Informative as usual! I'd have never considered alternating the grip like naginata... that is something to explore! Did you have a chance to work with the Classic Sha? Besides the blade length and the guard shape, I found the shape of the pole to be the most defining aspect between the two, The ovular shape of the Bat Wing Sha allowed more spear-like thrusting techniques, while the diamond shape grip of the Classic Sha was more suitable for solid gripping for cutting and such. Again, great video!
Thanks for watching! Unfortunately I haven’t had a chance to try the classic sha, but I am sure I will try it out at some point in the future. The octagonal cross section sounds really interesting!
The cutting performance surprised me too! The hardest thing about the back edge cuts is the edge alignment, but if you have that and some speed, the sha can easily slice through the tatami!
We were classmates a few years ago, and I just now found out about your channel aaaaaaa if I knew about it earlier I definitely would have wanted to help you with some of this stuff because I love military history and arts. Great channel! Can't wait for your next video!
Awesome video friend. I’m so glad you covered the development of the pi, leading into the Sha, and also I hope LK releases a Pi at some point. Test cutting with a polearm is no joke: I’ve always said alllllll of swords share more in common with how they function and how hard they can strike than compared to a polearm :)
Pi is also the Por, meaning "break through". It is largely taken as a piercing tool. So, it is equivalent to a spear and a lance. So they are equivalent to Sord in the function of piercing the opponent or armor. Han Dynasty transitioned classification 24 standard classes of weapon to a simplified 18 standard classes.
Great video. The classic Han Sha has a longer 80cm blade. Did you have an opportunity to compare the longer Sha to the shorter batwing Sha (eg. Stiffness, cutting and thrusting ability, etc)?
Hey, Not explicitly related to the video, but I've been thinking of buying one of LK Chen's Han jian to learn and practise jianshu, but I'm unsure which varient is best for doing so, and I figured you would be one of the better english speaking experts on this topic. I personally prefer the asthetics of their Han jian (Soaring sky and flying phoenix) over their other varients, but I'm unsure if they were historically used to practise jianshu, and with them being longer than their more modern jian counterparts, if they are compatible with jianshu manoeuvres.
Hello! Personally I would recommend the flying phoenix over the soaring sky in terms of comfort and cutting performance. As far as how modern jianfa will translate to the han jian, I would say that many of the basic techniques will all work. The real difference though will be the length and the Pob. Most Ming and Qing jian have a pob which is 13 or more cm from the base of the guard while all of LK’s han jian are quite a bit closer than that. This means that many of the beating deflections and some parries which can be done towards the middle portion of the blade will not work as well. Additionally the sword will not “roll” or spin around in your wrist as easily because the gravity of the blade has less pull down into the roll. However, considering the fact that these all mostly involve deflections, and I don’t think that you are planning on actually getting in a duel, then I think that the han jian shoould work well for test cut practice and looking cool.
Huh. I didn't realize the Pi ended up taking over from the spear during the western Han entirely. So you had the Romans to the West, using shield, sword, and throwing spears; and you had the Chinese using sword-staffs. This was a uniquely sword-favorable time period then.
Yeah for sure. In the Wester Han period a standard Han soldier was likely equipped with either a crossbow or pi with a jian or dao as a backup. In the Eastern Han, the socketed spear replaced the pi, and the dao became the standard military sidearm for the rest of Chinese history.
Great video as always! I think I saw a drawing somewhere with the Sha or a similar weapon being used by a cavalry soldier. Unfortunately I can’t remember the details such as the time period when it was used etc. Might have been from the Tang dynasty but I’m not sure.
Yeah, we know that the pi was sometimes a cavalry weapon, and if the sha was indeed for elite troops, then horses may have been a key part of the weapons use!
How long is yours? I got LK Chen's classic Han Sha, and it's almost 8 feet in length. I have a hard time displaying it in my house considering I only have 8 foot ceilings lol.
This one is about 6 inches shorter than the classic Han sha. Even with the shorter length it is super difficult to move it around indoors. I can imagine how difficult it would be with an 8’ sha!
these long headed spears were probably designed inspired by the massive Jian swords used by the tribes/ populations in the south considering that the Han dynasty was originally founded by the descendants of the Chu kingdom in modern day Si Chuan province
30cm blades should simply be considered spears, as that is quite common for spears globally/across time. Saying the pi supplanted spears seems a bit off.
