[I:http://www.mocds.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/AlCase25.jpg]People are always asking me about Martial Arts Weapons. Why are they funny shaped and how do they work? What’s the best Weapon in Tai Chi Chuan Karate, or Pa Kua Chang, or whatever.

The truth of this is contained in a thought so simple that most people never figure it out. There is, you see, an easy way to quantify what the various implements are, and this will give intuitive understanding as to how they work. That simple thought is…geometry.

Self defense weapons, no matter what the shape, are based on a straight line. The simplest and most basic is a pole. The pole is used for two things, bashing and poking.

Put a knife on the end of the pole and you have a spear. This is a pole with a sharp end. It is used for poking, and more delicate bashing.

Cut that pole in two and sharpen it up a bit and you have a sword. A Chinese Tai Chi Chuan sword, commonly called a Jian, when you think about it, is a rather lengthy knitting needle. You can use the tip for extended and rather delicate bashing, as of the throat, or you can just poke with it.

Curve the Jian and you have a samurai sword. Or a cutlass or some other big sounding name. Good for poking, but especially bashing.

Shorten the long edged weapon and you have a knife. Good for poking and Close Quarter bashing, of a sort. Easily hidden, great for opening boxes, and swell for putting a few nicks in that mugger who tries to take your wallet, grab your wife, invade your home, and so on.

So, knife to sword to pole to even gun…there is a line that defines the tool. The line can be hinged not at all or many times, or handled with little hand grips (a tonfa) poking out the side, and so on. And the the ultimate geometry of all martial arts weapons is making the decision as to whether the shape of the tool best supports poking or bashing.

There is much more to Martial Arts Weapons, and the most important work on their use, how to teach them, and so on, is available through the Blinding Steel course. Mouse on over over to Monster Martial Arts.