The Practice and Principles of Shaking Long Pole in Internal Martial Arts
The practice of shaking the Long pole (Dǒu Gǎn) in internal martial arts has its origins in ancient spear techniques. During the era of cold weapons, long spears were generally over eight feet long. In martial arts families, when teaching their disciples, they would first learn the techniques of the medium-sized and circular spears. In the north, white waxwood poles were used, while in the south, they used rattan poles. Only after achieving a certain level of skill were they allowed to use the big spear. Before the Ming Dynasty, the Sha Family Pole and Yang Family Big Spear were both very demanding in terms of skill. Often, when their spear skills were accomplished, they would also have developed the whole-body coordinated power, making it easier to practice techniques like hand strikes.