Mongol Martial Arts
Mongol martial arts were similar to those of other steppe groups, with
the greatest emphasis on horse archery. As Marco Polo described them:
“Their weapons are bows and swords and clubs; but they rely mainly on
their bows, for they are excellent archers. On their backs they wear an
armour of buffalo hide or some other leather which is very tough.”^1 The
other steppe groups were able to integrate into the Mongol forces easily
as horse-archers because they fought and were armed in the same way.
Accomplished steppe warriors and generals could work their way up in
the Mongol military in ways that Chinese could not. Chinese soldiers and
officers served in separate units, and most did not share a common
language with their Mongol overlords. Most Mongols, including Yuan
emperors, did not read Chinese, and the language of war and government
was Mongolian.
The Mongolian and steppe mode of warfare was extremelyfluid, with
large bodies of horsemen moving in coordinated units whilefiring at the
enemy. Unlike Chinese infantry, who prized standingfirm in the face of
enemy attack, the Mongols
are never ashamed to have recourse toflight. They manoeuvre freely, shooting at
the enemy, now from this quarter, now from that. They have trained their horses so
well that they wheel this way or that as quickly as a dog would do. When they are
pursued and take toflight, theyfight as well and as effectively as when they are face
to face with the enemy. When they arefleeing at top speed, they twist around with
their bows and letfly their arrows to such good purpose that they kill the horses of
the enemy and riders too.^2
Thisfiring while retreating, the“Parthian shot,”was a well-known prac-
tice among steppe people, but extremely difficult to execute en masse.
Mongolian martial arts do not appear to have gone much beyond horse
archery. With the exception of a few noted individuals, most Mongols
and their steppe allies or subjects used close combat weapons without
much specific martial arts training. The absence of any data on the contact
weapon skills of the Mongols may be an artifact of the sources, however,
since close combat weapons were used extensively in battle. It may well be
that in Mongolian culture only horse archery was really valued. Skills with
other weapons were simply not prized in the same way.
Martial arts practice among the Chinese subject population was carefully
watched for signs of rebellion. As long as Chinese martial arts remained
submilitary, that is to say, without large numbers of heavily armed and
armored men training as units, it was ignored. Weapons were restricted,
140 The Yuan Dynasty