Great River Taoist Center Forums

No, at least not as I understand the European term Guard. Though I should begin by staring that there is still a good deal that we do not know about Chinese Historical Swordsmanship. Chinese Sword systems are defined by their basic cuts. Many basic cuts are common to many systems. For example, every...

Taiwan is probably one of the most expensive places in the world to buy any Chinese Antiques. But it can still be fun to cruise the antique shops. The most important stop to make is the Palace Museum. They don't usually have arms on display, they apparently didn't take the arms collection them them ...

Yes it looks welded, but, who in all earnest welds a rat tail to fix the pommel ? The vibrations will break the connection after some time. I've seen more than a few tang of modern sword made in China & no way I would call Huanuo's a rat tail. And having torture tested the hell out of Huanuo swords...

It is hard to say for certain how changing the grip will effect the balance & play of your jian , so I think that is a good reason to give Nik suggestion a try. If it turns out that it balances poorly, after elongating the grip, you can always unbolt it & go back to the original. If it does play wel...

I have one serious question for practitioners on taijiquan. Are we going to continue to allow those who lack any real martial skill continue to define our art?

I was taught some lethal applications, but was not taught that taijiquan specifically contains or pertains to 'dim-mak', which is often interpreted incorrectly to mean 'death touch' In my experience that is incorrect. When I was studying with Wang Yen-nien, he would sometimes point out which striki...

... a clip I did to demostrate fajing on coke cans... I know its a bit of shameless showing-off... I like it, simple & to the point, not preachy at all... Honestly, we need to do all we can to rescue taijiquan from those who are reducing it to nothing more than therapeutic exercise for old people. ...

... 20. Turn into taitui , Lu (claw down), sink into front leg and Pu ... there is a comma between "Lu" and "sink down into front leg" which suggests that you first do the lu and then sink in the leg and apply the Pu... ... my question is should I really separate the 2 or is it ok the way I do it. ...

these question arose during our group training. 6. Left foot on toe at ankle, right hand up in knife edge 7. Change hands. Cross left foot in front of right and turn clockwise, cutting as you go 8. Deflect/taitui/Hua 9. Deflect, Jie When I turn in line 7 I think I will turn on the front of my foot....

That is a very good question. I've always stressed a good quantity of quality over "stamp collecting," where one tries to learn every single form as quickly as possible. And to be honest, I've noticed that many of my classmates lack a deep understanding of the principles of our art because they spen...

The 2011 Traditional Chinese Sword League National Full Contact Swordplay Tournament will be held January 28th, 2012 in Chantilly, Virginia, 14810 Murdock St, at the Northern Virginia Sportsplex - http://www.northernvirginiasportsplex.com/Home/Home.html (yes that is not in 2011, but at least it is i...

There is no question that this jian is modern. The only question is whether it is a real sword or a wall hanger. If it is the latter, it is unsafe for any kind of use, including forms practice, as it will eventually break due to stress. If you want to test the blade, your can start by testing the ed...

...In the dao form there are several moves where we place the left hand at the back of the dao... walk the form everything is under control, but what happens ... to use... technique during a fight... One... learned during some Japanese sword... first bring the left hand to the guard and slide it do...

Anyone know if there is a way to attach the handle to a Huanuo jian ... ? Figured maybe I can use the handle on the jian even though there is no guard and pommel, do something to keep the handle from sliding around for use as a practice sword or sell the scabbard, blade and handle. I think you cert...

How does YMT compare ... to the Chen Style? What are the advantages of the YMT style compared to others? ... the form looks like you keep the majority of the weight on one leg most, if not all of the time. Is this true in your push hands and San shou forms too? Having not practiced Chen style Taiji...