Anyone do Chinese swordmanship?
Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2017 12:47 am
So, since I moved back to Guilin a month ago and was impressed with my master's sword system I have decided to focus all of my energy on it for the next six months or more. I have two basic choices; Jian or Miaodao (and short staff, but my master hasn't found a safe training weapon solution for that one yet).
I chose Jian because its use is varied with a lot more types of attacks and footwork and for safety and financial reasons. I feel that the weight of the two-handed training Miaodao makes it dangerous to practise without full armour, whereas with the training Jian only a head-guard and possibly a chest-protector are needed (less of an investment). Also, though the Miaodao is a brilliant weapon, I can't help but feel like the Jian, with it's cuts, thrusts and many off-hand techniques offers something more unique, as Miaodao seems very similar to Kenjutsu (they are related after all). Also, I feel like Jian skills can more easily transfer to every day objects like a cane or umbrella that one could carry on their person.
That being said, the power that can be generated with the Miaodao is scary, so I have a healthy respect for it. Perhaps next time I'm in China..? It would require a much more significant investment to be safe enough to fence with that I'm not sure most would be too keen on.
I have been training almost every day this month and will be training five days a week once school starts back up and fencing pretty much every training day for at least six months and possibly until I leave China next summer. It's a lot of fun, but hard work. My master is teaching it like any other competitive pursuit (boxing, etc.). I hope to teach it once I get back to the West. A lot of the unarmed training I did is still very relevant, not only for Gongli to add power to the techniques, but also for using the off-hand (grabbing and parrying the weapon or arms with it is permitted), not to mention the footwork, etc.
Thoughts? Do any of you fence a lot with swords? How in-depth would you say your training is?
The training swords we use are great, with just the right balance of power and safety. Cutting work doesn't interest me as much, as I'm more into the fencing aspect of it and a walking stick or badminton racket would be more practical than wielding an actual sword in a pinch (unless it's the apocalypse). I would like to get some proper wooden training Jian for solo work, though. Any suggestions?
I chose Jian because its use is varied with a lot more types of attacks and footwork and for safety and financial reasons. I feel that the weight of the two-handed training Miaodao makes it dangerous to practise without full armour, whereas with the training Jian only a head-guard and possibly a chest-protector are needed (less of an investment). Also, though the Miaodao is a brilliant weapon, I can't help but feel like the Jian, with it's cuts, thrusts and many off-hand techniques offers something more unique, as Miaodao seems very similar to Kenjutsu (they are related after all). Also, I feel like Jian skills can more easily transfer to every day objects like a cane or umbrella that one could carry on their person.
That being said, the power that can be generated with the Miaodao is scary, so I have a healthy respect for it. Perhaps next time I'm in China..? It would require a much more significant investment to be safe enough to fence with that I'm not sure most would be too keen on.
I have been training almost every day this month and will be training five days a week once school starts back up and fencing pretty much every training day for at least six months and possibly until I leave China next summer. It's a lot of fun, but hard work. My master is teaching it like any other competitive pursuit (boxing, etc.). I hope to teach it once I get back to the West. A lot of the unarmed training I did is still very relevant, not only for Gongli to add power to the techniques, but also for using the off-hand (grabbing and parrying the weapon or arms with it is permitted), not to mention the footwork, etc.
Thoughts? Do any of you fence a lot with swords? How in-depth would you say your training is?
The training swords we use are great, with just the right balance of power and safety. Cutting work doesn't interest me as much, as I'm more into the fencing aspect of it and a walking stick or badminton racket would be more practical than wielding an actual sword in a pinch (unless it's the apocalypse). I would like to get some proper wooden training Jian for solo work, though. Any suggestions?