Bay Point California
12/13/2016 Single Whip posture with weapons
The melon hammers (left) are heavy and by intention not very well-balanced, so getting one up high enough to block a descending blow is tough. An immediate tactical problem is the fingers are exposed. The melon portion is surprisingly difficult to land a direct blow on. However, the shaft is a very easy target. About the only useful thing the right hand melon hammer can do is to try and bash the opponent's nearest knee. I would rate this as more a training tool than a weapon. The short halberds have similar challenges: getting the weapon, which is heavy and somewhat clumsy, up high fast enough and not losing one's fingers in the process. In addition, one must take care to orient the crescent curves parallel to the floor lest they be driven into your face or skull. It would be tempting to say there should be at least one curved moon guard to protect the fingers. Actually, I am not altogether sure what purpose the crescent guards serve as built. They do tend to prevent the central spike/spearhead from penetrating. For the weight that they add I do NOT see any advantage. As with the melon hammer, after a successful parry of the low blow it is not obvious what the counterstrike can do. The only blow I could get to feel useful was a jab at the thigh with the central spike. The Shaolin short spear set I have seen has weapons made of just short shafts and spearheads - no crescents. In discussing the tactics with the monk who performed and recorded the set he acknowledged the fingers are at grave risk, but said the guards would limit hand movement too much. I feel the short halberds are another weapon that is rare for a reason.
The melon hammers (left) are heavy and by intention not very well-balanced, so getting one up high enough to block a descending blow is tough. An immediate tactical problem is the fingers are exposed. The melon portion is surprisingly difficult to land a direct blow on. However, the shaft is a very easy target. About the only useful thing the right hand melon hammer can do is to try and bash the opponent's nearest knee. I would rate this as more a training tool than a weapon. The short halberds have similar challenges: getting the weapon, which is heavy and somewhat clumsy, up high fast enough and not losing one's fingers in the process. In addition, one must take care to orient the crescent curves parallel to the floor lest they be driven into your face or skull. It would be tempting to say there should be at least one curved moon guard to protect the fingers. Actually, I am not altogether sure what purpose the crescent guards serve as built. They do tend to prevent the central spike/spearhead from penetrating. For the weight that they add I do NOT see any advantage. As with the melon hammer, after a successful parry of the low blow it is not obvious what the counterstrike can do. The only blow I could get to feel useful was a jab at the thigh with the central spike. The Shaolin short spear set I have seen has weapons made of just short shafts and spearheads - no crescents. In discussing the tactics with the monk who performed and recorded the set he acknowledged the fingers are at grave risk, but said the guards would limit hand movement too much. I feel the short halberds are another weapon that is rare for a reason.
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