Kung Fu weapons are usually broken into four groups:
Projectile-type weapons such as the bow and arrow, throwing spears, throwing knives, throwing stars, etc. Firearms are placed in this category. (Don't forget, the Chinese had gunpowder many centuries before most European countries did.)
Long-range weapons, such as poles, (with or without blades), form another whole group, as do intermediate weapons like swords, chains and short poles.
The last category is made up of short-range weapons such as clubs and knives.
Why would anyone want to study such primitive weapons? The answer, of course, is to master the art of using the weapon. Remember, "Art" is not measured by points, scores or accuracy. Art is measured on form and beauty and that intangible force we call Chi.
When you release a throwing knife and know instantly as it leaves your fingertips that it is going to hit the mark, it awakens a feeling in you that cannot be described, one that can only be experienced. When you move the staff with little to no effort, knowing that if it comes in contact with a living being it will crush or kill, you have touched something so deep inside of you that you can only stand in awe. Moving the sword at such a speed that most cameras cannot stop the action and knowing that one slip and that sword will become your own mortal enemy, you dare not take time to even think.
All of these weapons require hundreds of hours of training, not to mention the thousands of years of study that have gone before you. Their mastery requires not only a reaching outward to extend your energy through the weapon, but a reaching inward to know what that energy really is.
