Deer Horn Knives or Moon Knives in Baguazhang

At Dragon Phoenix, the Moon Knives are one of the most unique weapons in Cheng Style Baguazhang. Many Chinese martial arts have swords, spears, staffs, and broadswords, but the Moon Knives belong especially to Baguazhang. Dragon Phoenix describes them as a weapon found only in Baguazhang, and they are part of the Cheng Baguazhang weapons curriculum along with the broadsword, straight sword, spear, and hook swords.

These weapons are often called Deer Horn Knives, Crescent Moon Knives, Mandarin Duck Axes, Meridian Axes, or Double Moon Knives. The different names can be confusing, but they also show the history of the weapon. Over time, different teachers, translators, and lineages have emphasized different features of the weapon: its shape, its function, its paired use, or its poetic connection to the moon.

In Cheng Baguazhang, the preferred name is often Moon Knives or Double Moon Knives. This name fits not only because of the shape of the weapon, but also because of a play on words in Chinese.

What Are Moon Knives?

Moon Knives are short paired weapons, usually held one in each hand. Each weapon has crossing crescent shapes that create curved points or “horns.” One part of the weapon is held in the hand, while the curved blades extend outward around the grip.

They are not used like ordinary knives. They are not simply for cutting forward. Their shape allows them to hook, trap, catch, press, cut, redirect, and control. Because they are used in pairs, both hands can work together in a way that fits Baguazhang’s turning, wrapping, and changing movement.

General descriptions of the weapon note that Deer Horn Knives are especially associated with Baguazhang and are commonly used for trapping an opponent’s weapon, disarming, breaking structure, and close-range applications against longer weapons such as spear, sword, or broadsword.

This makes sense in Baguazhang. Baguazhang is not usually trying to stand still and trade force directly. It uses footwork, angles, circular movement, and changing to get to a better position. The Moon Knives match that method very well.

The Progression of Names

The weapon has gone through many names over time. Some of these names are Chinese names, some are translations, and some are more common in modern English-language martial arts circles.

One older and more formal name is often given as Ziwu Yuanyang Yue, or 子午鸳鸯钺. This is sometimes translated as Meridian Mandarin Duck Axes. “Ziwu” refers to opposite directions or meridian alignment. “Yuanyang,” or mandarin ducks, often suggests a matched pair. “Yue” refers to an axe or battle axe.

Another shortened name is Yuanyang Yue, or Mandarin Duck Axes. This name emphasizes that the weapons are used as a pair. Like mandarin ducks, the two weapons belong together.

Another common name is Lu Jiao Dao, or 鹿角刀, usually translated as Deer Horn Knives or more literally Deer Antler Knives. This name describes the shape of the weapon. The curved points look like antlers, and this has become one of the most recognizable English names. Some sources note that “deer horn knives” is the popular name, while “antler knives” is a more literal translation.

In English, the weapon is also often called Crescent Moon Knives because of its crescent-shaped blades. This name emphasizes the visual shape more than the older martial terminology.

In Cheng Baguazhang, the preferred name has become Moon Knives or Double Moon Knives. This name keeps the crescent imagery, but it also connects beautifully to the Chinese wordplay behind the weapon.

Shuang Yue: Double Axes and Double Moons

The Mandarin phrase Shuang Yue can be understood in two ways depending on the character used for “yue.”

The character 钺, pronounced yuè, means axe or battle axe. So 双钺 can be translated as double axes or paired battle axes.

But there is another character, 月, also pronounced yuè, which means moon. So when people hear Shuang Yue, they may also hear 双月, meaning double moons.

This is a play on words. The martial meaning comes from 钺, the axe or battle axe. But the sound also brings in 月, the moon. Since the weapons themselves look like crescent moons, or like different phases of the moon crossing through one another, the name Double Moon Knives has become a natural and poetic way to refer to them in Cheng Baguazhang.

This is one of those places where Chinese martial arts carry both practical meaning and poetic meaning at the same time. The weapon is functional, but the name also points to its shape and feeling.

Why “Moon Knives” Fits Cheng Baguazhang

The name Moon Knives fits Baguazhang because the weapon itself expresses the nature of the art.

Baguazhang is circular.
The weapon is circular.

Baguazhang changes angles.
The weapon has many angles.

