Why train with a real sword?

By Peter Dekker

Chinese springy swords

Chinese martial arts are heavily associated with the thin and flexible swords you see all around. It is so imbedded in the martial arts that many people have even started to believe that the original Chinese swords were actually whippy and springy.

For those people, think again: try deflecting a broomstick with that kind of weapon. And broomsticks aren't nearly as heavy as some of the weapons used by and against the Chinese. Or try to cut a pork chop with a thin and flexible sword. You would have considerable trouble doing so, even if the springy blade would be razor sharp. A human wrist is not much different and often a target in a swordfight because it was usually the body part that was closest the opponent. In reality, if a different version of a weapon was used for training it would have rather been a heavier one instead of a lighter weapon. Being accustomed to a heavier weapon makes the practitioner able to handle the actual weapon with more ease, while when accustomed to a lighter weapon the actual weapon would feel too heavy and clumsy.

Getting rid of the martial

This exactly was the reason why the lighter weapons were introduced by Mao's communist party in the 1950's. Groups of well trained martial artists had proven to be a threat to the rulers of China throughout history and the party was not to take any chances this time. Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution was all about breaking traditions and considering the many rebellions China has known, he found it safer to put and end to the old martial tradition. Stating that "the old should serve the new" he instructed some of the leading traditional masters to create a new art for a modern socialist society. The ones that did not want to cooperate would be marked as "anti-revolutionary" which at the time meant becoming an outlaw in a society eager to punish anti-revolutionaries as a means to prove their own revolutionary spirit. In these times many traditional masters fled the country, disappeared or faced death.

The new art, wushu, was thus not intended to improve fighting ability. In contrary, sparring became illegal for a long time in China with the exception of some designated places. Modern wushu uses traditional stances and techniques to improve health and athletic development and was formed so the people could demonstrate the fighting spirit of the new socialist China. To conclude: Modern wushu is not an accurate representation of Chinese swordsmanship, and wushu weapons are not accurate representations of original Chinese weapons.

The sword in traditional Chinese martial arts

The traditional Chinese martial arts were never meant to be practiced with these light and flexible swords. They were created around existing swords, often based on methods that had proven to be effective on the battlefield. Nowadays the art of taiji is probably the most widespread of the Chinese martial arts. Taiji was created by a family that was famous throughout the country not because of their health practices but because of their highly effective fighting system. Taiji jian was taught to rich civilians that had something to protect and even to the army. They all used real swords.

The advantages from a true sword are numerous. The first and foremost reason of course is authenticity. Only by training with a real sword one can experience the art like it is intended. Another big reason is that the many modern "taiji swords" or "wushu swords" are very poorly balanced and have no weight at the tip. Because of this, many historical movements cannot accurately be executed. A real jian is also a power tool that helps building up strength and fajing (explosive energy). While practicing with an actual weight the correct body alignment is far more noticeable than with the modern wushu equipment.

Another thing is cutting exercises, as manny movements we practise are cutting movements, don't we need to know whether they actually cut? We assume they do but once you actually get into cutting we notice it is not that simple. The alignment of the blade is so important that a little bit off line can mean the difference between a deep cut and no cut at all. On one of his seminars, teacher Scott M. Rodell clarified this with the example of an axe. Anyone who has cut logs with an axe knows how important the alignment of the axe blade is. If it's correct the log will split. If it's slightly off, the log will hardly take a scratch. Cutting practise can only be done with well balanced, well constructed swords which are a far cry from your average taiji practise sword.

It is then amazing to see how many people devote their lives training a traditional martial art, using only a cheap flexible blade and thus never really gaining understanding of the true sword art in all aspects. In any other sports the enthusiasm and devotion that many taiji enthusiasts show would surely be paired with decent equipment. I hope the traditional Chinese arts will be revived to what they have once been, and will manage to break loose from the standards that were bestowed upon it by a dictator.

For seminars about historical Chinese swordsmanship, see:

Stichting Taijiquan Nederland www.taijiquan.nl

Great River Taoist Center www.grtc.org

(A good impression from Mao's regime and the way in which many Chinese traditions have suffered from this can be found in books like "Wild Swans" by Jung Chang. She also wrote a fine biography about the man.)