From Substitute Sparring Partner to All-Army Champion, from Joint Logistics Soldier to Battlefield Warrior
Tempering the Blade (淬刃)
■ Dai Xiangyu; Zhao Jiaqing, special correspondent for PLA Daily
A base under the Shenyang Joint Logistics Support Center conducts bayonet combat training. Photo by Luo Hengxin
Li Jinshan demonstrates bayonet techniques for fellow soldiers. Photo by Luo Hengxin
In wartime, crossing bayonets with the enemy in close combat is a testament to a soldier's courage and fighting spirit; in peacetime, facing a powerful adversary and daring to draw the sword is equally a display of a soldier's sincerity and boldness. No matter how the form of warfare changes, the "bayonet spirit (刺刀精神)" will never fade.
In 2018, bayonet fighting was listed as an elective training subject in the Military Physical Training Outline (《军事体育训练大纲》), formally returning to the military physical training system of our armed forces. Today, bayonet fighting is undoubtedly an effective means of tempering officers and soldiers' will to fight with bravery and tenacity, and of cultivating the combat spirit (战斗精神).
Li Jinshan, a Staff Sergeant First Class at a base under the Shenyang Joint Logistics Support Center, has loved listening since childhood to his grandfather—a Korean War veteran—recount stories of life-and-death struggles with the enemy on the battlefield. He firmly believes that the fearless courage of a soldier to meet the enemy head-on and dare to draw the sword, and the decisive spirit to face life and death with bayonets drawn, must be forged and passed down through actual combat. He has devoted himself to studying bayonet techniques, honing his skills through day-after-day training.
In 2025, the All-Army Special Bayonet Competition reopened its contest after a fifty-year hiatus. In an instant, the finest troops from across the entire army gathered, with the strong competing against the strong. Drawing on the foundation built through years of hard training, Li Jinshan was selected for the Joint Logistics Support Forces' centralized training team, where he met Zhang Jinming—a legendary figure in our military's bayonet fighting history—who had come to impart techniques and answer questions.
In 1975, at the bayonet competition of the Third All-Army Sports Games, Zhang Jinming won the All-Army individual paired-bayonet (对刺) championship. With a wooden rifle, a battle cry, and a decisive strike, his swift bayonet techniques and bold fighting style deeply influenced a generation of officers and soldiers.
On the training ground, as the centralized training team members were conducting paired-bayonet drills, Li Jinshan's sharp thrusts, calm adaptability, and imposing fighting edge made Zhang Jinming dimly see his younger self. At the moment of parting, Zhang Jinming encouraged Li Jinshan to train hard and strive to pass the selection, achieving good results in the All-Army Special Bayonet Competition.
Having received the veteran's recognition, Li Jinshan's resolve to pursue his dream grew ever stronger. In the training team's first round of selection for ten starting positions, fellow soldiers from his unit were eliminated one after another, while he placed thirteenth. Thanks to supplementary sparring-partner slots that were added, he obtained the opportunity to remain with the team and continue training.
In bayonet combat, the premium is on speed, ferocity, agility, and precision. Zhang Jinming shared with everyone during his instruction: "Of all martial arts, only speed is undefeatable (天下武功，唯快不破). Back on the competition floor, even when I exposed my attack direction, opponents still could not cope—that was entirely due to speed and instantaneous explosive power." Hearing these words, Li Jinshan calculated inwardly: the training team was not short of specialists in boxing and fencing, and his only slight advantage was strength, while his rifle-drawing speed and on-the-spot reactions were not outstanding. To achieve a breakthrough, he would have to improve his speed and instantaneous explosive power.
Refusing to lag behind, Li Jinshan resolved to shed the sparring-partner label, compete for a starting position, and fight on the All-Army competition floor. During the day, he wrapped resistance bands around himself, hung water bottles, and strapped on sandbags to refine his bayonet movements, never stopping his daily sprinting and thrusting drills; deep into the night, he added extra work on his own, using barbell bars and elevated platforms to strengthen his power training.
As the centralized training continued, the intense summer heat of northern Jiangxi was also a test for Li Jinshan, accustomed as he was to the cool climate of the northeast. To adapt to the environment, he repeatedly conducted bayonet training in the blazing sun wearing his combat uniform, his clothes soaked through with sweat all day long, refusing to give up even when exhausted to the point of collapse. Diligence is rewarded: after nearly two months of grueling training, he reduced his body fat percentage from 15% to 11%, bench-pressed 125 kilograms, broke 2.85 meters in the standing broad jump, and his overall physical fitness steadily ranked among the top of the training team members.
On a summer night, a gentle breeze brushed the treetops, and moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows. In this quiet moment, a wondrous transformation of life breaking free from its chrysalis was unfolding in silence—a cicada shedding its shell (金蝉脱壳). Standing beneath the tree, Li Jinshan witnessed this scene and could not help but reflect: tempering the blade (淬刃) is precisely this—tearing apart the old self through a thousand hammerings and a hundred refinements, and being reborn from the ashes!
Bayonet fighting is not only a contest of strength but even more a contest of wits. Li Jinshan understood clearly that brute force alone is insufficient for victory, and that strategy and technique are especially critical. He repeatedly reviewed the instructional videos Zhang Jinming had left for the training team, making the signature "feint-thrust" technique ("骗刺") of luring the enemy, building momentum, and launching an instantaneous thrust the focus of his study.
