Book excerpt: The San Jie Gun, or three-section staff, is a traditional Chinese weapon consisting of three short wooden or metal rods linked by chain. Versatile and difficult, it can be flexible or rigid, long or short, and an instrument of finesse or brutality. To wield it requires athletic prowess, courage, and tenacity, marking the person who masters it as one of substance and fierce individuality. While the three-section staff has been the weapon of choice for many advanced martial artists, instructions on its use have largely remained hidden. In The Classical Three-Section Staff, expert Rick Wing brings this ancient weapon into the light. Wing breaks down the complex wheeling maneuvers associated with the three-section staff into easily understood, step-by step instructions, and some 500 photographs carefully depict front and back views of techniques. The book shows multiple applications of the three-section staff by depicting a sparring set between it and a traditional spear. Wing demonstrates the dazzling versatility of the weapon, showing how to use it as a defensive wall, a club, a blunt projectile, a chain, and more. With a “learn at your own pace” approach and a solid foundation of descriptive text, The Classical Three-Section Staff makes using the weapon of “whirling fury” into an accessible and enjoyable art.