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Three sectional staff Wikipedia

Image:Three sectional staff.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Three sectional staff
The three sectional staff (三節棍 , sān ji?? g??n), is a China|Chinese Flail (weapon)|flail weapon that consists of three wooden or metal Staff (stick)|staffs connected by metal rings or rope. A larger, more complicated version of the well-known nunchaku, the staffs can be spun to gather momentum resulting in a devastating strike, or their articulation can be used to strike over or around a shield or other defensive block.

Dating back to the Song dynasty, these staffs were designed for defence against spears and other long weapons. Historically made of white oak or Chinese red maple, modern staffs are constructed from rattan, bamboo, various hardwoods or aluminium. For optimum fit, each of the three sticks should be about the length of the combatant???s arm and have a combined diameter that easily fits in the hand.

The total length of the weapon is greater than that of the short single staff known in Japanese language|Japanese as a Bo (weapon)|bo, about the same as the Chinese staff, the Gwun|gun, creating a larger circle of available targets around the combatant. Many of the techniques are similar to that of the staff, so spinning moves over the head and behind the back can be practiced with a regular staff. The three sectional staff has the advantage of being used both as a long-range weapon or a short-range weapon. Acting as an extension of the users arm, the three sectional staff can strike, block, stab, sweep legs and whip, often with different sections of the staff acting at the same time. The chains or binding ropes of the staff are used to entangle an opponent and their weapons.

Carrying or even owning a three sectional staff is prohibited in many jurisdictions.

Three sectional staff in film

The best-known user of the three sectional staff in film is Gordon Liu Chia-hui, who fought with the staff in several Shaw Brothers martial arts films of the 1970s and early 1980s under the direction of his adopted brother Liu Chia-liang (also known as Lau Kar Leung). The most popular of these, Shaolin Temple (1978, Shao Lin san shi liu fang), mythologizes the invention of the three sectional staff by the Shaolin monk San Te, who develops it in response to the temple weapon master's challenge. Gordon Liu also fights with the three sectional staff in Shaolin Challenges Ninja (1979) against a Japanese people|Japanese fighter using a tonfa and nunchaku. Jet Li has a memorable three sectional staff duel against Ji Chunhua ????????? in 1984???s Shaolin Temple 2: Kids from Shaolin, and Jackie Chan plays a character who has a brief three sectional staff fight against a fellow imperial guard armed with a Chinese spear near the end of Shanghai Noon (2000).

Category:Weapons of China

Last Modified:   2005-11-04