I think the confusion about the weight of guan dao (as well as double axes) stems from there being historical versions which are very heavy but which were used for conditioning, rather than actual combat. Good video :)
You are correct, this type of weapon was used in the imperial military examinations there were 3 different weights for this test. The stone lock and bow also had 3 different weights to be chosen by the examinee during the test.
I think what's a genuine shame to martial arts, is we really don't have any hard concrete proof of how guan yus weapon was used in combat. A lot of people like to talk about weight, but personally, i think this is just a fictional flare to make the characters sound cooler. The Viking epics do it all the time. So ignoring that. We have some people claim it was largely a calvary weapon, much like the medievel horse lance. Which makes sense, its size and shape would be good for that. But how would one use it on the ground? We got a bunch of wushu stuff. But the average wushu expert will admit, the majority of their moves are for show and not actual fighting. Just sadly a lot of the historical texts in how this beast of a weapon was used just don't exist, we don't even know if it even saw wide military use. But after seeing some Japanese people spar with it, i believe it would honestly be best used in wide long-reaching swings, since essentially what you've done is attach a sword to a pole arm. Giving it a wide slashing reach that normal swords dont have.
It's not like performance art doesn't have tie to martial arts, figthers need livelyhood in time of piece that keep them fit and traveling theather troupes are subjected to bandit attacks. Looking at the applications of traditional forms, being able to do wushu forms wouldn't be detrimental when you know how to adjust it to the situation.
Bro, your content is extremely interesting and important for people, who do wushu. Moreover I'm from Russia, but I learn English and understand all words, which You said. I love wushu and Dadao(Guandao)!!! Thanks for this video! ❤❤❤
The purpose of a curved blade is to slash (the more pronounced the curved the better its slashing power dependent also on the weight behind the blade spine and blade itself) while a straight blade purpose was mainly for stabbing (while it could slash also in order to disable an enemy and gain an opening for the final stabbing move).
the 100kg version is a workout equipment use to test martial candidate's fitness during imperial exam in the ming and qing dynasty. it don really matter if its possible for ancient ppl to carry a 100kg weapon, the question is how long can he last wielding it ? the most 1 minute and thats it.
Guan Yu used spear, in that era of the 3 kingdoms, guan dao have not been invented and the craftmenship isn't as highly skilled to be able to craft a big curve blade such as a guan dao
could it work to let go with the forward arm at the end of the sing to gain a lot of range ? ofc you'd have to catch it again to keep momentum and be very strong but I'd like to test that
Yes, but that usually reserved for execution/finishing or strong move since you trade the nimble movement for range and power. That is why guan dao exercise doesn’t have much 1 handed or max range moves
This one is just for purposes of training and demonstration. This video is just for showing example the function of it. Real thing are more weight the blade must be more strong and stable.
A lot of blades are actually flexible. It's a style preference really. The more firm your blade, the stronger the slash but, at the con of being easier to break The more flexible it becomes, the harder it is to break, but edge alignment becomes more important. But to my knowledge wushu style blades are made that way for the sake of show aesthetics. Kinda like how karate uniforms are purposefully designed in a way to make that awesome snap sound every time you punch or kick.
