In the winter of 2008, Dr. Painter came to Ohio to teach a seminar in Rolling the Pearl and Baguazhang elbow knife techniques. Elbow knives are a traditional weapon used by the Li family. Although called "knives," they're more like small swords.
For this seminar, wooden replicas of elbow knives were used during practice so we would not hurt each other. These wooden replicas then were offered for sale after the seminar. Being a hobbyist woodworker, I decided to make a dozen wooden elbow knives and give them to the Cuyahoga Falls study group members.
This picture was taken after the knives were stained and varnished and drying in my basement. The photo looks like something out of a horror movie, which I thought was funny so I decided to share it with the rest of the world (which, in this case, turns out to be the one person that read this blog -- thanks, Mom!).
