Sounds like you love to infer a lot of things from what I say and create your own mistaken assumptions. I do not practice xma, nor wushu, or dancing. I practice Kung Fu (My Jhong Law Horn if you want to know the style, basically, long fist). You are correct in the fact that our instructor does not really focus on swordplay, the focus of my style is pretty much on unarmed combat. I do not see how this directly translates into dancing? Furthermore, just because my instructor does not really focus (or perhaps knows) more specific information on Chinese saber play means I should give up on practicing and improving what I know already. Nor does it mean I should resign to being mediocre. I am not asking for anyone to teach me how to use a saber, I am simply asking for input regarding improvement and bettering of my saber play. Since far it seems you are lacking in constructive comments, your input is currently of little value to me.
Hi NLK, Another important concept in swordsmanship is how to use the weak and strong portions of your blade. I'm not sure how to practice this without a partner, but be aware of it, if you're not already. The strong portion is from the middle to the crossguard/tsuba/whatever, with which you can hold strongly in a bind or use for deflection or controlling the opponent's weapon. It generates leverage. The weak part is from the middle to the tip, where you cannot hold strongly, but travels faster when cutting, so it deals the most damage. If the opponent strikes your weak part, you can let it slide off and away, freeing your blade for attack. You might want to check out the western and eastern swordsmanship comparison thread, since we are discussing not only specific techniques, but universal concepts as well. Good luck! Best regards, -Mark
No worries. If you're planning on becoming serious about swordsmanship, then I suggest you also find a good swordsmanship instructor of any style in your area, for whom swordsmanship is his main focus. A sword instructor who knows grappling is a big plus, because you can't become a good swordsman unless you also become a good wrestler. And I'm a really crappy wrestler, but I'm getting better. So maybe someday I'll be a good swordsman. Best regards, -Mark
I really want to, but at the current time, that will be hard to do for several reasons, including the area where I live, Arkansas, but i will surely wait for someone to come along in the future. Till then, I want to maximize what I already know.
Cool. Keep your ear to the ground. If you can, attend a seminar and make a vacation out of it. A few members of my fechtschule are going to do just that. In fact, the HES community grew up on this model, and it works well. If you want any help on where to look for groups and seminars, I'd be happy to help, though my forte (that's a pun for rapierists) is western swordsmanship. Best regards, -Mark
I think many of these things will be more doable whenever I get a steady job. I am not really strictly interested in just Chinese swordplay, but that is what I was introduced to, if that makes sense.
