Anqi

[KraVseR]

Hello. Who knows about secret chinese cold weapon? I found, what it's weapon have a name Anqi in general.
But who know more? Examples of this secret weapon?
Please, help me.

[Timo Nieminen]

I've only encountered this in fiction, basically shuriken (usually spike shuriken). "Anqi" 暗器 means "hidden device" or "secret device", with, I think, an implication that it is small, able to be held in the hand. Throwing spikes small enough to hide in the hand would be a good example.

It could also refer to hidden sleeve spike-throwing "guns", which I also only know from fiction (and the profusion of modern fake antiques).

[KraVseR]

Thank you.
But shuriken is only a Japanese weapon, no? Or do you mean its equivalent?

[Timo Nieminen]

"Shuriken", 手裏剣, literally hand-inside-sword, is just the Japanese name for the same thing. Shuriken and anqi are both small throwing blades/darts that fit inside the hand, that can be hidden in the hand.

I'd say that they're the Japanese and Chinese names for the same weapon.

But don't think "ninja star" when you think of shuriken. Unlike modern ones, historical examples are mostly spike shuriken. Some antiques can be seen at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuriken (and a few more at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Shuriken ).

I haven't seen any antique Chinese anqi; perhaps these are different, but I don't think they would be very different. Yang Jwing-Ming's "Ancient Chinese Weapons" and Douglas H. Y. H "Ancient Chinese Hidden Weapons" list a number of Chinese small throwing weapons, various spikes/blades with names like "flying dart", "flying knife", "flying sticker", "flying sting" and star shuriken ("mother-son cross dart"). "Anqi" is a generic terms covering all (or at least most) of these. (Warning: these books are based on literary sources and folklore, rather than historical examples of the weapons.)

[VANDOO]

SMALL HIDDEN THROWING SPIKES WERE IN USE IN CHINA THEY ARE OFTEN SEEN IN FILMS AND THEIR EFECTIVENESS EXAGERATED AS ALL OTHER MARTIAL ARTS OFTEN ARE IN FILM. THE JAPANESE HAD THE THROWING STARS AS WELL AS SPIKES THE CHINESE SEEMED TO FAVOR THE SPIKE OR DART FORMS. OFTEN THESE COULD BE CONCEALED IN THE CLOTHING OR AT TIMES IN THE HAIR ESPECIALLY BY WOMEN. OFTEN A EXPOSED CLOTH CORD OR RIBBON WAS ATTACHED TO THE DART AND WAS USED TO PULL OUT THE CONCEALED DART AND THEN TO THROW IT GIVING THE THROW MORE FORCE AND SPEED. THOSE WHO PRACTICED WITH THESE FROM AN EARLY AGE COULD BE VERY ACCURATE AND FORMIDIBLE. THE SMALL BLADE OF THE JAPANESE KOZUKA KNIFE MINUS ITS HANDLE WAS USED FOR THROWING PRACTICE BY THE YOUNG WARRIORS WHO WOULD TRAIN TO BE SAMURAI. THE TARGETS WERE THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY AS WELL AS OTHER MORE LETHAL AREAS. THE LARGE SLEVES ON SOME NATIVE DRESS HAD LOTS OF ROOM FOR WEAPONS AS WELL AS YOUR FAN AND OTHER ITEMS.

[KraVseR]

Thanks.

[fearn]

You can see some of these darts in the fifth picture down in this article:

http://chinesemartialstudies.com/201...partment-1925/

My suspicion is that they aren't often collected because the more modern examples were gang weapons. In Japan, there were small schools of shuriken-jitsu, and the older examples seem to have been passed from teacher to disciple. It's unclear that this happened in China.

Incidentally, there are a several of the precursors to the Fairbairn-Sykes knife in the seventh picture down.

F

[KraVseR]

Originally Posted by fearn

You can see some of these darts in the fifth picture down in this article:

Oh, thank you! Excellent link!