Qiang (枪) is the Chinese term for spear. Due to its relative ease of manufacture, the spear in many variations was ubiquitous on the pre-modern Chinese battlefield. It is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the Gun (staff), Dao (sabre), and the Jian (sword), called in this group "The King of Weapons".

Common features of the Chinese spear are the leaf shaped blade and red horse-hair tassel lashed just below. The tassel shows elite troop status. It also serves a tactical purpose. When the spear is moving quickly, the addition of the tassel aids in blurring the vision of the opponent so that it is more difficult for them to grab the shaft of spear behind the head or tip. The tassel also served another purpose, to stop the flow of blood from the blade getting to the wooden shaft (the blood would make it slippery, or sticky when dried). Nine kinds of spears popular in the Song dynasty.

The length varied from around 9 feet long, increasing up to 21 feet. According to general Qi Jiguang, the Ming military categorized spears above 9 feet as short spears, 14 feet as long spears, and spears below 9 feet as spiked staffs, which were used more for hitting than stabbing. Spears used in war are typically made of hard wood. Martial arts (wushu) spears are typically made of wax wood, a lighter and more flexible wood better suited for performance; these are called flower spears. Six kinds of spears popular in the Ming dynasty.

Many Chinese martial arts feature spear training in their curriculum. The conditioning provided by spear technique is seen as invaluable and in many styles it is the first weapons training introduced to students. Moreover, some schools of empty handed fighting in China credit spear technique as their foundation, notably Xingyiquan and Bajiquan.

The butterfly sword (蝴蝶双刀) is a short dao, or single-edged sword, originally from southern China, though it has also seen use in the north. The blade of a butterfly sword is roughly as long as a human forearm, which allows easy concealment inside loose sleeves or boots, and allows greater maneuverability when spinning and rotating during close-quarters fighting. Butterfly swords are usually wielded in pairs. A pair of swords will often be carried side by side within the same scabbard, so as to give the appearance of a single weapon.

The butterfly sword has a small crossguard to protect the hands of the wielder, similar to that of a sai, which can also be used to block or hook an opponent's weapon. In some versions the crossguard is enlarged offering a second handhold, held in this position the swords can be manipulated in a manner akin to a pair of tonfa. They may also be used as brass knuckles when non-lethal application of the weapon is desired.

Traditionally, the blade of a butterfly sword is only sharpened along half of its edge - from the middle of the blade to the tip; this can be seen in all vintage specimens from the Qing dynasty. The blade from the midpoint down is left blunt so that it can be used to deliver non-lethal strikes and to block without damaging the sharpened edge. Butterflies were generally commissioned for individual martial artists, not mass-produced, so every set of swords is different, however an average blade today is about 11½" long with a 6" handle.

While dao have varied greatly over the centuries, most single-handed dao of the Ming period and later, and the modern swords that are based on them share a number of characteristics. Dao blades are moderately curved and single-edged, though often with a few inches of the back edge sharpened as well; the moderate curve allows them to be reasonably effective in the thrust. Hilts are sometimes canted, curving in the opposite direction as the blade which improves handling in some forms of cuts and thrusts. Cord is usually wrapped over the wood of the handle. Hilts may also be pierced like those of jian (straight-bladed Chinese sword) for the addition of lanyards, though modern swords for performances will often have tassels or scarves instead. Guards are typically disc-shaped often with a cupped shape to prevent rainwater from getting into the sheath, and to prevent blood from dripping down to the handle, making it more difficult to grip. Sometimes guards are thinner pieces of metal with an s-curve, the lower limb of the curve protecting the user's knuckles; very rarely they may have guards like those of the jian.

Other variations to the basic pattern include the large bagua dao and the long handled pudao.

The earliest dao date from the Shang Dynasty in China's Bronze Age, and are known as zhibeidao (直背刀) â€" straight backed knives. As the name implies, these were straight-bladed or slightly curved weapons with a single edge. Originally bronze, these weapons were made of iron or steel by the time of the late Warring States period as metallurgical knowledge became sufficiently advanced to control the carbon content. Originally less common as a military weapon than the jian â€" the straight, double-edged blade of China â€" the dao became popular with cavalry during the Han dynasty due to its sturdiness, superiority as a chopping weapon, and relative ease of use â€" it was generally said that it takes a week to attain competence with a dao/saber, a month to attain competence with a qiang/spear, and a year to attain competence with a jian/straight sword. Soon after dao began to be issued to infantry, beginning the replacement of the jian as a standard-issue weapon. Late Han dynasty dao had round grips and ring-shaped pommels, and ranged between 85 and 114 centimeters in length. These weapons were used alongside rectangular shields.

By the end of the Three Kingdoms period, the single-edged dao had almost completely replaced the jian on the battlefield. The jian henceforth became known as a weapon of self-defense for the scholarly aristocratic class, worn as part of court dress.

This topic has been moved to Weapons.

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Chicken sickles (鸡鐮) are a number of Chinese bladed weapons similar to the Hook sword and the Okinawan Kama. They can be used as a single or double weapon. It is considered the special weapon of the Xinyi Liuhe style.

Chicken Claw:
Jī Zhuǎ Lián (鸡爪鐮 - Chicken-Claw Sickle). The chicken-claw sickle was constructed from a chicken claw-like piece of metal, along with a spear head, on a length of stick. Its length was about 1.5 ft. The details of this weapon are unknown. This sickle is more similar in appearance to the Okinawan Kama, with the addition of a spear head.