Perhaps it was a little off, but the that is part of why I think those pi were that short. I am not sure if it would work well to have a bunch of spears with 50cm blades for mass infantry. The main difference between the shorter pi and most other spears is that the spears are optimized for thrusting at the expense of cutting. The real distinction is in China though, the early bronze spearheads were smaller and developed into socked construction while the pi became a tang design with a cutting blade. Later on in the Eastern Han dynasty some longer socketed spears start to show up and the tang design fades away. For the rest of Chinese history, socketed spears are the norm, with both large and small varieties existing. There is even a Ming spear manual which recommends using a spearhead of less than 50g so that it can be vest fast and nimble.
I've read that the Pi is an ambigious classification that could include anything from 18 foot pikes to shorter spears (eg. 6-10 foot), and spears with smaller heads to spears/polearms with longer heads (hewing spears, shorter swordstaffs, etc).
me using the Tang Zhan Ma Dao i wonder all the time why it isnt the handle longer cuse i use it now like a staff sword im sure im not alone in this. i used it now for 2 years
LK Chen is constantly developing new products and expanding what he offers. Currently, he seems to be more occupied with getting a spot within the US that can produce polearm shafts to drastically lower the cost of shipping the polearms he has, but once that is done. I suspect that he will start making more and more polearms as time goes on.
Hope to see more polearms being reviewed on this channel, like the Guandao, the Pudao, the two-section staff, the Tangpa trident, etc.
I have some plans for the future!
感謝專業評測分享❤
Informative as usual! I'd have never considered alternating the grip like naginata... that is something to explore! Did you have a chance to work with the Classic Sha? Besides the blade length and the guard shape, I found the shape of the pole to be the most defining aspect between the two, The ovular shape of the Bat Wing Sha allowed more spear-like thrusting techniques, while the diamond shape grip of the Classic Sha was more suitable for solid gripping for cutting and such. Again, great video!
Thanks for watching! Unfortunately I haven’t had a chance to try the classic sha, but I am sure I will try it out at some point in the future. The octagonal cross section sounds really interesting!
you were a great teacher
I'm amazed at how well it cut with the back edge against tatami.
The cutting performance surprised me too! The hardest thing about the back edge cuts is the edge alignment, but if you have that and some speed, the sha can easily slice through the tatami!
Thank you for the great review. It was both informative and a great demonstration of this weapon's nimbleness and cutting capacity.
Thanks!
We were classmates a few years ago, and I just now found out about your channel aaaaaaa if I knew about it earlier I definitely would have wanted to help you with some of this stuff because I love military history and arts. Great channel! Can't wait for your next video!
Love it
Oh hello! Thanks for watching!
Very interesting weapon, and enjoyed your thoughts on the history of it as well
Thanks for watching!
Awesome video friend. I’m so glad you covered the development of the pi, leading into the Sha, and also I hope LK releases a Pi at some point. Test cutting with a polearm is no joke: I’ve always said alllllll of swords share more in common with how they function and how hard they can strike than compared to a polearm :)
Thanks for watching and making the chart of the Donghai armory inventory!
Thanks for watching and making the chart of the Donghai armory inventory!
Holy cow that's a lot of crossbows
Yeah, that will have to be another video sometime. China loves their crossbows, especially in the pre-yuan period.
Can you make some more videos on these ancient weapons, old manuals, stories or accounts of Chinese swordsmanship? Just some suggestions.
interesting history, and great technique!
Pi is also the Por, meaning "break through". It is largely taken as a piercing tool. So, it is equivalent to a spear and a lance. So they are equivalent to Sord in the function of piercing the opponent or armor. Han Dynasty transitioned classification 24 standard classes of weapon to a simplified 18 standard classes.
Awesome video my brother 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks for watching!
Great video. The classic Han Sha has a longer 80cm blade. Did you have an opportunity to compare the longer Sha to the shorter batwing Sha (eg. Stiffness, cutting and thrusting ability, etc)?
Unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to handle the classic Han sha yet. We will see what the future holds.
Thanks for the video.
The weapon looks quite interesting.
I need to look up if LK Chen stuff is more easily available in Europe by now.
Wild looking weapon!!
Yeah it is pretty neat!
Hey,
Not explicitly related to the video, but I've been thinking of buying one of LK Chen's Han jian to learn and practise jianshu, but I'm unsure which varient is best for doing so, and I figured you would be one of the better english speaking experts on this topic. I personally prefer the asthetics of their Han jian (Soaring sky and flying phoenix) over their other varients, but I'm unsure if they were historically used to practise jianshu, and with them being longer than their more modern jian counterparts, if they are compatible with jianshu manoeuvres.
Hello! Personally I would recommend the flying phoenix over the soaring sky in terms of comfort and cutting performance.