During competition preparation, Li Jinshan and his fellow soldier Neng Mingchang formed a training partnership. At first, Li Jinshan's fighting style was straightforward and one-dimensional; the coaching staff pointed out that his physical fitness was outstanding but his tactics were lacking. Neng Mingchang could often execute unexpected tactical moves, but his strength and speed were slightly weaker. The two targeted their respective weaknesses for improvement, devoting themselves to studying fencing tactics and the offensive-defensive essentials of traditional martial arts, breaking down the footwork angles of top competitors, correcting their movements in front of mirrors, reviewing video recordings after sparring matches, and seeking out coaches late at night to identify shortcomings. Through studying the interplay of movement and stillness, opening and closing, hardness and softness (动静开合、刚柔并济), they filled in their weak points and refined their techniques.
In August, the training team's second round of selection began. It was conducted in a round-robin format with a best-of-three-bouts system; striking the opponent's chest, abdomen, or shoulder scored a point. Li Jinshan fought steadily and performed well. In the final bout, his opponent was his most familiar partner—Neng Mingchang. In routine training, Li Jinshan had been at a disadvantage against him on multiple occasions.
The whistle blew, battle cries shook the air, and the two sides fought to a 2-2 tie. At the critical moment, Li Jinshan fixed his gaze on his opponent's rhythm, stepped forward with a feint thrust to the center to draw him into a defensive crouch, and the moment Neng Mingchang exposed an opening, he swiftly sidestepped and dodged, used his rifle butt to deflect the wooden rifle, concentrated his force, and drove a powerful thrust home—one decisive strike for victory, sending Neng Mingchang stumbling backward to the ground.
"The speed was too fast—there was absolutely no time to react!" Neng Mingchang exclaimed after the bout. The coaching staff's post-match analysis found that Li Jinshan's rifle strike was lightning-fast, and his footwork incorporated the martial arts "empty stance" (虚步), making the interplay of offense and defense, feint and reality, impossible to read.
Thirteen wins and two losses—Li Jinshan won the championship in this selection competition and secured the coveted entry ticket to the competition as he had wished.
Over the three months of centralized training, Li Jinshan reversed course from substitute sparring partner to first place in the selection competition, locking in his deployment slot. Looking back on the road traveled, his eyes filled with tears. All those days of perseverance and tempering had finally been rewarded.
On the competition grounds in northern Jiangxi, the All-Army Special Bayonet Competition officially commenced, with top competitors gathering to contend. As a joint logistics soldier (联勤兵) whose primary duty is support, Li Jinshan was not initially regarded as a favorite. Before the competition, the coaches also told him to keep a level mindset and strive to demonstrate his fighting spirit. Li Jinshan, however, was full of confidence in himself: though combat positions have their division of labor, a soldier's fighting spirit (军人血性) knows no distinction by post—once on the competition floor, joint logistics soldiers must also strive for outstanding results.
The paired event was held first. Li Jinshan and Neng Mingchang coordinated with tacit understanding, successfully advancing out of the group stage. After a brief rest, Li Jinshan also competed in the individual event, taking first place in his group to advance.
Back-to-back competitions caused Li Jinshan's wrist to become uncomfortable. Weighing the situation, the coaches advised him to withdraw from the individual event and concentrate on protecting his chances in the paired event, where his prospects were better. He flatly refused: "As long as I can still stand on the competition floor, I will absolutely never withdraw of my own accord." In the first round of the individual event elimination bracket, Li Jinshan, fighting through injury, narrowly lost to an opponent from the Beijing Garrison Command and was eliminated just short of the top sixteen.
In the paired event, he and his teammate fought through round after round. In the semifinal, they won a hard-fought victory, though his wrist was struck hard again. Their opponents in the final were formidable—a powerful combination of the individual event champion and the individual event bronze medalist.
Before the bout, he and Neng Mingchang used every available moment to review video recordings and analyze tactics, settling on a strategy of pinning down and harassing the opponents while concentrating force for key strikes, determined to give everything in one all-out effort.
The final got underway. Neng Mingchang engaged in agile close-in fighting to disrupt the opponents, while Li Jinshan repeatedly launched his rifle, seizing the initiative. The opponents quickly counterattacked, and the score rose alternately until it reached 2-2. In the heat of the battle, an opponent's rifle tip accidentally struck Li Jinshan in the neck, resulting in a foul being called. With new injuries compounding old ones and bouts of dizziness striking intermittently, Li Jinshan abandoned his conservative tactics, pressed forward with all his strength, and simultaneously with his opponent completed a valid scoring strike.
Under the rules, when valid scoring strikes are equal, the side with fewer fouls wins. Throughout the entire final, Li Jinshan and Neng Mingchang committed zero fouls, and relying on their composed fighting style and skilled technique, they took the championship in the guard unit group (警卫组) paired bayonet event! Applause rang out across the competition grounds; Li Jinshan and his teammate embraced warmly and celebrated their victory with abandon.
From substitute sparring partner to All-Army champion, from joint logistics soldier to battlefield warrior, Li Jinshan has proven through sweat and perseverance: a joint logistics soldier is also a combat soldier, and a support member is also a combatant. The wooden rifle, whose torch has been passed down across half a century, remains as sharp as ever in the hands of officers and soldiers of the new era.