Wudang Sword

[Colin]

Can anyone comment on the Wudang Elixer Sword Form?

Is it the primogenitor of all taiji sword forms?

What might distinguish it from the Yang sword forms?



Regards,

[Scott M. Rodell]

Can anyone comment on the Wudang Elixer Sword Form?...

To answer this question acurately, it would be best to know the name of this system in Chinese, as names can be translated differently. There are often different ways to translate Chinese names.



I have not studied either Wudang form, however, I have a copy of a VCD: Wudang Dan Jian (Wudang Elixier Sword) made by contempory daoists at Wudang Mountain. This form has many movements that are similar to the public Yangshi Taiji Jian form, employing the well known bow posture. The opening movement is even the same. For those who buy into the myth of Zhang Sanfeng creating taijiquan, this will look like evidence that taijiquan did indeed come from Wudang mountain. However, there is absolutely no historical evidence to support this assertion & it is more likely that daoists living on Wudang Mountain created this form in imitation of Yang Style Taijiquan than the other way round. We should note that given the wide popularity of taijiquan, the Zhang myth is a marketing/propagande bonanza for Wudang Mountain. It is also possible that there are other sources both drew from.



I also have a copy of the book:Wudang Jianfa Dayao (Wudang Sword Methods Important Points), edited by Huang Yuanxiu, originally published in 1930. This books explains the basic cuts of this systems, of which there are 13, as in the later, public Yangshi Taiji Jian system. However, the overall body mechanics & applications demonstrated in the photos accompanying the text are similiar to those within the Yangjia Michuan Taiji Jian system. That is, this system is based on a rear legged stance.



All together these similarities really don't tell us anything about what system came first, who borrowed from who etc. The short answer is two fold. First everyone was borrowing from each other continuously, so its quite impossible to tell who took what from where & when, except in the rare circumstances where they say so. We also should not assume that transmission is one direction. And second, & more importantly, given the limits imposed on swordsmanship by body mechanics, the ways in which bladed weapons move & cut & the distance at which swordplay is & can be conducted, most systems have been similiar for a long time. For example, the Yangjia Michuan Taiji Jian forms bears many similarities to the Qimen Jian which is supposed to date from 300 years earlier, at the end of the Ming dynasty.

[Scott M. Rodell]

Those interested in comparing various systems of Chinese jian swordsmanship should see the Article: "Basic Chinese Swordsmanship, Training and Practice" in the Journal of Asian Martial Arts, Vol 13., No. 3, 2004 (www.goviamedia.com).



For a comparison study, I also recommend:

Zhang Yun's, Art Of Chinese Swordsmanship : Manual Of Taiji Jian on Wu Style Taiji Jian and



Yang Jwing-Ming's, Northern Shaolin Sword.

[Scott M. Rodell]

...What might distinguish it from the Yang sword forms?

What distingishes Taiji Jian from other schools of Chinese swordsmanship is not technique but the way in which we use our body & the way we generate power.



This is not to say all systems are the same, but that they all share a good deal in common. Each system usually also has its own "flavor", a preference for specfic techniques, a specialty.

[Scott M. Rodell]

Some forms now practiced at Wudang Mountain...



Wudang Xuanmen Jian - Xuanmen Sword

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 004&q=Jian



Wudang Ba Xian Jian - 8 Immortals Sword

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 134&q=Jian



...looks a bit wushu performance oriented...