Tai chi sword sizing: blade length by height, plus the ear test

[Jack Xu8 5]

The question I get most often from new students is what length jian to buy, so here is the chart most schools use, plus the old way to check without a chart.

5 foot 0 and under takes a 26 inch blade.
5 foot 1 to 5 foot 6 takes a 28 inch.
5 foot 7 to 5 foot 11 takes a 30 inch.
6 foot and up takes a 32 inch.

The ear test: hold the sword in your left hand in a reverse grip, arm hanging relaxed at your side. The tip should come up to roughly the top of your ear. If it sits near your shoulder the sword is too short. If it points well past your ear it is too long. This is also the sizing standard used in competition, so it is worth learning on day one.

A student of mine, 5 foot 9, bought a sword listed as 30 inches and could not figure out why it felt like a short knife in his hand. The listing meant 30 inches overall. His blade was barely 22. He needed a 30 inch blade, which is about 38 to 39 inches overall. Read the spec line twice before you buy.

Two things that trip people up when buying online. First, buy by blade length, not overall length. Second, if you fall between sizes, take the shorter one. A slightly short sword handles better than a slightly long one, especially indoors.

While we are here: most adults do best with a total weight between 1.2 and 1.6 pounds and a balance point about 3 inches in front of the guard. Get those three numbers right, length, weight, balance, and the sword disappears into your hand and lets you think about the form instead of the steel.

 

[Gyakuto116 125]

Funnily enough, I was listening to a purveyor of Japanese practise swords whose length is also determined by the height of the wielder. He suggested height/sword length charts were to allow manufacturers to produce the lowest number of fixed lengths for easy sale. For example, the length of sword for my height according to the charts is in fact far too short (tooth picks). Arm length is a better determiner of sword length. My custom katana are 2 shaku, 4 sun, 3 bun (73.64cm blade) and I could have had it forged at 2.5.0 but with advancing age one stiffens and sword manipulation becomes more challenging. I can, however, wield my 2 shaku 5 bun 3 sun (76.67cm blade) treasure and always perform my upper limb mobility exercise to ensure that continues for a long time!

 

[Jack Xu8 5]

Funnily enough, I was listening to a purveyor of Japanese practise swords whose length is also determined by the height of the wielder. He suggested height/sword length charts were to allow manufacturers to produce the lowest number of fixed lengths for easy sale. For example, the length of sword for my height according to the charts is in fact far too short (tooth picks). Arm length is a better determiner of sword length. My custom katana are 2 shaku, 4 sun, 3 bun (73.64cm blade) and I could have had it forged at 2.5.0 but with advancing age one stiffens and sword manipulation becomes more challenging. I can, however, wield my 2 shaku 5 bun 3 sun (76.67cm blade) treasure and always perform my upper limb mobility exercise to ensure that continues for a long time!

Fair point, and I agree the charts are a starting line, not a finish line. They exist because most beginners are buying online with nothing to measure against, and a height chart gets them close enough to train safely. But you are right that proportion beats height.

That is actually why I put the ear test in the same post. Reverse grip, arm hanging relaxed, tip to the top of the ear is really an arm and torso measurement wearing a height chart's clothes. Two people at 5 foot 9 with different proportions will land on different blades, and the ear test catches what the chart cannot.

Your point about age deserves a thread of its own. I see it with older students in sword forms: wrist and shoulder mobility go first, and a blade that was perfect at forty becomes a negotiation at sixty. For tai chi jian the usual adjustment is dropping weight rather than length, since the forms still demand the same reach but the joints forgive less. Somewhere around 450 to 550 grams keeps the geometry without punishing the wrist.

Katana people have it harder in that regard, I think. Your blade is heavier and two handed, so an inch of length changes the leverage far more. With a one handed jian the difference between a 28 and a 30 inch blade is noticeable but manageable, which is probably why our charts get away with being simple.