Shuang Gou
Also known as: qian kun ri yue dao
A pair of Chinese swords with a hook at the tip, a crescent guard and a sharpened hilt end; surviving pieces date only from the late Qing period.
Quick Facts
ChinaAbout the weapon
Shuang gou, hook swords, are a paired Chinese weapon, also nicknamed tiger hook swords or qian kun ri yue dao, literally "sword of heaven and earth, sun and moon". Most antique examples and artistic depictions date only from the late Qing dynasty or later. Hook swords do not appear in official inventories of Chinese weaponry; they were a purely civilian weapon. Each sword has five functional parts: a back for fighting like an ordinary sword; a hook for tripping, catching weapons and cutting; a sharpened hilt end; a crescent guard for blocking, catching and cutting; and a link used when working with the pair. When a fighter loosely hooks both blades together and swings one sword, the other flies out further, extending the reach from about three feet to about six, that is, from roughly one to two metres. Hook swords are practised in northern styles such as northern Shaolin and seven-star praying mantis, and in some southern schools too, for instance Choy Lay Fut. They are almost never used in sparring, and only sparingly in paired forms. Some baguazhang schools teach a similar weapon, called deer horn knives or mandarin duck knives.
Parts of the weapon
- Spine
- Hook
- Pommel
- Guard