In the Hung Kyun collection of Mr. Lam Jou, one of the most classic weapon skill is “Double Dragon Sabre” (Seung Lung Dou), it is the set that master Lam Jou often performed in his time.

The predecessor of Seung Lung Dou has not been previously investigated. However, the pattern of this sword set is similar to  “Single Battle Sword” (Daan Pok Dou 單朴刀). Comparing Seung Lung Dou to Geui Chung Dou the former uses different kind of blades. It should also be pointed out that Seung Lung Dou and the Cantonese “Butterfly Knives” (Wu Dip Dou) have a different origin. So we can assume that Seung Lung Dou was created in the beginning of the 20^th century when different martial art styles came together in Hong Kong, perhaps this set is a result of inter-exchange between areas and cultures, it is also Lam Jou’s mastery and comprehensive study of Northern and Southern martial arts.

[Translator’s note: another source claims that the Seung Lung Dou was created by Grandmaster Lau Jaam].

The special features of Seung Lung Dou is the flexibility and nimbleness of the set. In addition, the set contains very low stances, it pays particular attention to waist and stance skills. Seung Lung Dou contains many twisting stances and twisting movements, it emphasizes them in a flexible way. Besides, the double swords requires a lot of body work, the blades should not be too far away from the body, regardless if the blades revolves around the head or the back, they still have to be close to the body when chopping towards the opponent, this way the techniques will be strong. The movements of the set transfer power to the blades. When it comes to the techniques of Kam (Putting on the Lid,  冚), Pit (Throwing Aside, 撇) they employ the proximity to the body and they require low stances.

The classic movements of the Seung Lung Dou consist of  “Leveled Stance Four Chops”  (Ping Ma Sei Jaam Sik 平馬四斬勢), ”Upward Block” (Seung Dong Sik 上劏勢), are all quite rarely seen compared to other techniques. Additionally, the Seung Lung Dou has quite a few  “Flowering”, or twisting the blades in a circular movement (Gaau Fa 搞花). These movements strengthen the beauty of the set, which has given this set another name ”Plum Blossom Double Dragon Sabres (Mui Fa Seung Lung Dou 梅花雙龍刀).

Grand Master Lam Chun Sing performing Lam Family Hung Kyun ”Plum Blossom Double Dragon Sabres (Mui Fa Seung Lung Dou 梅花雙龍刀) in Prague, 2009.

[Translator’s note: the Mui Fa, or plum blossom, is the national flower of China. So instead of naming the set Jung Gwok Seung Dou 中國雙刀, “China’s Double Broadswords”), practitioners would call their sets Mui Fa Kyun or Mui Fa Seung Dou, and so on. When people learned martial arts, they might not have known the proper name of the set, instead they would add the prefix Mui Fa]

This double broadsword set is very beautiful, it also contains a lot of practical sabre techniques.

References

This text is translated from Chinese to English by Viktor Nordgren. The original text comes from the source given below:

• Chao, H., Lam, C, F. & Sam, S. About Carrying the Tradition Forward and Innovation. Ming Pao Weekly. Issue no. 2325, 01 June 2013. (趙，式慶。林，鎮輝 & 三三。承傳與創新。明周。2325期，2013年6月1號。)
• Wong, R. Personal interview. 10 Aug. 2016. 王，仲文。訪問。2016年8月10號

About the Translator: Viktor Nordgren been training Hung Kyun since 2002. He started to learn from Mattias Lindh Sifu in Umeå, Sweden. Viktor has been practising under Raymond Wong since 2010. Håkan Andersson, Viktor’s Sihing, started training under Mattias in 2001 and under master Wong in 2010 as well. Viktor is an author of excellent English translation of Lam Sai Wing’s Taming the Tiger Manual, available in our PHK Eshop HERE.

Note: Please also see Pavel Macek Sifu’s article about “Traveller Monk’s Staff” (Hang Je Paang).

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