Asian polearms

josh stout · 21st May 2018, 05:04 PM

You see allot of these in the background of old martial arts school photos from the 30s. Nevertheless, I agree that they were for show though rather than practice. I think they were sort of an expected backdrop for any school. Similar sets are sometimes associated with "temples", but still in a martial arts context. These don't show definitive Vietnamese scroll work, but I think that might be their origin. It is hard to tell, the martial arts community of the Chinese diaspora in South East Asia had a very similar aesthetic. I have seen what look like identical examples in old photos from Indonesia.

Sets like this are still being made but are generally heavier and cruder.

21st May 2018, 05:04 PM	#7
josh stout Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 407	You see allot of these in the background of old martial arts school photos from the 30s. Nevertheless, I agree that they were for show though rather than practice. I think they were sort of an expected backdrop for any school. Similar sets are sometimes associated with "temples", but still in a martial arts context. These don't show definitive Vietnamese scroll work, but I think that might be their origin. It is hard to tell, the martial arts community of the Chinese diaspora in South East Asia had a very similar aesthetic. I have seen what look like identical examples in old photos from Indonesia. Sets like this are still being made but are generally heavier and cruder.