Sanjiegun
三节棍 · sānjiégùn
Literally: three-section staff
Also known as: sānjiébiān, pánlónggùn, sansetsukon
A Chinese weapon of three linked staffs the length of an arm, usable as a whip, a flail or a pair of short staffs; Shinko Matayoshi brought it to Okinawa.
Quick Facts
ChinaAbout the weapon
Sanjiegun (三节棍), the three-section staff, is also called sanjiebian (三節鞭) or panlong gun (蟠龍棍), "staff of the coiled dragon". It is a more complex version of the two-section staff. A popular modern legend claims the weapon was made famous by Emperor Zhao Kuangyin; historical evidence for this is lacking, however, and when the weapon actually arose, we have not been able to establish from the sources. Each of the three staffs is roughly the length of the fighter's arm, usually 60 to 70 cm. Historically they were made of white oak, waxwood or Chinese red maple, today of rattan, bamboo, various hardwoods or aluminium. The weapon serves at long range as a whip, at medium range as a flail or two-section staff, and up close as a pair of short staffs. Techniques include strikes, swings, blocks, chokes, catches, disarms and whip-like snaps. Shinko Matayoshi brought it to Okinawa from Fujian province, and after 1935 he included it in the Matayoshi kobudō system with two kata, sansetsukon dai ichi and sansetsukon dai ni.
People
- Matayoshi Shinko — Popularizer