Tassle Color?

[Don Black]

Does the color of the sword tassle have any significance, or is it simply a matter of personal preference?
I'd like to get into one of the TiaChi sword forms, and I'd be startin' from scratch.

 

[clfsean]

Does the color of the sword tassle have any significance, or is it simply a matter of personal preference?
I'd like to get into one of the TiaChi sword forms, and I'd be startin' from scratch.

Not that I've ever heard of. Most are red, but I've seen white, yellow, blue & even a multicolored one.

 

[Don Black]

Thanks, Sean. I've been at TiaChi (Sun) for about six years now, and about to get the hang of it.
Always been facinated by swords, so I reckon I'll try swingin' on a new vine for awhile.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Not that I've ever heard of. Most are red, but I've seen white, yellow, blue & even a multicolored one.

That pretty much sums it up

Both of my daos have red silk (one from Beijing) 2 of my Jains are from Beijing and both have multicolored tassels. I have another Jain that came from Shandong that has a red tassel.

Thanks, Sean. I've been at TiaChi (Sun) for about six years now, and about to get the hang of it.
Always been facinated by swords, so I reckon I'll try swingin' on a new vine for awhile.

So how do you like Sun style?

 

[pete]

yeah, its a matter of personal preference, and my preference is to leave it off the sword... use the tassle to hold back the curtains or some other 'creative' idea. the whole idea of the tassle on a sword is kinda rediculous when you think about it.

pete

 

[Don Black]

I started out with the modified Sun style for arthritus under one of Dr. Paul Lams deciples, and have since gone on to study the standard form on my own.
I enjoy it, but I have some severe limitations in my range of motion, due to old traumas and old age, so I have to fudge a lot on the more atheletic moves.
I'd also like to try some push hands, but the two to tango thing is a bummer, and no one in this area is into it.

 

[pete]

Hi Don, and all others:

I really don't want to come down hard on anyone, or sound too preachy, but it is a strong opinion of mine that I cannot withhold, so please bear with...

"We" as a people, and more specifically as martial artists should not be fooled into thinking we have any sort of entitlement to learn any art under the sun. Basically, if there are no decent instructors of that style in your immediate area, and you do not have (or do not want to expend) the time or funds to travel on a regular basis... there will simply be certain things you will not learn.

"We" cannot expect to learn ancient pygmie crocodile wrastlin' if the only teachers of that style are in Sengala, Burma, and Minot, ND and you live in Miami. Buying Books and DVDs just won't do it.

Similarly, if you want to learn Tai Chi, and there's nobody teaching it in your immediate area, options are (a) travel, diligent practice, and travel again..., or (b) find another art.

Moving beyond the rudimentary basics in Tai Chi will require a live teacher, and live training partners. The art is all about feeling and sensitivity, which requires physical and energetic interplay, in addition to solo practices such as forms and qigong. If there is no teacher or no training partners... same (a) or (b).

Somtimes you just gotta accept the fact that selecting and training in a specific martial art is a priviledge not an entitlement.

Pete

PS. sorry for the cheesy '24' reference to Sengala

 

[Don Black]

“I really don't want to come down hard on anyone, or sound too preachy, but it is a strong opinion of mine that I cannot withhold, so please bear with…”
Well, ya’ do indeed come across a little preachy, but this old hide has withstood a lot worse & survived.
Not sure we share the same understanding of what “entitlement” means.
To me it suggests expecting benefits without effort (free lunch), and I don’t believe in them.
I’ve put a good deal of effort into my studies and I’m comfortable with both my physical and spiritual development.

 

[pete]

my point is everyone is not entitled to doing anything they want (tai chi inclusive) regardless of their ability to pay, travel, or even find proper instruction.

if you'd like to push hands but no one in your area to train with, you can either increase the size of your area or move on. y'aint gonna get beyond the most rudimentary basics without it, so why force the square tai chi peg into the round hole of life?

you'd probably be much better off recognizing the reality of this, and finding another martial art in your area that you can actually practice... or as i've said before, increase the size of your area and travel further.

or, you can have fun with your DVDs and multi-colored tassles.

pete.

 

[Flying Crane]

I started out with the modified Sun style for arthritus under one of Dr. Paul Lams deciples, and have since gone on to study the standard form on my own.

Hi Don,

Did you study the standard form thru DVD or book references?

Perhaps the message that Pete is trying to convey is that if you studied the modified form under a live instructor, you might make the best ongoing progress in your training by continuing to study that form, with that instructor.

If the instructor is no longer available to you, then perhaps the better idea is to focus your solo practice on that which you learned from him, rather than trying to learn something additional thru DVD or book medium, including taiji sword.

Most serious students of the martial arts, including taiji, feel that it is really impossible to properly learn any martial art thru DVD or books, if that is the only method you are using. DVDs and books can be a useful reference tool if you are also training directly with a good instructor. But all by themselves, you just cannot properly learn the methods with the level of understanding and precision that is needed. At best, you will accomplish a hollow mimickry that just lacks any substance. Martial arts aren't simply about swinging your arms "like this" and stepping "over here". There is a lot more going on while you are swinging your arms and making your steps, and that cannot be adequately taught without a live teacher to work with.

So I think what Pete is getting at is, if you do not have access to a good taiji teacher, then your time and effort and money would be better put to use in searching out a good instructor in ANY other style, with whom you can train directly. You will simply get more out of the experience than you will thru even the best of self-directed DVD or book courses.

It is my opinion, and I know that it is shared by many here and probably Pete as well, that those who produce instructional DVDs and books, with the aim at selling them to the general public at large, are doing a big disservice to their customers. They are misleading them into believing that this is an acceptable and good way to learn the art, and it just simply is not. If they limited the distribution of their DVDs to their own students who are studying with them, to use as a reference tool to augment their training, then I (and probably others) would not have a problem with it. But the fact that they are selling these to anybody willing to fork over some bucks for it, is a real disservice and they are doing nothing but enriching themselves thru the ignorance of the general public.

Anyway, hope this helps, and good luck with your training.

 

[pete]

Perhaps the message that Pete is trying to convey is...

there ain't no coupe de ville hiding at the bottom of a cracker jack box (Meatloaf 1977)

 

[Tensei85]

Here's a link for the meaning of tassel color's for spears, maybe similar in some regards. First time I heard this before.

Scroll to bottom of link:
http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hwushu/aboutwushu.html