Different saber type – different form/technique?

[Fei Li]

Greetings to everyone!

A long time reader but new member of this forum
I would like to ask a question to the crowd of sword experts
present in this place

I have been discovering and reading about the different types of chinese sabers.
The different blade forms etc. do imply different techniques and handling, I suppose.

Nonetheless I think, that in most martial art styles the most commonly used sabers,
is the Niu Wei Dao. I never saw someone practise a form with, let's say a military style saber
(apart from the Pu dao in WW2 and Miao Dao, which is not concerning my question).

Can one practise the common saber forms with other sabers than the oxtail saber?
Or has the form to be modified? Are there special forms for them?
Visually I would guess that you could do the same techniques and more subtle ones with a liuye dao.

Thank you in advance for your answers.

[josh stout]

Let me preface my comments by saying that I study a different lineage from that of GRTC, and thus my answers may differ from those within the GRTC lineage.

For the most part the changes in form related to changes in blade type are natural results that can be understood from simply trying different blades. Shorter lighter blades lend themselves to more percussive movements, while longer heaver blades requier more in the way of continuous circles. A long heavy willow leaf blade will behave in many ways similarly to a long heavy oxtail. So weight and length are often more important than exact blade geometry in determining use.

That said, stylistic differences can arise from blade geometry for particular moves. Pressing on the back of a dao for close quarter slicing works best with wide blades, and can often be seen with heavier examples such as dadao. Cutting with a back edge is often percussive, and sharp back edges are often found on more nimble blades such as some yanmaodao that share some characteristics with jian. Yanmaodao in general are very good for thrusting, while more curved blades require more of a curving thrust.

My advice would be to practice with a personal weapon, but be as familiar as possible with as many variations as you can find. Forms were not made to be done only one way.
Josh

[Fei Li]

Dear Josh,
great answer, leaves (for me) no question behind!
I guess I will have to try out some saber styles to "feel" the difference.

By the way, me neither I am not a GRTC practitioner but I have learned some saber techniques from different styles and
they were all very similar, I have come to think that weapons in general are a lot less style-specific than handforms.