gun

A gun (pronunciation , English approximation: , ) or bang is a long Chinese staff weapon used in Chinese martial arts. It is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the qiang (spear), dao (sabre), and the jian (straight sword). It is called, in this group, "The Grandfather of all Weapons". In Vietnam (as a result of Chinese influence), the gun is known as côn in Vietnamese martial arts. Variants and styles The gun is fashioned with one thick end as the base and a thinner end near the tip, and is cut to be about the same height as the user or 6 foot. Besides the standard gun, there are also flail-like two section and three section varieties of the staff as well as non-tapered heavier variants. Numerous Chinese martial arts teach the staff as part of their curriculum, including (in English alphabetical order): Bagua seven star rod or Seven Star Stick (Qi Xing Gun), also called the Whip Stick (Bian Gun) or Heart High Stick (Xin Gun) - it is lighter and faster than the Ba Gua Staff, it can be used one-handed or two-handed. Bailangan, Northern staff Nangun, Southern staff Pigua Zhang's Feng Mo Gun - 'Frenzied Demon Staff' (劈掛拳 瘋魔棍). Shaolin Zhui Feng Gun - 'Wind Chaser Staff' (虎勇敢) Qún Yáng Gùn, Shepherd staff (This routine is performed with a straight heavy red oak staff) Six and a half point pole Staff of five tigers and goat herds Taiji staff ( Taiji thirteen staff Bailangan and nangun are frequently found in modern wushu competitions in gunshu and nangun events respectively. The IWUF has created three different standardized routines and an elementary routine for gunshu and two different routines for nangun.