The second classical Chinese martial arts weapon used in Tai Chi Chuan is the Qiang or spear, and a spear is really a staff with a metal head stuck on at least one end for stabbing, cutting and / or hooking depending on the type of head used. Of course the origin lies in the pointed sticks used for fighting and hunting by our forefathers and some, especially the lighter versions, were also used as javelins; the drawback being that as well as throwing away your weapon, it could also be used against you by its intended target. I have not come across reference in modern Chinese martial arts practice to the throwing of spears and I suspect this was almost exclusively a military use of the weapon.
Various types of spear can be found in the hands of deities such as Tai Gong Bing Fa (Supreme Lord of Military Affairs), but more importantly the spirit when using the spear is that of the dragon, an unpredictable and enigmatic character, like many a woman, and so there is much soaring and plunging, spiralling and thrusting.
There are two characters for Qiang, one with the radical for "metal" the other with the radical for "wood"; though a Qiang could theoretically be all wood or all metal, more usually in Chinese martial arts it consisted of a wooden body which usually tapered toward a metal head. This tapering was designed to make thrusting more efficacious and to make the business end more flexible so that you could use the spear to bounce away the attacks of an opponent forcing him to lose control of his weapon and thus also to bounce into a counter-attacking thrust, however, the excessive whippiness of modern Wu Shu spears is unsuitable for this.
The length of the spear can vary somewhat; this can partly be dictated by the height and strength of the exponent. However, when training in Hong Kong, we practised the spear form and drills with much longer (up to 3 metres) and therefore heavier spears than the ones we used for applications, which normally would be less than 2 metres long. Indeed, at a meeting of the Hong Kong Chinese Martial Arts Association, which I attended in the mid-Seventies, the consensus was that a gent's umbrella was better suited to be employed as a spear than as a sword or sabre as there was much greater control in defence and power in thrusting when using spear techniques.
The most common spear drill is so-called "sticking" or "entwining spears" where two exponents cross spears and walk in clockwise and anti- clockwise circles, while maintaining contact with the crossed spears and circling them also clockwise and anti-clockwise; in effect this is a kind of pushing hands with spears and is also useful in building basic arm and leg strength as well as unbalancing the opponent and trapping his spear.
The greatest advantage of the spear, its length, is also its greatest weakness. In Tai Chi Chuan spear strategy the object is usually to keep the opponent at the point of the spear, however, once the spear is seized or where a swordsman steps inside its range, the spearman is at a disadvantage. At close quarters the feet, butt, rear hand and body of the weapon are used in defence or attack and the spearman might have to let go of his weapon with one or both hands, so that he could close with and strike or grapple with his opponent. In medieval European weapon manuals there are many examples of this tactic. Even possession of a (normally) two-handed weapon such as the spear didn't obviate the necessity of acquiring empty-handed skills.
There are various on guard positions with the spear as with the other weapons, but in most the point is kept towards the opponent. In the Celtic tradition entering a strange land with the spear pointing forward was a declaration of war, but carrying it on the shoulder was a token of friendship. I doubt the shades of the great Chinese spear masters of former times would argue with this tradition.
Ji Xiao Xin Shu, (New Book Examining the Records) as well as containing his Quan Jing (Classic of Boxing), has spear and staff techniques and drills also attributed to Ming dynasty General Qi Ji-guang (1528-87). As is the case with Tai Chi weapon techniques, some have purely functional names such as "Low Thrust Technique" while others borrow names from Chinese history and myth such as "Running Horse Turning Its Head" (From a story about a Chinese Emperor who went to Tai Shan to present offerings to the gods) or even literature such as "Black-eared Kite Flies, Fish Leaps" (from the Book of Odes, also quoted in Mencius).
The principles of spear include adhering, connecting, entwining and stabbing; lifting and hitting, dragging and dotting, often using the opponent's weapon to unbalance him or as a platform to bounce into a thrust, thus making attack out of defence.
There are 8 major ways of using the Qiang. These are:-
These are essentially the orthodox techniques. The first four are the warp (vertical and horizontal; the latter four are the woof (diagonal). In addition the butt and body of the Qiang could be used for striking and pushing, one or both hands could disengage and / or the feet could be used at close quarters. The spear could also be used horizontally to push, pull back an opponent or a group of people.
Altogether, it is a great weapon for developing focus and learning how to use total body force. When thrusting, the front index finger should point to the target. Firstly, this helps to develop focus and secondly the extended index finger prevents the front hand and thumb from being put out of action if the opponent has a bladed weapon (though the index finger won't be feeling too clever).
It is a great pity that so many Tai Chi Chuan practitioners never learn the spear. I have taught spear to perhaps more than one thousand students over the years, only a handful are able to demonstrate the combination of power and precision that is required. Regular practice of Tai Chi Nei Kung is essential for quality spear play.
In Part 5 I will discuss the Jian (double-edged sword)