After some reading and looking at some different videos of fan fighting (very few of them granted) I noticed that a fan is usually pretty useful closed, not open. The escrimas stick, though different rather resembles the closed fan. I am wondering if most people who practice escrima have a much easier time with the fighting fan. Also I am wondering if an all metal fighting fan exists? I saw one in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, but could never find one on the market. Can it be made? thanks!
to my knowlage fighting fans are generaly from chinese martial arts perticulerly tai chi, so escrima practitionors would be unliky to train with them in there classes, the fan is designed to be used open aswell as closed, as each rib/spoke of the fan should have a blade at the top and you would use the colour/size of the fan to distract and confuse your opponent, (though in truth i doupt that you would ever effectivly be able to fight somone armed with another weapon with a fan) so if you want to learn forms with the fan, and get told that it can be a deadly weapon of mass destruction find a tai chi or ku ng fu class that will teach them however if you use the fan as nothing more then a blunt object then escrima would be an ideal choice of somthing that would make you effective, p.s it could be that the metal/bladed ribbed fans are illigal where you live so thats why you haven seen them espercally if you live in england, all the best things are illigal over here
It's difficult to find fully-bladed fans in the states. After 9/11 damn near everything has to be blunt. The only fans with beveled ends I've seen are owned by one of the LiShis at my kwoon, and they were custom-made. As for the second post, the fan can actually ba an efferctive weapon both open and closed. As long as you're willing to replace the fabric, anyway. The spaces in-between the ribs are meant to catch weapons and disarm an opponent. You jusy have to know how to use them. You'll need to find a CMA school to learn, most Japanese and Korean styles don't use the fan, and even then you'd need to attain a decent rank before you'd be taught to use one.
You can see both elderly men and women going through their routines with fans in the parks in Hong Kong on occasion. Before the big tournaments you will always find people practicing with their weapons in the part. Escrima or any of the FMA's would be able to apply what they know to using a fan that was closed.. maybe not true for one that is opened. If you got in altercation using a metal fan... you'd better have a very, very good lawyer.. or you'll be sitting in county for quite a while.
I know, but part of me says it would be worth it just to see the look on the poor attacker's face when he has to explain to the cops he was beaten up by some little dude weilding a fan
one day i was actually doing some serious steel fan searching through ggogle and i found an entirely all metal fan ^^ http://bagua.hollosite.com/products.html if you scroll down on this site you will find an all metal fan!
in kuk sool (a korean style), the fan is mostly used to strike pressure points when closed and puncture the throat or to distract when open. if you are proficent with small weapons a fan would be effective against other weapons as the spins and ends are made of metal or v hard wood and could block or deflect just like a small sword or small stick. i have seen metal bladed fans from blitz, but nothing like the all metal one at http://bagua.hollosite.com/products.html. nice!
