Three section staff

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The Sanjiegun, or three-section staff (三節棍 , sān jié gùn), is a Chinese flail weapon that consists of three wooden or metal staffs connected by metal rings or rope. The weapon is known as a sansetsukon in Japanese. A larger, more complicated version of the well-known nunchaku, the staves can be spun to gather momentum resulting in a devastating strike, or their articulation can be used to strike over or around a shield or other defensive block.

These staves were designed for defense against spears and other long weapons. Historically made of white oak or Chinese red maple, modern staves are constructed from rattan, bamboo, various hardwoods or aluminum. For optimum fit, each of the three sticks should be about the length of the combatant’s arm and have a combined diameter that easily fits in the hand.

The total length of the weapon is greater than that of the short single staff known in Japanese as a bo, about the same as the Chinese staff, the gun, creating a larger circle of available targets around the combatant. Many of the techniques are similar to that of the staff, so spinning moves over the head and behind the back can be practiced with a regular staff. The three-section staff has the advantage of being used both as a long-range weapon or a short-range weapon. Acting as an extension of the users arm, the three sectional staff can strike, block, stab, sweep legs, and whip, often with different sections of the staff acting at the same time. The chains or binding ropes of the staff are used to entangle an opponent and their weapons.

[edit] Historical accounts of the three-section staff

The first written account of the three-section staff is found in the literary work known as the Sanguo Zhi, also known by its English name Records of the Three Kingdoms.

[edit] In popular culture

• In the Jet Li movie The Tai-Chi Master, Michelle Yeoh's character Sui Lin uses a three section staff with devastating effect during the battle between the rebels and the governor's forces.

• In the comic series Witchblade, the character of Tora No Shi uses a bladed variation of this weapon.

• In the movie Beverly Hills Ninja, Haru, the character played by Chris Farley, uses this weapon while he is in the dojo.

• SNK Playmore character Billy Kane uses a bo staff capable of transforming into a three-section staff for a weapon in every fighting game he appears.

• The 1978 Hong Kong martial arts movie The 36th Chamber of Shaolin features the three-section staff as a Shaolin weapon, invented and wielded by a novice monk (Gordon Liu).

• In the anime/manga series Saint Seiya, the three-section staff is one of the six legendary weapons of the Libra Cloth.

• In the anime/manga Bleach, shinigami Ikkaku Madarame's zanpakutō's initial release (shikai) is a three-section staff which also has a blade attached to the end so it can double as a naginata.

• The character Yusaku Kudo uses a three-section staff as his weapon in the video game Last Bronx which marks the only appearance of a true sansetsukon in a 3d fighting game.

• In the anime/manga Naruto, former Genin (now Chunin) Tenten is an expert at wielding a three-section staff in an anime filler.

• In the comic book series DV8 the character Sublime uses a three section staff as her weapon of choice.

• In the 2006 film Fearless, Huo Yuanjia, played by Jet Li, uses the weapon in a competition match against Anno Tanaka, a Japanese Iaido and Karate practioner who wields a katana

• In the movie Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark the gestapo agent seems to have one, until it turns out to be a clothes hanger.

• This weapon is featured in two Suikoden video games . In Suikoden II for the Playstation, the protagonist's sister Nanami, uses the three-section staff in combat. In Suikoden V for the Playstation 2, the protagonist, the Prince of Falena, wields the weapon, but it is referred to a Tri-nunchaku. The three-section staff that the Prince of Falena wields is special in that it can be converted into a normal staff.

• In the manga Saiyuki, Son Goku (the Japanese counter part of the Chinese monkey king Sun Wukong) can change his "nyoi bo" into a three-section staff.

• In the Samurai Warriors video game series by Koei, Hashiba Hideyoshi is portrayed carrying a weapon identified as a sansetsukon which can be linked into a solid metal "bo," in a fashion similar to the aforementioned Son Goku.

• Kenta/Black Mask from Hikari Sentai Maskman is armed with this weapon ("Masky Rod"), as is GekiTouja from Jūken Sentai Gekiranger ("Gekisetsukon").

• Daimos, the titular super robot from the anime Daimos has, as part of its arsenal, a three-section staff called the "San-Ryuu-Kon" which serves as the robot's "belt" when not in use.

• In the movie Circle of Iron, the main character Cord watches a fighter with a three-section staff defeated by David Carradine as a monkey.

• In the animated series Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, the character Shu Rei Fuan (Kento in the English translation) uses a three-section staff that collapses into a bo staff.