From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Butterfly Swords

The butterfly sword (Traditional Chinese: 蝴蝶雙刀; Simplified Chinese: 蝴蝶双刀; pinyin: húdié shuāng dāo) is a short dāo, or single-edged blade, originally from the South of China, though it has seen use in the North. The blade length is approximately that of the forearm, for easy concealment within the sleeves or inside boots, and for greater maneuverability to spin and rotate in close-quarters fighting. The butterfly sword is usually wielded in pairs. The sword has also a small crossguard to protect the hands of the wielder, which can be too small to block or hook an opponent's weapon. The guard can also be used as a knuckle duster when non-lethal application of the weapon is desired. Traditionally, the blade of a butterfly sword is only sharpened halfway, from the middle of the blade to the tip. From the middle down to the handle, the blade is left blunt. This is done so that the unsharpened portion of the blade can be used for blocking without damaging a finely honed edge. Butterfly swords are used in several Chinese martial arts, notably Wing Chun, Lau Gar and Hung Gar.

In Wing Chun, one notable aspect of butterfly sword combat is that its principles are the basis for all other weaponry. In theory, any object that can be held in the hands of a Wing Chun practitioner will follow basically the same principles of movement as the butterfly swords. This is because the use of butterfly swords is simply an extension of empty-handed combat.

In Final Fantasy VII, Cloud Strife uses a Butterfly sword which is bought in Cosmo Canyon called Butterfly Edge.

Kano uses a set of butterfly knives in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance

In the movie Wing Chun (film), the character Yim Wing Chun(played by actress Michelle Yeoh) makes prodigious use of her butterfly swords.

One of the Earth Kingdom pirates, whose job is a barker in the Avatar: The Last Airbender episode The Waterbending Scroll uses a set of butterfly swords. Earthbending, the bending art of the Earth Kingdom, is based on Hung Gar, a martial art where the use of the butterfly swords is extensive.

In Defense of the Ancients, the butterfly sword is one of the recipe items; it is called The Butterfly in the game.

Duncan Macleod, the protagonist of Highlander: The Source, uses a pair of butterfly swords in the final fight scene against The Guardian.