My Wing Chun Instructor, Sifu Anthony Iglesias, recently purchased a set of Hanwei butterfly swords.  A traditional weapon of Wing Chun Kung Fu, the butterfly swords resemble large D-guard Bowie knives.

Anthony told me he is very happy with the blades because they are 'his size.'  As he is of, in his words, "small stature," Anthony finds most blades to be a little large for his taste.  The Hanwei blades, by contrast, are the perfect weight and very easy for him to handle.

"Typically," Anthony told me, "the blade length of the weapon is equal to the fist and the forearm.  If the blade is longer than the length of the fist and the arm, it could not be rotated inside the arms (a common move in Traditional Wing Chun)."

Anthony found that the Hanwei blades do tend to "stick" a little in their scabbards.  "Some may find this annoying," he added, "but I kind of like it because it acts as a security device."  These are live blades, after all, Anthony pointed out.  It's best not to have them slipping out accidentally.

The handles of the blades are a little blocky, Anthony tells me, and while most people prefer more rounded grips, he likes the handles on the Hanwei knives.

"The primary use of the Batt Jamm Do [butterfly swords] is for slashing, to maim the opponent's wrists, knees, and ankles," Anthony asserts.  "Some systems of Wing Chun also incorporate stabbing. This obviously comes much later in Wing Chun history due to the fact that the system originated at the Shaolin Temple. Their religion did not allow them to slaughter anyone."

Anthony spoke of his new butterfly swords several times as we chatted before or after classes in the weeks before the blades arrived.  He was very eager to receive them and couldn't sound happier with them now.  "These are very useful blades," he told me.