Rising Crane

飞剑- Fei Jian (Cantonese: Fei Gim) Are a traditional weapon in Chinese Martial Arts. I recent got some and am just learning the technique- it’s a lot of fun!

侠家小罗汉拳 Nice performance of Hap Ga ‘Siu Law Horn’ (Chivalrous Family Small Arhat) from my Kung Fu brother’s school in Guangzhou

This is the ‘Iron Forearm’ training set from the Hap Ga style. It teaches your arms to be able to withstand the impact of the opponent’s blows. Demonstrated by Craig and Matteo at our Summer camp in Prague.

The '8 Change Palm' is a set of 36 movements that can be performed empty handed (like a Tai Chi form), or adapted to various weapons. Here, I am teaching the students how to play the set with a long stick.

“Every technique can work, if you can make your opponent expect a different technique!” These days I am a bit older, so need to be sneakier ;)

Using Soft sticks enables us to spar more realistically, whether using techniques from our traditional kung fu, or combat sports. We use real blades also, und heavier sticks to hit bags/pads, but the goal is: Practise should be healthy, fun, and develop functional fighting skills. Credit to for developing an excellent template for this kind of training, and I recommend all martial artists who practice traditional weapons add this kind of practice to get a real feeling for it, and for MMA/BJJ guys- adding weapons, grappling with knives etc. is ridiculously good fun. Of course-no method is foolproof, but why not increase the odds and increase your fight IQ?