Chicken Sabre:
Jī Dāo Lián (鸡刀鐮, Chicken-Saber Sickle) is a weapon that was also called the Kǔn Huā Yāo Zi, or "Binding Flower Waist Carry". The reason for this optional name is unknown. According to legend, this weapon was created by the founder of Xinyi, Ji Long Feng, and it became the special weapon of this style. It was made from metal and its length was about 2.5 Chi [32 inches]. This sickle is similar in appearance to the Hook sword and although it is named a Dao (saber), it is based on the double-edged sword (Jian). There are several variations of this weapon. All have the distinctive hook and chicken "spur" on the head, but the sword blade is sometimes shortened to a small metal pole-arm. It is used for close-quarters combat. One noted practitioner of the Chicken-Saber Sickles was Xinyi Liuhe Grandmaster Lu Songgao, one of the "Three Heroes from Zhoukou".

Below shown an examples of sickles weapons

Even today many websites on the internet still claims that the picture attached below shows the famous hero Wong Fei Hung, however this has been confirmed not to be true. According to sources tied closed to the Wong family the individual on the pictures this is not Wong Fei Hung but indeed it is his 4th son Wong Hon Hei. The second picture below shows Wong Hon Hei on Fei Hung's birthday anniversary celebration on 23 August 1958. This has been confirmed by the Wong family and many other elders.

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During its long history China has developed a very wide variety of traditional weapons, some lost in time, some still practiced but only by a small number of practitioners but some remain a major part of training among traditional martial art practitioners. Today the most widely practiced weapons are the 18 traditionally used weapons which many masters or Chinese martial arts styles learn. Some of these shown below on the pictures.

Capoeira's history begins with the beginning of African slavery in Brazil. Since the 16th century, Portuguese colonists began exporting slaves to their colonies, coming mainly from Angola. Brazil, with its vast territory, received most of the slaves, almost 40% of all slaves sent through the Atlantic Ocean. The early history of capoeira is still controversial, especially the period between the 16th century and the beginning of the 19th century, since historical documents were very scarce in Brazil at that time. But oral tradition, language and evidence leaves little doubt about its Afro-Brazilian roots.

In the 16th century, Portugal had claimed one of the largest territories of the colonial empires, but lacked people to colonize it, especially workers. In the Brazilian colony, the Portuguese, like many European colonists, chose to use slavery to build their economy off the backs of kidnapped African people. In its first century, the main economic activity in the colony was the production and processing of sugar cane. Portuguese colonists created large sugarcane farms called engenhos, which depended on the labor of slaves. Slaves, living in inhumane and humiliating conditions, were forced to work hard and often suffered physical punishment for small misbehaviors, along with rape of their children as punishment, or homosexual rape of African males by white slave owners infront of other Africans of all ages to show dominance. Although slaves often outnumbered colonists, rebellions were rare because lack of weapons, harsh colonial law, disagreement between slaves coming from different African cultures and lack of knowledge about the new land and its surroundings usually discouraged the idea of a rebellion.

In this environment, capoeira was born as a simple hope of survival. It was a tool with which an escaped slave, completely unequipped, could survive in the hostile, unknown land and face the hunt of the capitães-do-mato, the armed and mounted colonial agents who were charged with finding and capturing escapees.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a martial art, combat sport system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting. Brazilian jiu-jitsu was formed from Kodokan judo ground fighting fundamentals that were taught by a number of individuals including Takeo Yano, Mitsuyo Maeda and Soshihiro Satake. Brazilian jiu-jitsu eventually came to be its own art through the experiments, practices, and adaptation of judo through Carlos and Helio Gracie (who passed their knowledge on to their extended family) as well as other instructors who were students of Maeda, such as Luiz Franca.

BJJ promotes the concept that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend against a bigger, stronger, heavier assailant by using proper technique, leverage, and most notably, taking the fight to the ground, and then applying joint-locks and chokeholds to defeat the opponent. BJJ training can be used for sport grappling tournaments. However it can be used in some self-defense situations and does serve its purpose. Sparring (commonly referred to as rolling) and live drilling play a major role in training, and a premium is placed on performance, especially in competition, in relation to progress and ascension through its ranking system.

Since its inception in 1882, its parent art of judo was separated from older systems of Japanese jiu-jitsu by an important difference that was passed on to Brazilian jiu-jitsu: it is not solely a martial art, but it is also a sport; a method for promoting physical fitness and building character in young people; and, ultimately, a way of life.

Gatka (Punjabi: ਗਤਕਾ) is a traditional South Asian form of combat-training, developed by Sikhs, in which wooden sticks are used to simulate swords in sparring matches. In modern usage, it commonly refers to the northwestern Indian martial arts, which should more properly be called shastara vidiyā (ਸ਼ਸਤਰ ਵਿਦਿਆ, from Sanskrit shastra-vidya or "science of weapons"). Attacks and counterattacks vary from one community to another but the basic techniques are the same. This article will primarily use the extended definition of gatka, making it synonymous with shastara-vidiya.

Gatka can be practiced either as a sport (khel) or ritual (rasmi). The sport form is played by two opponents wielding wooden staves called gatka. These sticks may be paired with a shield. Points are scored for making contact with the stick. The other weapons are not used for full-contact sparring, but their techniques are taught through forms training. The ritual form is purely for demonstration and is performed to music during occasions such as weddings, or as part of a theatrical performance like the chhau dance. A practitioner of gatka is called a gatkabaj while a teacher is addressed as Guru or Gurudev.