The Dragon Staff is an eye-catching prop that has become popular in the flow community. Let’s dive into the history of the Dragon Staff.
While the Dragon Staff seems to be directly linked to the traditional Chinese martial art form Fei Cha, it is better to think of it as a modern day flow prop that has a similar movement vocabulary to the Fei Cha, and therefore is derived from it. After diving deep into flow arts discussion groups, I have found that the Dragon Staff (the modern design we know today) is a creation from within the flow arts community. The similarities between the Dragon Staff and the Fei Cha have been explored after the creation of the Dragon Staff.
The term Dragon Staff and its popular modern design are credited to Gora. Gora created the Dragon Staff in the early 2000s (2002-2004). At the time of creation, he was unaware of the Fei Cha. Gora simply created the Dragon Staff in true fire spinner manner - he wanted more flames than the Contact Staff. After this new staff was created, the uniqueness of the Dragon Staff design was discovered. This staff’s shape, with symmetrically distributed weight extending from both ends, creates rotational inertia, which distinguishes the Dragon Staff from the Contact Staff. (CLICK HERE to watch Gora flow with one of his first Dragon Staffs.)
When first created, the Dragon Staff (as we know it today) went through a few different name iterations: “ten-headed” staff and “coat-hanger” staff. Other designs created by other inventors had different names as well: like the “rolly polly staff of doomy doomy doom doom” by Brettdstar. Eventually, the term Dragon Staff came about because a prop with that much flame deserved a more powerful name. Once the name was paired with the prop, the Dragon Staff became popular around the world.
Although we have distinguished that the similarities between the Fei Cha and the Dragon Staff have been explored after the creation of the Dragon Staff, it is still important to acknowledge how this martial art form has influenced Dragon Staff flow today.
The beginning of Fei Cha (Flying Fork, Flying Spear, Flying Trident) was in the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907). The Fei Cha was used in traditional Chinese martial art forms, specifically Kung Fu. (CLICK HERE to watch a traditional Fei Cha performance.) The movement vocabularies between the Fei Cha and the Dragon Staff are similar, but the designs are different. Many of the moves that have been used with the Fei Cha over thousands of years are still used today with the Contact and Dragon Staff. (CLICK HERE to watch a modern day Fei Cha performance.) However, the Fei Cha is designed off-center, more similar to a Contact Sword than to a Contact or Dragon Staff.
Learning the history of the Dragon Staff makes one realize that it is almost impossible to trace the history of anything to one true source. Our world is complex and we all have ideas born at any given moment. Two people on opposite sides of the world could have the same idea at the same time, with the possibility of approaching that idea in a very similar or very different manner. It takes courage to be vulnerable and share your ideas, but it can change the world. In the words of Gora:
“After all, we are just channels of the same flow. Many people have the idea, but only a few create it.”
Blog written by: Shae Nance
