but they may also have wanted to spike already prone opponents as they
rode over them. This would have given them an efficient tool forfinishing
off broken enemy formations as they rode through, without having to turn
their spears over. Indeed, it is possible that their short mounts also con-
tributed to their continued use of the long sword, which was a much better
thrusting weapon than the sword.
Some other weapons didfind their way onto the battlefield in Mongol
hands, but none proved especially effective. Mongols brought whatever
weapons were available into battle, and this could sometimes be as simple
as a club. The power of the Mongol army was not in the individual prowess
of particular warriors. It was the coordinated actions of large groups of
Mongol cavalry that proved so devastating. They did not close with an
enemy before the opposing formation had already been shattered by
missilefire. Close-range missilefire was preferable to hand-to-hand com-
bat. It was simply more effective for Mongol cavalry to use accurate, close-
range archery with heavier arrows than to come to grips with an enemy.
Wrestling and Boxing
Not surprisingly, given the long steppe association with wrestling, the
Mongols were enthusiastic supporters of wrestling contests. Wrestling no
longer had a strong association with prowess on the battlefield, making it
a“safe”martial art from the perspective of the authorities. Nonetheless,
Yuan government prohibitions on weapon ownership and practice had
a limited effect on the martial arts. It was clear that unarmed martial arts
were hard to separate from armed martial arts. Traveling merchants who
of necessity knew martial arts or employed men who did contributed to a
floating population of martial artists. These wandering martial artists
practiced wrestling, boxing, stafffighting, and spearfighting, and they
could attract many disciples. This appears to be consistent with what
was happening during the Song Dynasty, particularly the later part of it,
when martial arts teachers traveled around for a variety of reasons. A skilled
martial artist couldfind work and students, and, as one text noted,“For long
it has been like this without stop, customs are licentious and violent.”^13
If it was clear that there was a well-established population of martial
artists who practiced and taught staff, spear, and wrestling (and sometimes
boxing), it is less apparent why these skills were related. Staff and spear
fighting are mentioned in accounts of the period and also in literary repre-
sentations of martial artists. Many of the techniques of staff and spear were
similar, but we simply have no information on how they related to unarmed
Wrestling and Boxing 149