Chopsticks as a weapon ?

Chopsticks are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks that have been used as kitchen and eating utensils in most of East Asia. They are held in the dominant hand, secured by fingers, and wielded as extensions of the hand, to pick up food. First used by the Chinese, chopsticks later spread to other East Asian cultural sphere countries including Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. As ethnic Chinese emigrated, the use of chopsticks as eating utensils for certain ethnic food took hold in South and Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand. In India (mainly in Himalayan region), Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Nepal, chopsticks are generally used to consume noodles.

Ancient Chopsticks 

Historical evidence of putting together two sticks to use during cooking or eating have been found in East Asia and the Middle East. The earliest versions were probably twigs used to retrieve food from cooking pots. The fabled ruins of Yin, in Henan province, provided not only the earliest examples of Chinese writing but also the first known chopsticks—bronze sets found in tombs at the site. Capable of reaching deep into boiling pots of water or oil, early chopsticks were used mainly for cooking. It wasn’t until A.D. 400 that people began eating with the utensils. This happened when a population boom across China sapped resources and forced cooks to develop cost-saving habits. They began chopping food into smaller pieces that required less cooking fuel—and happened to be perfect for the tweezers-like grip of chopsticks.. This new method of cooking made it unnecessary to have knives at the dinner table—a practice that also jibed with the non-violent teachings of Confucius, as expressed in one of his numerous quotable quotations: "The honorable and upright man keeps well away from both the slaughterhouse and the kitchen. And he allows no knives on his table." During the Chinese dynastic times, silver chopsticks were sometimes used because it was believed they would turn black if they came in contact with poisoned food. This practice must have led to some unfortunate misunderstandings—it's now known that silver has no reaction to arsenic or cyanide, but can change color if it comes into contact with garlic, onions, or rotten eggs, all of which release hydrogen sulfide.  Wood and bamboo were the natural early forms of chopsticks, and are still the most common materials today. In time bone, ivory, bronze, brass, silver, gold, jade, agate, coral and other exotic materials have been used, especially for wealthy chopstick owners. Ancient sets of chopsticks in China were commonly found with a knife and pouch, and chopsticks were frequently bound together at the handle end by a chain. Disposable chopsticks are modern invention, in the past everyone had his own pair of chopsticks and they were usually made from some kind of durable material so they could last long. 

Silver Chopstics 

Chopsticks are traditionally utilized as an improvised weapon. Martial artists have trained with them and carried them not as much as weapons but for having a meal for centuries, but they make excellent improvised emergency weapon for certain situations where taking out the main weapon is not easy, for example while sitting in the restaurant during a meal. While chopsticks don’t have enough weight and the grip really doesn’t allow firm hold of a weapon, therefore they can’t be considered a lethal weapon, they can definitely hurt the opponent and give time to the fighter to either escape or reach the main weapon.  Of course, in the past chopsticks were made form durable and heavier materials, some kind of metal and hardwood and could be used as weapon in the case of emergency or as a concealed weapon. Modern, light, disposable bamboo chopsticks can’t be used as weapon. 

Ancient chopstics set with a small knife as a part of the set

Chopsticks can be used as a weapon in three different ways, and can be trained in three different ways of technique development. It can be used as a throwing blade. There was a wide variety of throwing darts used in ancient China that are similar in length and weight with chopsticks. Throwing any kind of dart is technically really complicated and hard and requires a lot of training. Chopsticks can be also used as a stabbing weapon. Technique for this kind of using is similar to other short blades techniques with a difference that chopsticks can’t cut, they can only be used for stabbing. Chopsticks can be also used as tool \weapon in joint lock (Chin Na) techniques.

Most of Kung Fu styles do not use chopsticks as weapons. There are only few rare styles in China and two Ju Jutsu styles in Japan that teach use of chopsticks as a weapon. Snake Crane Wing Chun is one of the rare Kung Fu styles that uses chopsticks as a weapon and as a training tool to enhance the strength and mobility of the joints.