Due to the financial hardship of my wonderful students and my weakness for neat outfits, I will bring another phase of gong fu back out of retirement that did not all come from master Don. Duan gong - the Blacksmithing and weaponeering. I was blessed to still be on the farm and have a forge at the same time I got accepted to train.
My horse shoe and gate hinge knowledge immediately took on new exercises and forms. I imitated every blade he showed somehow at home - but of course a 12 year old not allowed to make blades out of higher carbon steel. My swords were a bit of a scimitar and a bit of a heavy bar, but my cobra blade as I recall wasn't bad. I made imitation trident and sai my dad stabbed me with once when we were playing around.
But that was 4 decades and an Ironworks ago.
As I was saying I have these starving students and I intend to un-retire some more and get them producing pole weapons.
I was looking at spear prices. I thought about what could be done with that spear and how I could have made them for half. Cheaper unpolished.
So not as a master's piece thread, but as a student's experience thread I thought starting one might be a place other shifu could show things of their duan gong as it is taught in varying degrees today.
I teach the basics and all the tricks I know. The rest is up to them. If they can pull a sword out of a Buick by a campfire and save the poor plum village I did my job. I continue to provide materials and implements of creation but in large nose-out. (Imagine)
Master Don's current works can be seen at:
http://www.northcoastknives.com/nort...ves_custom.htm
and they truly are works of art. He has a patent on a steel that cuts other steel but is very hard to sharpen.
His crafter contact page: https://www.jaminmark.com/profile/masterdonknives/
Ok! Shhhhh! I have not told the long xi that they are to be iron slingers yet - the next post will be their response to that. (and whether or not at least one of their landlords will be appeased. That is how I found out we must now cut steel.
Naginata and guan do are basic and will be their first exercises. In my case I will not discuss knives with them because master Don actually has something to say worth their pursuit on that.
Safety first! Mine will fear their gory pictures showing up on the net and be a good motivator for them. Whatever it takes, this part of temple learning has fire and can cost parts. Happy Weapon Makers student exercise thread ~
Student piece made from welding rods and unrolled garage door opener springs forge welded and the hilt cut from the excess tang. Circa 1997?
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