War Flails - Hổ-Vỹ Tiên » (虎 尾 鞭).

Tiger's Tail Rigid War Flails
« Hổ-Vỹ Tiên »
( 虎 尾 鞭 )

 

      It exists an another kind of « Rigid War Flails - Ngạnh-Tiên » (硬 鞭) whom body is a Flat Blade like those of Sword but holding notches along the double edge, extremely dreadful. This one belongs to the category of « Metal War Flails - Thiết Tiên » (鐵 鞭), including two kinds :

      1.- « Single Rigid War Flails - Độc-Ngạnh-Tiên » (獨 硬 鞭), still called « Single Metal War Flail - Độc-Thiết-Tiên » (獨 鐵 鞭), which is rarely used ;

 

      2.- « Two Matched Rigid War Flails - Song Ngạnh-Tiên (双 硬 鞭)», often called « Two Matched Metal War Flails - Song-Thiết-Tiên (双 鐵 鞭)», which are always used with one in each hand, and briefly called « Two Matched War Flails - SongTiên (双 鞭)».

      The celebrious Weapon « Two Matched Rigid War Flails » from Martial Arts Lands in Prefecture of An-Nhơn, the place where Grand-Master Trương-Văn-Hiến had been training Three Heros of Tây-Sơn Dynasty (Nguyễn-Nhạc, Nguyễn-Huệ and Nguyễn-Lữ), is the category of « Two Matched War Flails - SongTiên » speacially researched by Quang-Trung Emperor for using on battlefields, and called « Song-Tiên Dung Tiêu Kích » (双 鞭 融 鑣 擊).

      

       (To be continued...)

Committee of VÕ-TRẬN-ĐẠI-VIỆT Bình-Định Sa-Long-Cương FRANCE Martial Arts Masters TRỊNH Quang Thắng.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• The Blade-Breaker Wielding

 

 

 

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