Despite its lack of notoreity the double daggers are an ideal self-defense tool for today’s kung-fu student.
Jason William McNeil is an actor and writer who has actively trained in the Chinese martial arts since 1983. Michelle Lee is an actress, stuntwoman and martial artist whose films include Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World’s End and Trailer Park of Terror (actressmichellelee.com).
“For those concerned with survival in the urban jungle, kung-fu daggers might be the equalizers.”
In most kung-fu schools, where weapons training overwhelmingly favors anachronistic battlefield arms (swords, spears, staves and halberds) and exotic arsenal additions cooked up by honored ancestors (three-sectional staves, hooked swords, etc.), the simple dagger is quite tragically neglected.
Rarely practiced or performed, when the dagger does makes an occasional appearance it’s usually as half of an excitingly mismatched “fighting set,” pitting the dagger wielder against an opponent armed with a two-meter spear or long-handled broadsword. This provides a highly dramatic and highly unrealistic opportunity for the overwhelmed dagger-ista to showcase her speed and flexibility all around the opponent without ever once aiming for the center mass.
Perhaps this glaring omission of serious dagger-training makes some sense when one considers that for professional warriors, the dagger was never a primary armament—it was definitely a weapon of last resort, to be pulled only by the soldier who had been either unfortunate or clumsy enough to lose both his spear or pole-arm and sword and couldn’t quickly find a hefty, club-shaped piece of wood close at hand. Those that used daggers as primary weapon were often assassins, thugs and streetfighters.
Urban Survival
It may be way past high time, however, for 21st-century martial artists to take a second look at the virtues of serious dagger training. For those more concerned with survival in the urban jungle than victory on a medieval battlefield, kung-fu daggers just might be the ultimate equalizers.
Used singly or (more often) in pairs, kung-fu daggers—also known as “ring daggers”—offer the kung-fu fighter a number of advantages not found with other classical weapons. The first of these is portability and ease of concealment. While one can cite a number of valid reasons for training with the Kwan-dao or Manchu broadsword, practical self-defense doesn’t rank high among them. As has been said many times, in many places before, no matter how skilled the student becomes with it, he can’t practically carry a Kwan-dao around in his daily life, so its primary self-defense value is nil. However, a pair of daggers can be easily carried and concealed just about anywhere, any time, so as to be readily at hand in case of attack.
Several other practical advantages of kung-fu daggers derive from the characteristic rings on the ends of the handles. The lure of the pommel rings have led some practitioners to devote the majority of their ring dagger training and performances to wild and flashy flipping of the daggers. But the much-abused rings actually offer the knowledgeable user a number of quite serious opportunities for inflicting quick, easy and altogether horrific damage on an attacker.
Slashing and Stabbing
With the index finger hooked through the ring and the daggers held in a reverse grip, the fighter can use both slashing and stabbing techniques, as well as delivering devastating punches with the ring acting as a sort of single “brass knuckle.” Furthermore, the finger-through-the-ring position allows the fighter to open one or both hands to utilize grabbing and grappling techniques without having to worry about dropping the knives. With the possible exception of Ermei daggers, which were designed to be used while swimming, no other knife offers this sort of technical flexibility.
Indeed, it is that very flexibility that makes it an ideal tool of self-defense for the modern kung-fu student. As demonstrated in the accompanying photos, the ease of handling and unobtrusive nature of the double ring daggers allows an armed kung-fu fighter to utilize the full range of her empty-hand martial arts skills, including punches, kicks, traps and takedowns, with two razor-sharp blades thrown into the mix to push normally brutal techniques into the realm of the lethal. While mastery doesn’t come overnight, proficiency with the ring daggers normally comes quicker than with other weapons, and their seamless blending with empty-hand skills make them an ideal self-defense accessory for even an intermediate-level martial artist.
It should be noted that, even while being touted as one of the best and easiest to use of the classical kung-fu blades for modern self-defense, the ring dagger is not the end-all, be-all of fighting knives. Knife fighting—specifically knife vs. knife fighting—is a specialized skill that can take years to master. The tanto, various military, tactical and Bowie knives, the balisong are excellent knives, with deadly bladed fighting styles built around their swift and efficient use.
However, to quote Staff Sergeant Matt Larsen (U.S. Army Airborne Ranger training instructor), “What do you think the odds are that he’s got a knife, I’ve got a knife, we both know we have knives and we’re fighting? In real life, it’s not West Side Story. That’s not really what happens. If I’ve got a knife, I’m not going to let him know I have it. If he’s got a knife and I don’t, I’m probably going to leave….”
Hard to Beat
That having been said, while it behooves any serious martial artist to gain skill in realistic knifefighting, for the typical kung-fu student looking for a bladed, concealable urban equalizer that will easily mesh with their more familiar kung-fu skills for everyday self-defense, Chinese ring daggers are hard to beat!
According to Lynn Thompson of Cold Steel (whose “Shanghai Shadow,” incidentally, is an excellent, combat-quality version of the Chinese ring dagger), “The signature ring allows tremendous versatility when handling the knife, allowing a totally secure grip when the index finger is locked into place through the hole—it can be quickly changed from a forward to a reverse grip, and the broad leaf-shaped double-edged blade make it a superb cutting and thrusting weapon as well as a good throwing knife.”
For those interested in adding Chinese dagger skills to their self-defense repertoire, it’s a relatively easy addition to make. Like most kung-fu weapons training, it’s usually best to begin practice with solo forms training. First and easiest, of course, is to ask your sifu. If your style doesn’t include dagger forms, or if your teacher just never learned any, then there are several instructional DVDs and even a few books teaching traditional Chinese ring dagger forms. Solo forms exist in the white crane, choy lay fut, hung gar, various shaolin and a number of other systems.
Step one is to practice the solo form to proficiency, using it to get comfortable with the techniques, as well as the weight, feel and movement of the weapons.
Step two is to incorporate the ring daggers into your empty-hand skills. Go slowly at first; don’t throw a roundkick and stab yourself in the leg. Feel the slight differences in movement that the daggers demand, and the new variations on technique that they offer. Then see how basic techniques from the solo form fit into the mix.
Finally, as with any serious weapons training, the student will need to engage in controlled sparring with training blades (preferably aluminum), plenty of protective gear (fencing masks, jackets, gloves, etc.) and a skilled, trusted training partner. This is, sadly, the single most commonly neglected element of weapons training. Don’t hurt yourself or your partner, but just as with empty-hand fighting, you’ll never gain real skill just “swimming on dry land.” You’ve got to get in the water and try out your strokes with resistance and an element of (controlled) danger.
Considering the effectiveness and relative ease with which Chinese ring daggers can bridge the gap between traditional weapons training and contemporary self-defense, it’s hoped that kung-fu students and sifu worldwide will take a long look at the oft’ neglected, “red-headed step-child” of wushu weaponry, and consider moving it a bit closer to the front of the kwoon’s weapons rack.
Investigate all the Chinese ring daggers have to offer, and the life you save could be your own… or maybe one of your students.
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