Very cool! It immediately reminded me of Zulu stick fighting, where they have a long mace or long stick in one hand for attacking, and a buckler plus long staff in the other hand for defending. Since it has no hook, the defending stick+shield is mostly just deflecting blows, so yeah, pretty much almost always seen in vertical orientation with slight tilting and angling, much like your conclusion for best use. Looking forward to the form vid!
4:25 5:03 hey, I know that guy on the left! If you and Gabriel (sinister) could do a collab I think it’d be fascinating to hear about these topics from both of you
I am not an expert in weapons, but perhaps you may also use the butt of the shield to pressout downward an incoming thrust of sword from an opponent and move with momentum to hook the opponent's arm or shoulder. Your other hand is free to stab or slash with a sword or saber. Gou Rang may be lighter than a regular shield, but may need more skill to use.
Any idea on how folks carried gou rang around when a gou rang was not immediately needed for use? i.e. swords have scabbards, but I'm having trouble finding historical info on how gou rang were stowed. Maybe gou rang always had to be carried in one hand during travel?
I have seen it on the LK Chen website and in a couple of videos, but I have not had the chance to work with one. From what I hear, it is quite nimble and cuts very well. There is so much variety in the Ming swords and each seem to have their own strengths.
