Real jian sword

[Haim]

Hi Mr. Scott,



I hear from some martial art teacher that the real Jian sword should be light.

He told me that before the Ming dynasty the jian swords was heavier and after the Ming they became lighter.

Did it true?



What is the weight of real warriors Jian sword ?



Thanks,



Haim

[Scott M. Rodell]

...the real Jian sword should be light.

Well, I don't know what weight was meant by "light," but I have handled hundreds of Qing era, full length jian & they all weighed between 700 & 900 grams on average, a few are as heavy as 1 kg., but this is rare. I find that a jian of about 750 grams is ideal. It is heavy enough to cut well but light enough to be fast.



Jian are a bit lighter than dao, general speaking an average jian is about 75% the weight of the average dao.

...before the Ming... the jian... was heavier... after the Ming... lighter.

The majority of stories about Chinese swords that are passed around the Chinese martial arts community as gospel are at best half truths, many are just plain false. I have to admit, I use to repeat these stories myself until I began my antique sword business. Once I had handled hundreds, & then thousands, of period Chinese weapons, I realized most teachers were getting their information from fiction.



Only a handful of genuine Ming swords have survived to our time. I have not seen anything about these, or in period art, than would have me believe either Ming jian or dao were different in weight than those of the Qing dynasty.

[Scott M. Rodell]

For more infromation about Chinese Swords please see:



Myths about Chinese swordsmanship

http://www.sevenstarstrading.com/articles/myths



&

The Art of the Chinese Sword

http://www.sevenstarstrading.com/articles/art

[Linda Heenan]

At 1085 grams, my jian must be one of the few heavy ones. Is this a problem for my training?

[Scott M. Rodell]

At 1085 g... one of the few heavy ones... problem for... training?

Not if you are careful, just do not push too fast in your training. Obviously, the more weight, the more stress on your joints & ligaments. If you try using too much power, more than your body mechanics are prepared to support, when practicing your basic cuts, there is a very real possiblity that you will hyper-extend your wrist or elbow joint or pull a ligament. If you do, you have to take a break from training for 3 weeks or more & start back up with a light sword.



A heavy jian like yours has a bit more cutting power than a lighter sword. The advantages of a lighter jian is speed & better control.