Interesting topic! I'll post some links in a few.
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Y'know the old addage for number of days to master a weapon... let's look at that...
100 to master the knife (dao)
10,000 to master the sword (gim)
Kinda gives perspective...
weapons are not always taught with the thinking that they will actually be used in combat. instead, each adds different elements to improve the overall ability of the fighter. in this case, the jian will teach fine motor skills, relaxed movements, and aid in extending the qi of the practicioner.
If that is the case, then the weapon isn't being taught correctly.
The Jian is taught to teach you the Jian. Honestly, I have listened to people saying that certain weapons are purely for 'developing/extending qi' for over a decade and it's honestly the biggest fallacy in modern styles. It's lazy teaching or poor transmission, your choice.
If you want to learn fine motor skills, go grab a pair of chop sticks and practice picking up peas. It will teach you fine motor skills a lot faster. This also goes for empty hand. I have lost track of the times I've been told that an application is nothing like it is practiced in the form. If that's the case, then you're doing the form wrong. Sure there may be applications that you do differently, different footwork combined with the upper body depending on the momentum of your opponent. You may be back weighted rather than in a bow stance, that's not the point. HOWEVER, you should be able to have a working drill, in the exact manner you practice the form on a day to day basis, for every single posture and transition.
EVERY move in a traditional Jian form has a purpose. Deflection, strike or voiding. Sometimes getting the realistic move back into your form is a matter of just twisting your wrist, other times it's removing an entire section, or putting something else in. (Usually not the latter in the sword and ironically usually the latter in empty hand). Even amongst traditional (as opposed to wushu) styles, there has been a steady move to what looks 'pretty' rather than what is eminently practical.
I have the Classical T'ai Chi Sword by Petra and Toyo Kobayashi on my desk right now, for example on page 35 it claims that "Circling the Moon Three Times" has no technique associated with it. They don't even list "Immortal Points the Way" as a separate move. However I have been taught 2 applications with no modification in the slightest for Immortal Points the Way and 3 for Circling the Moon Three Times. The majority of them being pommel strikes following a deflection. Or a throat strike after deflecting with the blade.
As to the tassel (in its current form), that's a Peking Opera affection that has absolutely no historical basis or use. Traditionally, they had tassels that were used in the exact same way as European swords, or on flashlights today. They were wrist straps if you dropped (or had knocked out of your hand) your sword. Honestly, people swinging jians around with stupidly oversized tassels just looks ridiculous.
However the first thing you have to take into account about the Jian is that it was never used by the Chinese Military as a weapon for war. That does not mean it was not used for fighting however. It has been called the weapon of the gentleman and even in the old days it was often carried more for decoration (like the modern Navy and its sword) than use but there were and are those that could use it rather effectively. However to use it effectively took at higher level of skill than to use the average Dao of the day. If for no other reason the size and strength of the blade as compared to the Dao.
As to the tassel it was and is pretty much decoration but I cant tell you when it actually appeared. Could be modern Wushu, could be before.
I have trained the Jian with the tassel, without the tassel and currently I have it on again but I am considering removing it again. The thing about the tassel ( a reasonably sized one not a tassel the size of a small willow tree) is that it can teach the form and flow of energy if you use it for that purpose. Basically you dont want the thing to wrap around your wrist and follow the direction and flow of the blade itself. But this does not necessarily teach application. It does make for a very pretty looking form that will impress many but I am not so sure of the actual function of it. Now remove the tassel and the center of gravity of the Jian will change and your form will not look as good and you will have to retrain it and likely it will not look as pretty but it will be more functional.
And you are correct every move in the form has a function whether that is attack or defense but there are very few today that train it as a weapon.
My personal feelings about the Jian were that it was not for me. I was much more comfortable with the Dao it is a slashing and bashing weapon :EG:. However of late I have begun to like it much better could be Im getting old or :uhohh: could it be more civilized with age :uhyeah:
To the contrary. The Jian was used in the Ming Dynasty and earlier as a military regulation weapon. Up to the Qianlong emperor of the Qing dynasty (the last Emperor to take an active interest in warfare) the Jian was frequently used by the military. In fact, up until the Tang dynasty, there wasn't even a Dao to be used.
General Li Chin-Lin as late as the 19-20th century used it for combat. My personal belief of why it slowly got phased out over the course of centuries was that it simply became a weapon that required a career soldier to be effective. You didn't bother teaching it to conscripts, since they weren't going to spend years mastering it.
I'm sure the professional soldiers would have been taught it and learnt it on their own, the same way these days military types tend to have their own personal weapons collections which they train with. (And we do. I personally love swords and bladed weapons. One of my previous B4's loved sniper rifles and frequently had his at range days or practiced off the bridge wing. The Australian navy doesn't have sniper rifles, that's a purely army thing.)
Not wanting to argue but Jain was never a military weapon. There are military weapons in Chinese history that look similar to what we call a Jian today but they were not. And you will not find a Jian pre-Tang (618-907) either. They may look like a Jian but they are not.
These are from warring states (475-221BC) which is pre-tang and even though they may look like a jian, they are not. These are also what you will find in Qin (221206 BC) just after Warring states
And you start seeing legendary references to the dao around the 3rd centurey with General Guan Yu (Guandao) but you are correct there is no actual historical proof until the 7th century easliest being Tang or possibly a little later in Song
Scott Rodell said:Sorry, no. The problem is a jian is a jian. By definition they're straight with two edges. I haven't observed anything different as far as balance, weight, or length in Ming vs. Qing jian blades. However, the sample of Ming blades to examine is quite small, perhaps something will come to light in the future. There were differences in jian hilt fittings over the years, but by in large there are essentially no or very, very few existing examples of these.
Not wanting to argue but Jain was never a military weapon. There are military weapons in Chinese history that look similar to what we call a Jian today but they were not. And you will not find a Jian pre-Tang (618-907) either. They may look like a Jian but they are not.
These are from warring states (475-221BC) which is pre-tang and even though they may look like a jian, they are not. These are also what you will find in Qin (221–206 BC) just after Warring states
holy hell, that's the scariest thing i've ever seen! How big is that fish?