As far as how modern jianfa will translate to the han jian, I would say that many of the basic techniques will all work. The real difference though will be the length and the Pob. Most Ming and Qing jian have a pob which is 13 or more cm from the base of the guard while all of LK’s han jian are quite a bit closer than that. This means that many of the beating deflections and some parries which can be done towards the middle portion of the blade will not work as well. Additionally the sword will not “roll” or spin around in your wrist as easily because the gravity of the blade has less pull down into the roll. However, considering the fact that these all mostly involve deflections, and I don’t think that you are planning on actually getting in a duel, then I think that the han jian shoould work well for test cut practice and looking cool.
@@thescholar-general5975 Thanks for your expertise!
Huh. I didn't realize the Pi ended up taking over from the spear during the western Han entirely.
So you had the Romans to the West, using shield, sword, and throwing spears; and you had the Chinese using sword-staffs. This was a uniquely sword-favorable time period then.
Yeah for sure. In the Wester Han period a standard Han soldier was likely equipped with either a crossbow or pi with a jian or dao as a backup. In the Eastern Han, the socketed spear replaced the pi, and the dao became the standard military sidearm for the rest of Chinese history.
Beautful polearm and great history
Thanks for watching!
Very nice
Thanks for watching!
Great video as always! I think I saw a drawing somewhere with the Sha or a similar weapon being used by a cavalry soldier. Unfortunately I can’t remember the details such as the time period when it was used etc. Might have been from the Tang dynasty but I’m not sure.
Yeah, we know that the pi was sometimes a cavalry weapon, and if the sha was indeed for elite troops, then horses may have been a key part of the weapons use!
I don't know what to make of it, but hand guards on shorter arms became standard really late...
o kidding you got one!
How long is yours? I got LK Chen's classic Han Sha, and it's almost 8 feet in length. I have a hard time displaying it in my house considering I only have 8 foot ceilings lol.
This one is about 6 inches shorter than the classic Han sha. Even with the shorter length it is super difficult to move it around indoors. I can imagine how difficult it would be with an 8’ sha!
these long headed spears were probably designed inspired by the massive Jian swords used by the tribes/ populations in the south considering that the Han dynasty was originally founded by the descendants of the Chu kingdom in modern day Si Chuan province
Maybe its just the lighting or the shirts youre wearing but you look bigger than in your last couple videos. Done some lifting as of late?
It is probably just the shirt lol. I do workout, but I don’t think I have gotten bigger unless it is from too much ice cream this summer 😅
30cm blades should simply be considered spears, as that is quite common for spears globally/across time. Saying the pi supplanted spears seems a bit off.
Perhaps it was a little off, but the that is part of why I think those pi were that short. I am not sure if it would work well to have a bunch of spears with 50cm blades for mass infantry.
The main difference between the shorter pi and most other spears is that the spears are optimized for thrusting at the expense of cutting.
The real distinction is in China though, the early bronze spearheads were smaller and developed into socked construction while the pi became a tang design with a cutting blade.
Later on in the Eastern Han dynasty some longer socketed spears start to show up and the tang design fades away.
For the rest of Chinese history, socketed spears are the norm, with both large and small varieties existing. There is even a Ming spear manual which recommends using a spearhead of less than 50g so that it can be vest fast and nimble.
I've read that the Pi is an ambigious classification that could include anything from 18 foot pikes to shorter spears (eg. 6-10 foot), and spears with smaller heads to spears/polearms with longer heads (hewing spears, shorter swordstaffs, etc).
@@Intranetusa Yes, this is part of the reason why it saw widespread use by so many types of troops on the battlefield.
me using the Tang Zhan Ma Dao i wonder all the time why it isnt the handle longer cuse i use it now like a staff sword im sure im not alone in this. i used it now for 2 years
The Bat Spear!
I really wish he will make a few more polearms
LK Chen is constantly developing new products and expanding what he offers. Currently, he seems to be more occupied with getting a spot within the US that can produce polearm shafts to drastically lower the cost of shipping the polearms he has, but once that is done. I suspect that he will start making more and more polearms as time goes on.
@@thescholar-general5975 that’s awesome to hear
That is a beautiful polearm
Yeah it definitely has nice symmetry compared to most polearms.
the thing is the guy that gets this blade tends to custom it to his style.
I think Xinyi staff would work really well with the Sha
That is something I hadn’t considered but yeah staff techniques should transfer to the sha pretty well!
@@thescholar-general5975 With the Sha, you could staff blunt impact into cuts.
One suggestion to improve your narration, is to drop all the um, uh, hmmm. The video will become more professional, convincing, and pleasant to watch.
Thanks, I that is definitely an area I will work to improve on!
鎩 best translate as partizan
🗿👍
all jain i sued i figured it was longer.. funny