Weapons of Ancient China - Thrown, Shot & Catapulted
Silent and Deadly, over Short and Long Distances

Preamble

No, the bow is not the only flying or shot weapon but in cold warfare (without explosives) is was dominant. The English Long Bow put knights in heavy armor out of business much the same as did the dueling saber. Although you see a lot of sword fighting in Japanese cold war movies, most of the work was done by arrows then long weapons like the naginta, spear, and the like. Even with shield walls, Archers were the weapons of mass destruction in cold war (pre gun powder) area.

In essence, if you can lift it, it can be thrown, projected, rolled down a hill or shot in some other way. A thrown stone, shot arrow, blown dart, catapulted rock, all are projectile weapons. The concept of a projectile as a Weapon predates human written history. It is therefore unsurprising that there is an array of projectile, shot and thrown Weapons that we have developed. The most popular is probably the Bow and Arrow. But there are many more that have come to prominence and are popular, including the sling shot.

Shaolin Academy does not teach throwing weapons. We occasionally go to an Archery School to improve our archery and on a kung fu camp we may have a javelin throwing competition (By-th-by: for clarity purpose, we call thrown spears javelins and held spears, spears. Not everyone agrees, but for the sake of these pages, it will have to do.

As part of our training, we may use tennis balls as a way of training our ability to dodge a thrown object correctly. We wear safety glasses, a groin protector, head guard and/or anything else that allows us to throw balls at each other to learn to dodge them. It is a bit like dodge ball except with smaller balls. No, catching a thrown ball is not an option in our training. Not everyone participates in this training so we usually do it after normal class times. It's all about learning to read the attacker and practice the right way to avoid a projectile.

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Important Notice

The Victorian Government has introduced laws to target knife crime. From 22 August 2010 you can be searched for knives in a public place anywhere, anytime, with and without notice. If you are 16 and over and get caught carrying a controlled weapon such as a knife, you face an on the spot fine of $1,000, or you may have to go to court and face a fine of over $14,000 or one year imprisonment. This penalty is doubled if you are inside or within 20 meters of a pub, club or bar. From 1 January 2011 If you are under 18 you will no longer able to buy any type of knife, including kitchen knives or knives for school or work. To do so is against the law and you will face a $239 on the spot fine, or you could face court and a fine of over $1,400. Anyone who knowingly sells a knife or other controlled weapon to a minor faces a fine of over $2,300. Details and link at the bottom of this page. Victoria Police - Our Services - Weapons WEB page.

We are happy to hear from you and answer you martial art, health and developmental questions. If you wish to train with us, the first 3 sessions are free. It is best to try these before making any commitment. If you have any other questions or would lust like to explore some possibilities, you can;

• Call us between 11am and 5pm, Tuesday to Friday & Sunday on 0458 742 654 that is 0458 SHAOLIn
• e-mail us at the Shaolin Academy
• Drop into any of our venues at least 30 minutes before class start.
• Or in a special case, you can also arrange a personal meeting with Master Robert Z. You can call him on 0458 742 654 (0458 SHAOLIn).

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