Wooden practise sword

How to restore antique arms & repair practice swords.

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philcook76
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Joined:Sun Mar 23, 2008 9:03 pm
Location:Lithgow, Australia
Wooden practise sword

Post by philcook76 » Mon Mar 24, 2008 8:49 pm

Hi everyone. This is my first post on this forum.

I have been learning swordsmanship with Linda Heenan in Australia. I have only started this year but I am really loving it. I have spent many hours in front of the TV studying Scott Laoshi's DVD on the sword form. I have learnt the first 5 sections so far and I plan to look at the 6th section this arvo. Of course I have a lot more practise to do on the first five sections as well - not to mention the practise on basic cuts!

I have been making myself a wooden practise sword and I am nearly complete. I have been basing my design on a practise sword that Michael has (another student in Australia.) The only thing left to do is to get it true weighted and to oil it up. I am considering leaving it a bit light to start with. It weighs about 600gm at the moment.

What should it ideally weight and do you think it is a problem to leave it a bit light to start my practise with?

I have attached a photo below. The sword is made from an offcut of a Blue Mountains Ash floor board with some red soft wood offcuts laminated on to the handle. I am pretty pleased with the result so far. Please let me know what you think.

Image

Talk to you later,
Phil.
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Scott M. Rodell
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Re: Wooden practise sword

Post by Scott M. Rodell » Tue Mar 25, 2008 8:16 am

philcook76 wrote:... considering leaving it a bit light to start with. It weighs about 600 g. at the moment.

What should it ideally weight and do you think it is a problem to leave it a bit light to start my practise with?...
Qing period jian were between 750 to 900 g. but it is a good idea to start with a lighter sword when you commence your training. Using a lighter sword will help you develop proper body mechanic because you will be less tempted to muscle thru the movements with arm strength. Using a lighter sword you are also less likely to pull your wrist or elbow ligaments. In short, take your time working up to a full weight weapon, you might even want to make yourself an even lighter wooden jian than your 600 g. one.
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philcook76
Posts:3
Joined:Sun Mar 23, 2008 9:03 pm
Location:Lithgow, Australia

Post by philcook76 » Tue Mar 25, 2008 8:13 pm

Thanks for the advice Scott. I will continue my training with this weight of sword for now and look at adding weight in the future.

Phil
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