Baguazhang wraps, turns, hooks, and redirects.
The weapon is made for wrapping, hooking, and redirecting.

Baguazhang does not usually rely on one direct line of force. It changes. The Moon Knives also do not move like a simple straight blade. Their shape allows the practitioner to catch, turn, trap, cut, and change direction quickly.

Dragon Phoenix describes Cheng Baguazhang as a circular and spiral-based martial art that uses geometry, physics, movement, uprooting, throwing, and the ability to maintain one’s center while changing around the opponent. The Moon Knives are a natural extension of that method.

What the Moon Knives Train

The Moon Knives are not beginner weapons. They require coordination, footwork, awareness, and control. Because both hands are armed, the student must learn to coordinate the two sides of the body without becoming tangled or tense.

They train several important skills:

• close-range circular movement

• two-handed coordination

• hooking and trapping

• cutting on changing angles

• turning through the waist

• using the weapon with the body instead of only the arms

• moving around longer weapons

• protecting and attacking at the same time

The Moon Knives also help students understand how the empty-hand movements of Baguazhang can become weapon movements. A wrapping palm may become a hooking action. A palm change may become a cut or trap. A turn of the waist may pull the opponent’s weapon off line. A step may create the angle that makes the technique work.

This is why weapons training should not be separate from the rest of Baguazhang. The weapon teaches the same principles in a more demanding way.

Why They Are Used Against Longer Weapons

Moon Knives are short weapons. At first, that may seem like a disadvantage against a spear, broadsword, or straight sword. But the design of the weapon gives it certain advantages at closer range.

The curved horns can catch or jam a longer weapon. The paired use allows one hand to control while the other attacks. The Baguazhang footwork helps the practitioner move off the direct line and enter from an angle. Once the distance is closed, the longer weapon can lose some of its advantage.

This does not mean the weapon is easy to use. It means the weapon depends on good movement. Without Baguazhang footwork, the Moon Knives are only unusual pieces of metal. With proper footwork, they become an expression of the art.

The Moon Knives and the Baguazhang Body

The Moon Knives reveal whether the student is moving from the whole body. If the arms move by themselves, the weapons feel heavy and awkward. If the shoulders tense, the movement becomes stiff. If the waist does not lead, the weapons lose their circular power.

The student has to learn to move from the feet, through the waist, into the hands. This is the same lesson found in circle walking, the 8 Turning Palms, the 8 Mother Palms, and the 64 Palms. The weapon simply makes the lesson more obvious.

The Moon Knives teach the student to stay relaxed, but not loose. Strong, but not stiff. Quick, but not rushed. Aware, but not tense.

This is good Baguazhang.

Learning Moon Knives at Dragon Phoenix

At Dragon Phoenix, Moon Knives are taught as part of the Cheng Baguazhang weapons curriculum. Students first build the foundation in empty-hand training, including circle walking, stepping, turning, palm changes, and body connection. Once there is enough foundation, weapons training can help deepen the same principles.

Dragon Phoenix notes that Baguazhang weapons are taught in focused blocks, with the class opening to new students when a new weapon begins and then closing while students concentrate on that weapon until reaching proficiency. This keeps the training focused and prevents the weapon from becoming just another form to collect.

This is especially important with the Moon Knives. Their shape is unusual, their movement is complex, and their meaning can easily be missed without careful instruction.

The Beauty of the Name

The name Moon Knives is more than a modern simplification. It carries the feeling of the weapon.

Historically, the weapon has been called Ziwu Yuanyang Yue, Mandarin Duck Axes, Deer Horn Knives, Deer Antler Knives, Crescent Moon Knives, and Double Moon Knives. Each name tells part of the story.

The older names remind us of the weapon’s martial roots.
The deer horn name reminds us of its antler-like shape.
The crescent moon name reminds us of its curved blades.
The Double Moon name brings together sound, shape, and meaning.

In Mandarin, Shuang Yue can point toward the battle axe through 钺, but it also sounds like moon through 月. Because the weapons look like moon phases crossing and changing, Moon Knives has become the preferred name in Cheng Baguazhang.

That is a beautiful thing. It is practical and poetic at the same time.

And that is very much in the spirit of Baguazhang.

The Moon Knives are weapons.
They are training tools.
They are symbols of the circle.
They are a reminder that in Baguazhang, movement, meaning, and change are always connected.