In the millennia, in every human society, there has always been a category of people who dedicated their lives to the study of war techniques, perfecting the tools and exercises to master them.
To bridge the gap between man and other predatory animals, weapons were studied that simulated the damage caused by claws, jaws, beaks, rostrums, paws.
The dagger and, later, the sword are two universal weapons, two archetypes. The ax, as well as a symbol of power and lordship, is perfect for focusing strength and creating great damage ; the clubs were created to get the best of light armor and armor, but the great revolution came with bows, slingshots, crossbows and all body weapons .
Even today many martial arts continue the study of weapons, often in aesthetic forms of rare beauty, considering these practices as fundamental for the acquisition of precision, coordination, self control, timing .
Some martial arts of self-defense instead provides a practical training, especially as regards the defense and, partially, the attack with weapons that are not excessively harmful, such as the sticks, for example.
Weapons in martial arts: the sword
One of the main weapons in all its variations: the Japanese katana, fencing saber, or the Chinese sword in the various kung fu.
The martial arts that still teach us its use are kendo, a martial art that is both practical and contemplative, capable of giving a very high mastery of time and distance.
You can use the bokken (wooden sword) for the shapes and the shinai (bamboo broadsword) for competitions.
Fencing, an Olympic discipline, also has a very ancient origin and its noble sporting practice guarantees flexibility, lightning-fast reflexes, timing, athleticism, mobility.
Many styles of kung fu have the forms with the Chinese sword, with a straight and flexible blade; these are extremely aesthetic choreographies, which require acrobatic skills, an elastic physique, and a mastery of balance to the full, all elements that develop with practice.
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The weapons in the martial arts: the bow
There are various schools of archery, one of which is an Olympic discipline. The bow is one of the weapons that in history seen from the point of view of war, marked a real revolution.
Originally it was a hunting tool applied to war. In the West there are schools of the highest level, where concentration, self-mastery, equanimity are taught. In the East the main martial art is kyudo, the art of the bow of the ancient samurai.
In addition to the practical aspect, precisely framed by both standing and riding, kyudo is proposed as a ceremonial, meditative discipline, strongly connected to zen and to the attempt to silence the mind.
The weapons in the martial arts: the dagger
The dagger or knife is one of the most practical weapons and often used in real contexts because of the ease with which it is hidden and transported.
There are various military disciplines that teach the offensive use of the dagger, while the "civilian" martial arts teach above all how to defend themselves from an attack perpetrated with a dagger .
Many types of kung fu, krav maga and various modern systems of self defense and, partially, aikido, always develop this martial branch. There are also numerous schools around the world of knife-throwing .
Weapons in martial arts: the stick
Many martial arts study the stick for different reasons : an easy tool to find and transport and not particularly lesiv (it does not penetrate or cut).
It was the weapon of the monks, who used to travel with a stick and without other weapons. In Japan we find the bojutsu, the art of the long stick, sometimes connected to karate; in China there are various disciplines of kung fu that study the stick, which can range from 30 cm to two and a half meters, as in the wing chun stick exercises.
The main martial art with stick, or better, sticks, is the escrima or kali, which over the centuries has developed the use of two superfine sticks, for this reason studied all over the world.
Other weapons in the martial arts
The most famous of the less conventional martial weapons is the nunchaku, brought to the public's attention by Bruce Lee. Like many weapons such as sickles, tridents and halberds, it is part of the group of weapons originating from the agricultural context ; in fact it was used to beat cereals . Its use requires a lot of coordination, timing, and manual skills worthy of juggling.
Although its use is complicated in principle, the nunchaku can generate more force than that generated by the stick. It is generally practiced together with karate.
