Great River Taoist Center Forums

There will be an open Test Cutting Practice (Shi Zhan) the Sunday after Thanksgiving, that's 12/1 in Virginia. There will be both plastic bottles for beginners & bamboo for older students. Experienced practitioners from outside GRTC are welcome. For information, please call 703-846-8222.

An interesting Rattan Shield and Knife form from Fujian Province - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8o91gD7U7k

& another -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VYdnHYWkbY

And the story continues... Received an email from Joey Chait this morning where he wrote: "I have also sent an email about you to our auction house list, which goes out to every major auction company in the USA and Canada to let them know that you are difficult to deal with, and make threats. It als...

Looks like I am not the first to be ripped off by Chait Galleries… Just a few Chait Gallery reviews Quoted from Yelp: Beware!!! I was won and purchase three items from this company, They said that is antiques, But everything's new, nothing is antique. Beware this company, They always cheat your mone...

Lot 473 Sword-1.jpg Last month I noticed a jian (Chinese Straight sword) offered at I.M. Chait Gallery/Auctioneers in their auction. The below photo is the as it appeared in the catalog which was described as, "Chinese Sword with Shagreen Scabbard Old replica of a Chinese long sword; with lacquered...

Nik wrote:A rat tail is afaik an english term for the german "Gewindestange", which my current dictionary translates as "drop rod; threaded rod; studding". If that is a different thing, sorry...

"Rat Tail," is sort of slang term for a skinny, weak tang here in the US...

... I always wonder: Why ... the Japanese Katanas ... sharpness?... I believe the function of very sharp blades was to be able to cut fabric in self-defence situations, i.e. one on one or one vs. multiple opponents, off the battlefield. In such situations, one's attackers are unlikely to be wearing...

The Step Forward & Thrust to the Heart is a splitting movement. It can be used in response to either a grab or strike from either the duifang's left or right hand. The deflecting hand, your left in the First Section ( Diyi Duan ) does not grab he incoming limb, but pushes it to the outside & down, c...

Having taught many seminars over the years, I would think that if you were able to learn martial arts before, you should be fine at seminars. But one qualifying question would be how does your "partial blindness" effect your vision? At seminars, one is often standing further back from the teacher, w...

You may also find this page of interest...

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tradition ... 7081469666

& for those interested in Qing Manchu Archery, please see: http://www.facebook.com/groups/ManchuArchery/

As with the jian, there is no special taiji jian or dao.... Most important use a saber that suits you. The short answer is, as with jian , practitioners of taijiquan are simply martial artists. Like all the other martial artists in Qing China, they would have used weapons "off the rack." Certainly ...

Francisco Romero wrote:Thank you ... reading the webpages... I can star some basics.

Basic are the place to start. Most want o rush ahead with forms but never learn the proper grip for a jian or how it differs from the dao (saber) grip...

Hello. I want to use this post to introduce myself as well. I am from Spain (Europe) and have rediscovered the jian swordmanship... I live in a very small town in the mountains and the nearest city with a decent master or instructor is pretty far away... in the future I can assist to a seminar or s...

Here's the new CAS video that the above flexing blades were pulled from - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcLH9p-mKsY

... that post, it really emphasizes what a cutting blade is going through and reinforces your emphasis on safety, checking the weapon before and after usage to ensure its integrity!.. Is there some guideline as to when small nicks are better left alone where the blade integrity may not be adversely...