Tai Chi Sword: Real or Wood?

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Ken Cox

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My Feldenkrais therapist has expressed an interest in learning the Tai Chi sword.
He thought I might steer him towards a good/appropriate sword.
Truth told, I don't anything about Tai Chi swords, except enough to ask one question:

Does the quality of the sword matter?
Could my Feldenkrais instructor learn just as well with a $20 wooden sword, or would he learn better, or more deeply, with a real live-edged $300 (or more) sword?

I may have asked this in the wrong forum, but if anybody can help me out I'd appreciate it.
Thanks.
 
Well first-off, referring to it as a tai chi sword is almost like referring to a katana as a karate sword. The Chinese jian was the straight double-edged sword that is used in many martial arts, including taijijian. There is another sword type called the dao which is single edged, but when most people want to learn "tai chi sword" they are referring to taijijian.

OK, having said that, the normal and recommended trajectory of training begins with a solid understanding of the weaponless forms. The weapons are built off principles learnt in the hand forms. Just jumping into taijijian would be awkward and difficult without a firm understanding of the fundamentals (which takes time to learn, many teachers wait years before starting people on sword, though there are certainly exceptions).

OK, now that that part of the lecture is over, onto the swords. If he is serious about learning taijijian, it is fairly irrelevant at first what kind of sword he is using, though balance and weight would be important factors to consider. Cheap mediocre quality swords sometimes are decent for practice value, as long as they don't strike anything and aren't swung too hard. A good wooden sword will be fairly durable, weigh and balance out OK, and has the added advantage of being potentially usable in 2-person drills. A real sword is not recommended for beginners as one cutting themself may detract from their level of comfort in using their weapon. It has a similar reaction to what flinching does to pistol shooters. Once you attain a level of comfort and confidence in taijijian, then it may be OK to move into the realm of real swords.

Further, right now there are few to no really good changjian (long swords) on the market. In the future however there may be more diverse and higher quality/historically accurate pieces available.

I would suggest he either save his money and get a cheap practice or wooden sword, or invest a bit more on a high quality wooden piece. At a beginning level, there is very little advantage to be had in using a high quality real sword.
 
Thanks, Robert.

My Feldenkrais instructor has a reasonable foundation in Tai Chi and wants to build on that with the sword; not as a martial art but as something else that has relevance to him.
Nonetheless, Robert's words make sense.

An internet search for wood Tai Chi (taijijian) swords comes up with too many responses in the $20 and under range.
Could Robert steer me in the direction of a "high quality wooden piece," perhaps a brand name I could in turn recommend to my instructor?
If not, I guess he can look at the pictures and take his chances like everybody else. :)

I think my instructor intends to travel to a large metropolitan area on vacation and get some get some intensive one on one.
I suppose his teacher at that time will tell him what sword to buy.
Still, he asked, and so do I. :)

Thanks again.
 
If he is interested, he can contact Scott Rodell and inquire about the wooden swords they have through his school, they are apparently based off historical jian in weight and balance. I don't know if they have any extra for sale at the moment, but it can't hurt to ask. Scott Rodell can be reached at srodell@cox.net

While I have not had personal experience with the Chinese sword varieties (but the Japanese bokuto are excellent), Kim Taylor of Sei Do Kai in Ontario makes what looks like potentially good swords for taijijian practice. http://sdksupplies.netfirms.com/cat_kungfu.htm is where they can be found.

Hope that helps a little.
 
It doesn't get much better than this.
I guess I came to the right place. :)

I copied, pasted and forwarded Robert's recent post to my Feldenkrais instructor.

Thanks, Robert.
 
Originally posted by Ken Cox
I think my instructor intends to travel to a large metropolitan area on vacation
Click to expand...
#1 -- Some states / cities it is illegal to carry a
solid metal sword, sharp or not.

#2 -- Balance point on a practice sword should be about 5-6"
in front of the guard, and the weight should be between
1-1/4 & 2 pounds max.
1-1/2 to 1-3/4 pounds is a better range.

#3 -- For ease of -everyday- carrying, between classes say,
& especially for travel, one of the collapsible swords
is handy. ($20-$40)
Unfortunately, the handles on -most- of these are too big
for a proper grip in the average person's hand.

Rodell's Chinese Swordsmanship forum in www.swordforum.com
is a good resource, although focused on -real- swords.
A search of the threads will find some info on other practice swords.

If you have any other questions..............
 
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