Secrets of the Sword | Variations in Different Styles and Systems

Tai Chi Broadsword (Dao) also has thirteen common techniques, though again these may differ slightly between different styles and systems.

With only one sharp edge and a blunt back to its blade, the dao is used quite differently to a jian, and therefore the thirteen skills listed for its use will reflect this. These will normally include Pi (chopping down), along with large slashing, slicing, deflecting and thrusting movements in any direction, together with various intercepting techniques such as an upward Ti or a hanging guard similar to the downward Ge we discussed previously, with the sharp edge facing outwards. The blunt back edge of the sword allows the free hand to push the blade forwards, especially when the blade is protecting your whole body from right shoulder to left hip or knee, so this is a common feature in broadsword forms.

Another common feature is the use of the free hand to control the opponent’s arm or weapon during certain techniques, especially when thrusting (Ci), and the thrust needs to be linear, with a straight line between at least the elbow and the tip of the blade so that the sword does not jack-knife at the wrist.

The dao can also be safely wrapped around the body to give subsequent slicing movements more momentum, without causing the self-inflicted injury that would be almost inevitable if the same action were to be carried out with a double-edged jian.

With both jian and dao, there are also much larger swords available, requiring two hands to hold them and unique sets of skills to wield them, and there are even forms in which two swords are used at the same time, one in each hand.

Different Schools

Sword play in practice: Mattias Nyrell and a student demonstrate a range of jian techniques from the Wudang (PTCCI) tradition. The sequence is carefully rehearsed and uses blunt training swords with turned-over points. Video courtesy of Mattias Nyrell, used with permission.

Different schools and styles of Tai Chi emphasise different qualities in their use of swords, just as in their hand forms and unarmed combat techniques. Some tend to use wider, lower stances and lots of explosive Fa jin; some work at longer or shorter ranges than others; some emphasise simple skills while others tend to be more intricate in their movements; and some focus almost exclusively on eight main techniques, either out of respect for a long tradition or because these are seen as adequate for their use in combat and the other five seem less important.

The names of the movements may vary but the skills, qualities and strategies will overlap since there are limits to what you can do with a jian or dao, whatever style you practice, and it’s a matter of finding out what works best for you in any situation as befits your particular build, strength, skills and agility. And remember that, as well as a blade, your sword has a heavy other end that you can hit with!

Xingyiquan

Xing Yi sword techniques are based on the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth, and so include Pi, Beng, Zuan, Pau and Heng. Therefore, the movements involve chopping or splitting downwards (Pi); thrusting or blasting forwards (Beng); drilling, coiling and spiralling thrusts (Zuan), slashing or pounding diagonally outwards or upwards (Pao); and cross-cutting horizontally to deflect or attack from the side (Heng). All of these are performed while moving forwards with powerful follow-stepping in a similar manner to that used with the familiar hand forms and are also reminiscent of the way in which a spear might be used.

Because of the high-speed and forwards momentum, using whole-body power, Xing Yi sword would be a useful strategy for a group of fighters facing outwards on a battlefield and driving off the assailants surrounding them. There are also sword techniques relating to the ten or twelve animals of Xing Yi, which offer an additional diverse range of skills and strategies.

Baguazhang

Bagua sword is more suited to circling and perplexing an opponent and so naturally involves whirling, spiralling, overturning and rapid changes of direction together with intercepting, deflecting, cutting, slashing, slicing, hooking and chopping actions, as befits the weapon. In most of the Bagua sword techniques, the sword continually points towards the opponent as you step around them, with the waist acting like the steering wheel as power or energy from the legs and dantien is driven via the arms and hands to the tip of the blade.

Whichever styles you practice, you may find benefits to your health and fitness, providing you practice safely to avoid injury to yourself and others. We are fortunate that we no longer need to practice our martial arts as a matter of life and death. Instead, we have the luxury of being able to practice them for health, enjoyment and perhaps a mental challenge equivalent to a game of chess.

Out on the street, of course, we should not be carrying offensive weapons of any kind. In a situation where someone else has ignored such legal requirements and is posing a threat to anyone, getting away, protecting others and getting help, is the order of the day, rather than welcoming the opportunity to test our sword skills.

It is possible, perhaps, that your sword training may have provided you with transferable skills that might be helpful, should you ever need to create some space between yourself and some guy with a knife, if you happened to be holding a walking stick, cane or umbrella. However, a chair, a table or anything you can get between yourself and them is more useful than having a go at disarming them, and even these would be unlikely to be of much use if they have a gun.

In general, the Chinese internal martial arts, whatever the style and whether or not you have a weapon, are based on the underlying core Tai Chi principles such as a stable root (even when moving), correct footwork, correct posture and correct breathing, allowing engagement of the dantien and whole body connectedness in order to generate power from the legs, via the waist and outwards through the arms, hands and, if appropriate, the weapon.

Whether or not you ever need to use your skills for self-defence, we hope that you have enjoyed this introduction to the various techniques of Chinese sword and that it has added a deeper dimension to your study and practice of your martial art. Perhaps it has raised further questions that inspire you to research the subject more deeply via your teachers, books and the many videos that are now available online. Every student or teacher with an interest in these skills, and the patience to practice them, helps to keep the authentic Chinese Internal Martial Arts alive for the benefit of future generations, which is also why this TCIA Union exists and for which we thank you.