Guan Dao (Kwan Dao)

[temple]

This is an excerpt from Steve regarding his Guan Dao. It's too large for it all to be put into the newsletter, so I thought it might make a good read here.
Sifu



I really like the mobility and speed at which long weapons can be yielded - even displays with the humble long staff can be very impressive. At the same time they're also common place, and kung fu isn't the only martial code which employs it frequently. The Guan Dao appeals to me as it's a rather underappreciated weapon that has a great deal of history and importance within KungFu, and despite it's traditional great weight it can be used with great speed which makes it's uses quite varied.
Not wanting it to be like a decorative 2kg version found commonly in shops, the construction is all steel. I wanted it to be as close to a realistic, ancient war weapon as I could (without a sharp edge of course) with the materials I had available. As such the design is simple, it doesn't have all the decorations and flair which whilst they make a display more entertaining detract from what it truly is - a big knife.
The shaft/pole is from an old prise bar commonly found on construction sites. Frequently they have a painted coating or just the usual surface rust - in this case the latter, which had to be clean off with sandpaper. Originally I kept the prise bar's tapered end in the "first draft". The blade was too strips of steel about 4mm thick welded together, than sanded flat, cut to shape using an angle grinder, and polished as best I could using varying grades of sandpaper to metal polish. It was then just welded to the pole.
The first draft though had some problems. The blade was originally designed and cutout from memory, and was limited in width because of the steel I had. The shape was incorrect, and because it had been made from welded strips it was pitted and wouldn't polish well. Also it had balance problems as there wasn't anything of counterbalance on the far end of the shaft, simply the tapered end it originally came with - it was always going to be off balance though due to the half meter solid steel blade at one end.
I redesigned it, virtually by going back to scratch. Everything was cut off and scrapped bar the shaft. A new blade was made using proper 5mm thick plate steel, which allowed me to cut the blade to the traditional design (I did make it a BIT bigger though, the temptation of "mines bigger" was simply too great). I also left a minor "tang" on the blade, so it could be better attached to the shaft with greater strength. It was a bit messy though, with a welds plainly visible below the blade which detracted from its appearance, the solution was found in an $8 stainless steel cup from K-Mart, which I drilled a hole through the bottom, cut off the top and set it up under the blade. Unfortunately the cup was VERY thin steel, too thin to be welded reliably with my current skill, and it also would have made more welds which detracted from the whole idea of using it in the first place. I instead filled the cup with epoxy resin and set it to dry in the right place - Epoxy resin is an extremely strong bonding agent, with high physical strength once cured. The result being the cup is now permanently stuck in place, and is quite solid as a bonus.
As for the counter balance - I researched many of the traditional Guan Dao's to find a solution. Many had a spear end, which is useful, but also terrible for counter-balance and it also would damage the NAS floormats (a big no-no). Some designs though had a form of "club" end, used moreso for bashing and blunt attacks. However nothing was readily available (ie. cheap) to form a rounded club for the Guan Dao. Prices for a simple metal sphere ranged from a few hundred to almost $1000! In the end I bought a tow ball assembly, already polished, from supercheap for $12. I cut off the thread, welded it onto the end of the shaft and smoothed off the weld to make it tidy. Not really heavy enough to be an efficient counter weight, but I preferred the weight in my hip pocket.
The result? Roughly 15kg (nearly 10 times the weight of many store purchased Guan Dao's), solid as a rock, no shakes or rattles. Ideally I had hoped for something around 40kg, as were the ancient Guan Dao's - but after swinging it around, it's heavy enough. Many can attest to that.
Actually using it in practice has been a real treat and of benefit to my training. Being of such heavy weight, technique must be spot-on. Employing it with speed is more than a question of strength, although training with it will improve your strength, even your stances! Naturally it'll never be as fast as a long staff or some other long weapons, but used in a quick, controlled manner I believe the weapon commands more respect than most other martial arts weapons.

[temple]

By the way, Sifu has a couple of these for sale. Traditionally between 50-90kg, this modern version is a more wieldy 3kg (still heavier than a long staff!). 200cm long it is offered at $50. In the shops at over $100 each, Sifu is letting them go for $50. Let him know if you're interested and he'll bring to class for show!