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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2007 6:03:47 GMT
Bloodbath?! Sorry i have to perpetrate some gross l337 indecency ROFLMFAO! That was priceless karma to you sir!
Some chinese swords are supposed to wobble and flex just a little bit, like the jian, because certain techniques require an almost whip like flexibility, although those swords still shouldn't be whippy as such. They should have what i call flickability (i made up a word) but still not contortionally flexible. I hate wushu steel swords, tin foil the lot of it. Even accomplished martial arts who only know wushu steel are doing themselves a disservice. Burn the wushu steel... oh wait it is aluminum foil and won't burn.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2007 20:45:40 GMT
As for two person forms, students are taught to strike blade on blade with control and restraint. None of our school's traditional blades have ever chipped during these forms. The wushu steel began to chip so much that they are now basically banned from our studio. Also, I fail to see the point you're trying to make with wooden swords. I've never seen anybody cut themself with a traditional dao or gim, mostly because at our school, weapons training is reserved for higher level students. When a student is trained in their first weapon, they've already cultivated the skill and control necessary to practice it efficiently. And like garretc said, wushu steel doesn't cut either, and neither do unsharpened traditional blades (which many people do use). Hey maverick, may I ask where your school gets their blades from? |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2007 1:45:16 GMT
In the street of China back in historical times, people don't usually wear armors and the high class warriors ride horses. So a light weighted weapon is ideal for combat on the ground or on horse back. True, but there's only so light a sword can get before it's just plain ineffective. Back "in the historical times", swords actually had to cut. And from my experience with wushu blades, cutting is far out of the question. You can't even get a good wack out of it since it just bends. Actually, I've been to competitions where kids as young as 9 and 10 are handling live blades (quite well, I assure you) in traditional forms. Also, my sifu, who's quite old in his own right, handles his blades with incredible precision. It would seem that the only real factor you're offering in wu shu blades versus "brittle" blades is that it's easier for people with no experience to use one. -=-=-=-= Our school actually has a "buy your own" type policy. The only guidelines are that it has to be some type of carbon/spring steel (or equivalent) and pass an inspection by our sifu. I bought my indoor home training dao at kungfudirect.com, but I got my sharpened one as a gift from my dad. I know one of my upperclassmen (for lack of a better word) has a cold steel dao. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2009 1:42:31 GMT
Yeah but those wushu swords throw off the mechanics of your forms when you pick up a real chinese sword, whether it be dao or jian. Having handled and used both i have to say that i absolutely loathe those wushu swords, even when using them for the purpose they were designed. I would prefer to use a real sword then a crappy imitation aluminium piece of crap. My forms get sloppy and imprecise when i use the wushu blades because they pose no threat to me or anyone else. Using a proper sword means that i have to be very aware of where the blade is at all times. I hate the fact that wushu swords are unrealistically weighted and i don't practice my forms for competitions i practice them for health and ability. Wow, as a practitioner with jian, I cant agree more about weight making a difference. That is why we train live blades. Mistakes can get carried into real use, that was learned with fake training blades. The mistakes can be tragic once you start live blades when you train with fake blade. If we look at it like carpentry, I wouldn't drive a nail w/ a sledge hammer, I would want somethimg lighter. But likewise once I loaned my 27oz framing hammer to a guy that only used a 22oz, and he nearly took a thumb off. Just an analogy, but something to think about. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2009 2:19:00 GMT
forum.grtc.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=323The late Paul Champagne answered a similar question at GRTC forum. Please read the above link as he answers it quite well. Basically: 1. most monosteel through hardened blades are around 55hrc, differential hardening lets the edge get to around 60 HRC and spine is about 50-55. 2. modern through hardened steel blades are more springy and tolerate poor technique better than tradtional differentially hardened blades which were designed to bend when excessive forces are encountered. 3. Also note that laminates like Sanmai put a stiff hard central plate that resists bending a bit more than monosteel diff/ hardened. 4. Like Garrett suggests, for beginners and people on a budget get a monosteel through hardened blade. Now regarding Wushu Steel weapons. The sword techniques and forms were designed around real, stiff, real weight swords. The flimsy wushu toys give one a sense of the sword that did not exist historically. This allows one to do some movements that on a real sword could hurt your wrist and more importantly would prove ineffective in attack and defense. The prevalence of some Tai Chi sword grips in some moves using only thumb and one finger is ludicrous if the sword actually struck something, you simply don't have a good grip on it. Also there are many variations of tai chi sword form where the deflections have been removed. You must remember that with the advent of the firearm, emphasis on weapons training moved from true combat skills to exercise, and fajing training. practice with such wushu toys further degrades a rare art already on the brink of extinction.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2009 2:12:27 GMT
Bloodbath?! Sorry i have to perpetrate some gross l337 indecency ROFLMFAO! That was priceless karma to you sir! Some chinese swords are supposed to wobble and flex just a little bit, like the jian, because certain techniques require an almost whip like flexibility, although those swords still shouldn't be whippy as such. They should have what i call flickability (i made up a word) but still not contortionally flexible. I hate wushu steel swords, tin foil the lot of it. Even accomplished martial arts who only know wushu steel are doing themselves a disservice. Burn the wushu steel... oh wait it is aluminum foil and won't burn. Couldn't agree with you more. The jian that my sifu had was somewhat flexible, but not bendable. The jian that I purchased from Garrett is probably the closest to that quality that I have owned. I had a PC practical Tai Chi sword, and it is quite a bit more flexible, toward the bendable side of the coin. I have a wushu type blade that is for practice drills, forms only, for one of my students... bought it dirt cheap.. but IMO, it should be dirt cheap, it is dirt. I dont like the way it handles. Not the wippiness as much as the weight issues. Feels like cardboard for weight. I t is the first and only wushu blade that i will own, and not for long, as i will get a couple more PC's. the PC practical taichi sword is a slight bit more flexible than i prefer. I can use it just fine, but after "Jinny" (my jin-shi jian's name) i just prefer not to use the pc myself. but for my students, i guess it will be alright. Anyway, back to the main subject, I prefer the looks of the traditional, but i prefer the price of the monosteel, mono temper. not the best by far means, but i wouldnt cast off the idea of using it in battle. Although i am getting very worked up about a twist core, diff temper tang jian from Garrett if i can get off my but and pull some over time at work. Hey Garrett, you do have those in twist core right. if not i reckon that a folde will have to do. |
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