Sifu Jamie Robson with Butterfly Knives sparring against Sifu Anthony Korahais with a Spear during the 2007 UK Summer Camp Weapon Course

The Weapon Course at the UK Summer Camp 2007 was unprecedented. Within a few days participants not only learned and performed reasonably well the Butterfly Knives, the spear and the sword, which represent a double weapon, a long weapon and a short weapon, they also understood and practiced their combat applications.

At the beginning of the course, participants holding a pair of short Butterfly Knives felt quite helpless when facing an opponent with a long weapon like a spear. But by the end of the course they could competently handle opponents with long weapons.

The spear is considered the king of weapons because its thrust is technically the most formidable. Participants had some insight into the spear thrust as well as other fundamental spear techniques.

The sword is considered a master’s weapon as it requires great skills to use it competently. Applying the dainty sword against heavier weapons gave the participants a rare opportunity to appreciate deeply the importance of agility and fluidity of movements.

Sparring with weapons highlighted the reality of self-defence. Participants could not afford to be hit even once. This was a great contrast to sparring in many martial art schools where being hit was taken for granted. But the most significant aspect of the course was that everyone had a lot of fun

The Butterfly Knives and their Combat Applications

The Butterfly Knives are a pair of short, light weapons, and the set selected for training is called the “Human-Character Double Southern Knives”, or “Jen Tzi Seong Lam Tou” in Chinese (Cantonese). For many people it would be quite impossible to use these short, light weapons against long or heavy weapons like a spear and a staff, or a master’s weapon like a sword. But a skillful practitioner can use the Butterfly Knives effectively against these and other weapons.

Click here to enter.