The rope dart or rope javelin (simplified Chinese: 绳镖; traditional Chinese: 繩鏢; pinyin: shéng biāo, Japanese: 縄鏢 or 縄標: Jōhyō), is one of the flexible weapons in Chinese martial arts. Other weapons in this family include the meteor hammer, flying claws, Fei Tou flying weight, and chain whip.

The rope dart is a long rope (usually 3–5 metres or 10–16 feet) with a metal dart attached to one end. This was a weapon^{[citation needed]} from ancient times, which allows the user to throw the dart out at a long-range target and use the rope to pull it back. The rope dart can be used for twining, binding, circling, hitting, piercing, tightening, slashing, snaring, harpoon and other techniques.

Rope dart play consists of twining, shooting, and retrieval. Twining and shooting can be done from any joint such as foot, knee, elbow, and neck. The rope is anchored on one hand and played primarily with the other hand.

Skillful use of the rope dart can easily trick an opponent because the dart can shoot out very suddenly, from a person beyond immediate reach.

Just like the chain whip, excellent hand-eye coordination is a must for the practitioner to use the rope dart well. In some Wushu training regimens, the chain whip and Changquan are prerequisites for learning the rope dart.

A variation of the rope dart is the meteor hammer, which has a blunt weight on the end of the rope. It was used in a similar fashion to the rope dart, and many of the techniques are the same. Another variation is Fei Tou flying weight, which is heavier than rope dart, made of a heavy conical weight on the end of a long rope. Like the rope dart it can be shot out at the opponent, but it is somewhat better suited to bludgeoning swings like the meteor hammer.^[1]

History

The earliest known reference to the rope dart as a distinct weapon from the meteor hammer or flying claw is a drawing in a 19th-century book about street vendors in Beijing. The context and items in this drawing as well as photographs from the early 20th century of similar content suggest these rope darts are intended for use in performance art. These early versions are shown with bamboo tubes that function as a sliding handle.^[2]

Construction

The rope dart is constructed from 4 to 5 parts:

• dart
• rings
• rope or fine chain
• flags or bright feathers
• handle (optional)

The dart is made of a hard material, usually iron or steel. It can be of variable weight depending on the users preference, and can be variable in shape (conical, triangular prism, pentagonal prism).

The rings (usually 4 or 5) are attached to the dart head.

The rope is attached to the final ring. Traditionally, the rope was constructed from Chinese rope and covered with wax to minimize friction.^{[citation needed]} In modern times, the rope is often made of a softer synthetic material and covered with talc powder or some other substance to reduce friction.

There is at least one flag attached near, or onto the dart head itself to conceal the dart during play and to add control. Additional flags can be attached to the side rings to slow down the dart and increase control.

The handle is made from the last piece of rope as a slipknot to attach to the anchor hand's wrist.

As performance art

While relatively new, rope dart is used in the object manipulation scenes due to its impressive performances.^[3] Because of this, there have been modifications to the original design. Some rope darts have been created to be set alight.^[4] A section of fireproof chain between the dart or meteor head and the rope attaches it securely and Kevlar wicks form the flammable head. Other rope darts have heads filled with LED lights.^[5] Both of these can be performed in the dark, adding excitement and mystery.

In modern media

• In Season 1 of America's Got Talent: Extreme William Brandon performed a fire dance with the rope dart.
• In the Assassin's Creed series, the rope dart appears as a tool in several games that can be used for either navigation or to assassinate enemies, typically via hanging. The character Shao Jun, a 16th-century Chinese Assassin, is credited with its invention, and Edward Kenway, Shay Cormac, Adéwalé, Ratonhnhaké:ton, Arbaaz Mir and Eivor Varinsdottir also employ rope darts in their respective games.^[6]
• In the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Shang-Chi’s younger sister Xialing teaches herself how to use a rope dart in secret after being forbidden from training with the boys.^[7]
• In the Mortal Kombat series, the character Scorpion uses a rope dart.
• In Destiny 2, the Hunter class uses a rope dart as a melee weapon as well as their super ability when using the Strand subclass.