Lu Jiao Doa (Deer Horn Knives)

Deer Horn Knives, which are also known by a whole host of other names, are not widely known in the USA. In Chinese they are sometimes called Zi Wu Yuan Yang Yue or Ba Gua Yuan Yang Yue.

It is difficult to properly translate the Chinese characters, as shown above, to convey the true meaning in English. The first two characters when used together mean midnight and noon. However, to translate the weapon's name as Midnight-Noon Mandarin Duck Axes would not be exactly correct as it falls short of conveying the subtleties inherent in its Chinese name. In Chinese cosmology there is a duality of Yin and Yang, both existing only as a result of the other. This represents a cosmic balance between good and evil, black and white, male and female. This is the duality referred to in midnight-noon, or male duck-female duck. A duality in which neither single part can exist alone, but only as a counterpart to its opposite. This is lost in the translation, and to call your weapons Midnight-Noon Mandarin Duck Axes would sound silly in English even though it is a literal translation from the Chinese. The third and fourth characters, Yuan and Yang, mean a pair of Mandarin Ducks. Yuan is the male duck and Yang is the female. They mate for life so they are always found together or inseparable. This describes the dual nature of the knives, always two, always a pair, working together. The final character, Yue, is used to describe a battle-axe. Another Chinese name for the Deer Horn Knives is Ri Yue Qian Kun Jian.

In this translation, Ri means sun and Yue means moon. Qian and Kun are from the eight trigrams referring to Heaven and Earth. Jian is the sword. So this would be the Sun-Moon Heaven and Earth Swords, kind of impressive but not quite right. Also it could be confused with another weapon, Qian Kun Ri Yue Dao, the Heaven and Earth Sun-Moon Saber. Usually, in Chinese, the Jian is a rather thin, double-edged straight sword. So this does not really apply to the Deerhorn Knives. A Dao in Chinese is any other sort of blade. It roughly means knife and is often used to refer to a saber or other wide single-edged blades, including kitchen knives. Dao would seem to fit better than Jian, but again it tends to infer a saber or other wide blade. There is another widely used Chinese term, Lu Jiao Dao.

In this translation Lu Jiao means deer antlers, hence Deer Horn Knives. It has also been translated as Deer Antler Sabers, but this is more cumbersome to say. So while the most widely recognized Chinese name is Zi Wu Yuan Yang Yue and conveys much to the Chinese speaker, the favored English term is Deer Horn Knives. Other English names include Crescent Moon Knives and Mandarin Duck Blades.

The Deer Horn Knives are a unique weapon originating from the Baguazhang or perhaps more correctly the Baguaquan School of Chinese Martial arts. Dong Hai Chuan, the founder, himself practiced this weapon. There are numerous stories of him killing large groups of armed men who had attacked him. Most of these are apocryphal and probably stem from the story on his original grave marker. It says there that once while travelling outside the city, Master Dong was attacked by many men with weapons. He defeated them all "moving like a hurricane.” As he did travel through rough country, it is likely that he would have defended himself from bandits using his Deer Horn Knives. Ordinary citizens would not have been able to get away with that, but as an instructor to the Imperial Guards, Master Dong was immune. The guards themselves were rumored to have carried small Deer Horn Knives concealed in their sleeves. Weapons weren’t allowed in the palace, but the guards may have used Bagua's hidden weapons to their advantage. The Deer Horn Knives are designed for use against multiple attackers, or any other type of weapon. There are numerous techniques for use against the spear, the staff, the saber and especially the sword. It has been said that the Deer Horn Knives are especially good at defeating the sword with their hooking and trapping techniques. Master Su Yu-Chang says they are the #1 weapon because they can break the energy of any other weapon, long or short. He also said they were for killing and that unlike other Bagua weapons, which may be better at locking and controlling, once the Deerhorn Knives come out, heads will roll. Deer Horn Knives come in various sizes. Large ones can be used to scale walls while small ones are used like throwing stars. There are also various configurations like recurved points and knives with either three or four points. Initially the knives had only three points one of which was slightly curved like a duck's head. It is said the duck's eye, a small indentation on one blade, could be laced with poison for extra killing power.

In action, the Deerhorn Knives have many techniques. As their shape is suggestive of the Yin Yang ball, so is their usage. While one is blocking, the other is attacking. While one traps, the other cuts. With blades in all directions, they are like the "claws of a dragon". There is a sixteen-keyword formula for the various techniques of the Deerhorn Knives. These include hooking, locking, cutting, pulling and chopping to name just a few. The full sixteen-character formula can be seen below.

References for Deerhorn Knives

1., Zhongguo Wushu Da Cidian:
The Great Dictionary of Chinese Wushu, Beijing 1990

2. Ancient Chinese Weapons, A Martial Artist's Guide Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming, Boston, 1999

3. Kungfu Qigong Magazine #12 December 2000
Pacific Rim Publications, Fremont, CA

4. Master Yang, Xiao Dong (Tony Yang), WuTang Chinese Martial Arts Center Personal communications

5. Master Su, Yu-Chang, Pachi Tanglang Chuan Martial Arts Institute Baguaquan seminar, Akron, OH, March 13&14, 1999

6. The Invisible Web, A Taichi Chuan Manual
Dr. Su Yu-Chang, Spain, 1998

7. Pa Kua Chang Journal various issues 1990-97, including (but not exclusively) Vol.3 Nos.1&2, Vol.4 Nos.1&5, Vol.6 Nos.3&5

8. Baguazhang - Emei Baguazhang Liang Shou-Yu, Yang Jwing-Ming, Wu Wen-Ching, Boston, 1994

9. Classical Baguazhang vol. VII - BaGuaQuan Zhen Chuan, The Genuine Transmission of BaGua Quan
Sun Xikun, Trans. Joseph Crandall, Smiling Tiger Martial Arts, Pinole, CA 2001

10. Classical Baguazhang vol. XII - Wudang Bagua Lianhuan Yue Huang Xin, Trans. Joseph Crandall, Smiling Tiger Martial Arts, Pinole, CA 1996

11. Classical Pa Kua Chang, Fighting Systems and Weapons Jerry Alan Johnson and Joseph Crandall, 1990

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