Miao dao

The Miao Dao (苗刀) is a Chinese two-handed dao or saber of the Republican era, with a narrow blade of up to 1.2 meters or more and a long hilt. The name means "sprout saber", presumably referring to a likeness between the weapon and a newly sprouted plant. While the miao dao is a recent weapon, the name has come to be applied to a variety of earlier Chinese long sabers, such as the zhanmadao and changdao. Along with the dadao, miao dao were used by some Chinese troops during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

While the miao dao is rarely practiced in modern Chinese martial arts, some schools of piguaquan and tongbeiquan (in the Guo Changsheng lineage) and xingyiquan train with the weapon. The miao dao is also often mistakenly claimed to have been one of the weapons taught at the Central Military Academy in Nanjing; the weapon in question was actually a European style officer's saber, though some later schools may have based miao dao techniques on this form.

The "miao" of miao dao should not be confused with the Miao ethnic group, who are not associated with this weapon.