The simplicity of this sword design just makes it look so beautiful to me. Always appreciate the history lessons too, no one else talks about Chinese weapons the way you do
Hello everyone! Thank you all for watching the video! One thing that I forgot to mention while filming was the importance of the Jingwu athletic association which actually came before the guoshu association and laid the foundation of modern chinese martial arts.
I practice zi wu Jian (子午劍）and I was taught that the two fingers represent where your secondary weapon is held and pointed at. The fingers can be represent a dagger or the sword scabbard. [ I say the scabbard being an secondary weapon is more likely as it’s very common to hold the jian in the hand.]
There are many possible explanations for the use of both the swords fingers in jianfa and knife hand in daofa. I haven’t heard of this one before, but is is intriguing. Thanks for sharing!
I practice HEMA with arming swords which are generally 2 lbs or heavier. I bought a Scarlet Sunrise jian from LK Chen and I love it. What I found most surprising is how light it is (1.5 lbs). The blade is about 35 inches long, so it's a light and long blade. I am not confident that I can always parry heavier swords with this jian. I think the bracing your sword arm with your other hand helps a lot. I would recommend using the whole palm, not 2 fingers.
Great video! Your channel is very interesting and informative. I really admire your effort to merge your academic interest and personal interest together. ( I am also a scientist and a martial-art practitioner. but these two seem quite separate in my life) And the name of your channel is a wonderful one. It do shows your deep understanding of Chinese culture ( probably far more deeper than most Chinese people in China). Great job.
Thanks for watching! I try to research things before I speak on them so that I don’t embarrass myself too badly! I am also interested in many scientific topics as well, but I don’t have the quantitative training to fully understand most science papers.
This sword is quite nice! I did not find the guard too big. The only downside to this sword for me is the fact that it is a 20th century sword design and I am more interested in older stuff.
I think you’d be well positioned to make a video or series on the boxer rebellion and how the idea of “Chinese martial arts” changed over that time, given that any decent overview of it is locked away to more academic texts
What I like most about thise design is the "forte" near the Hushou, so one really can block with that part, without ruining the blade. Mine is a cheaper repro, good enough for me.
Yes I was looking into the relationship between mudra and sword fingers, especially because we find the sword fingers on a statue of xuanwu, but I got busy with other projects at that time! The main question is do we know whether or not the mudra or the sword fingers appeared first. And does this mudra appear in India or is it a later addition that came after contact with Daoism and the pointing qi fingers used in some traditional Chinese medicine? If you have any sources, I would love to know more!
My own understanding is that the sword finger is both to balance the ‘point’ focus/tension of the sword, as well as to reinforce the ‘spirit’ of the sword such that the sword becomes and extension of the wielder.
The simplicity of this sword design just makes it look so beautiful to me. Always appreciate the history lessons too, no one else talks about Chinese weapons the way you do
Thanks for you continually support of the channel! I also agree that many swords have a simple elegance in their design which looks quite appealing.
Hello everyone! Thank you all for watching the video! One thing that I forgot to mention while filming was the importance of the Jingwu athletic association which actually came before the guoshu association and laid the foundation of modern chinese martial arts.
I practice zi wu Jian (子午劍）and I was taught that the two fingers represent where your secondary weapon is held and pointed at. The fingers can be represent a dagger or the sword scabbard. [ I say the scabbard being an secondary weapon is more likely as it’s very common to hold the jian in the hand.]
There are many possible explanations for the use of both the swords fingers in jianfa and knife hand in daofa. I haven’t heard of this one before, but is is intriguing. Thanks for sharing!
I practice HEMA with arming swords which are generally 2 lbs or heavier. I bought a Scarlet Sunrise jian from LK Chen and I love it. What I found most surprising is how light it is (1.5 lbs). The blade is about 35 inches long, so it's a light and long blade. I am not confident that I can always parry heavier swords with this jian. I think the bracing your sword arm with your other hand helps a lot. I would recommend using the whole palm, not 2 fingers.
Thanks for sharing! I have this sword - my favor sword from all my LK Chen collections.
been a while, another great video!
You have been a longtime viewer of the channel. Thank you for your continued support!
Great review and I enjoyed the history aspects of your discussion
Thanks for watching! The history part is overlooked too often, but plays an important role in understanding these weapons!
Great video! Your channel is very interesting and informative. I really admire your effort to merge your academic interest and personal interest together. ( I am also a scientist and a martial-art practitioner. but these two seem quite separate in my life) And the name of your channel is a wonderful one. It do shows your deep understanding of Chinese culture ( probably far more deeper than most Chinese people in China). Great job.
Thanks for watching! I try to research things before I speak on them so that I don’t embarrass myself too badly! I am also interested in many scientific topics as well, but I don’t have the quantitative training to fully understand most science papers.
I really like sea rays, so I wouldn't want a ray skin grip, but I do think putting practicality before comfort is good.
Great work, as always. I have learnt a lot. Thank you!
I am happy to hear that!
The jian look nice!beautifull and elegant.
love yer channel
I am glad you enjoy the content!
I’m especially interested in your comment about the origin of the sword forms we practice today, maybe you could make a video on that topic?
U pretty quick , how do you like the sword ? Is the guard to big ?
This sword is quite nice! I did not find the guard too big. The only downside to this sword for me is the fact that it is a 20th century sword design and I am more interested in older stuff.
Very nice! The simple, natural look is definitely my style. Looks like it would make a good match for LK's nuiweidao.
I think you’d be well positioned to make a video or series on the boxer rebellion and how the idea of “Chinese martial arts” changed over that time, given that any decent overview of it is locked away to more academic texts
This is an idea I have considered before and I will definitely talk about the boxer rebellion in the future!
🤠👍🏿
What I like most about thise design is the "forte" near the Hushou, so one really can block with that part, without ruining the blade. Mine is a cheaper repro, good enough for me.
look at the buddhas sword of enlightenment mudra. it is similar to the finger style used with the sword styles of china.
Yes I was looking into the relationship between mudra and sword fingers, especially because we find the sword fingers on a statue of xuanwu, but I got busy with other projects at that time!
The main question is do we know whether or not the mudra or the sword fingers appeared first. And does this mudra appear in India or is it a later addition that came after contact with Daoism and the pointing qi fingers used in some traditional Chinese medicine? If you have any sources, I would love to know more!
I suspect the sword fingers have something to do with ancestor worship
My own understanding is that the sword finger is both to balance the ‘point’ focus/tension of the sword, as well as to reinforce the ‘spirit’ of the sword such that the sword becomes and extension of the wielder.
First
Thanks for watching!