A new publication about Wushu written in Spanish, English, Chinese Mandarin and Pinyin. Una nueva publicación sobre el Wushu escrita en Español, Inglés, Chino Mandarín y Pinyin

This is a preview of the 100 Esential Techniques of Wushu developed by Armando Alvarado (wushusinfrontera.com). This book is written in English, Spanish, Chinese and Pinyin. Esta es una vista previa de las 100 Técnicas Esenciales de Wushu desarrollado por Armando Alvarado (wushusinfrontera.com) Este libro está escrito en español, inglés, chino mandarin y pinyin.

More Information please visit / Mayor información visita: www.wushusinfrontera.com/jibengong

Propuesta de diseño de logo para celebrar mundialmente el 7 de Diciembre el Día Internacional del Practicante de Wushu. Por favor descargar este archivo y usarlo gratuitamente, la idea principal: Usar un Polo/Remera/T-shirt/ con este logo, sientete libre de enviarme tu foto a armandowushu@gmail.com o contactanos en wushuplanet.org. Y por supuesto seria genial que tu mismo realices tus propios videos, fotografías y compartas esta idea en tu comunidad!

****Free download - Descarga Gratis***

拥有 “国际习武术者节 “是我们所有人的责任 . 让我们这些武术练习者共同发扬这精彩而神奇的一天 ,给我们所爱的事业以纪念 , 把这个节日推广到每个国家每个城市 .把它同我们的朋友们 ，武术兄弟们及我们周围的人分享。

Let’s make December 7 a date acknowledged worldwide by all Wushu practitioners as well as the rest of the world.
让我们使12 月7 日被世界上所有武术学习者所共知。

Please download this Video file for free at: www.wushusinfrontera.com/wushu2009.html and spread the word around the world!

Tai chi chuan

Today, tai chi has spread worldwide. Most modern styles of tai chi trace their development to at least one of the five traditional schools: Chen, Yang, Wu/Hao, Wu and Sun. The origins and creation of tai chi are a subject of much argument and speculation. However, the oldest documented tradition is that of the Chen family from the 1820s.

There are five major styles of tai chi chuan, each named after the Chinese family from which it originated:

• Chen style (陳氏) (founded by Chen Wangting, 1580–1660)
• Yang style (楊氏) (founded by Yang Lu-ch’an, 1799-1872)
• Wu or Wu/Hao style of Wu Yu-hsiang (Wu Yuxiang) (武氏)
• Wu style of Wu Ch’uan-yü (Wu Quanyuo) and his son Wu Chien-ch’uan (Wu Jianquan) (吳氏)
• Sun style (孫氏) (founded by Sun Lu-t’ang, 1861–1932)

The order of verifiable age is as listed above. The order of popularity (in terms of number of practitioners) is Yang, Wu, Chen, Sun, and Wu/Hao.^[4] The first five major family styles share much underlying theory, but differ in their approaches to training.

There are now dozens of new styles, hybrid styles and offshoots of the main styles, but the five family schools are the groups recognised by the international community as being the orthodox styles. Other important styles are Zhaobao Tai Chi, a close cousin of Chen style, which has been newly recognised by Western practitioners as a distinct style, and the Fu style, created by Fu Chen Sung, which evolved from Chen, Sun and Yang styles, and also incorporates movements from Pa Kua Chang.

The designation internal or nei chia martial arts is also used to broadly distinguish what are known as the external or wai chia styles based on the Shaolinquan styles, although that distinction is sometimes disputed by modern schools. In this broad sense, all styles of tai chi, as well as related arts such as Pa Kua Chang and Hsing-i Ch’üan, are therefore considered to be “soft” or “internal” martial arts. Many styles list in their history that tai chi was originally formulated by a Taoist monk called Zhang Sanfeng and taught by him in the Taoist monasteries at Wu Tang Shan.^[10]

When tracing tai chi chuan’s formative influences to Taoist and Buddhist monasteries, there seems little more to go on than legendary tales from a modern historical perspective, but tai chi chuan’s practical connection to and dependence upon the theories of Sung dynasty Neo-Confucianism (a conscious synthesis of Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian traditions, especially the teachings of Mencius) is claimed by some traditional schools.^[4] The philosophical and political landscape of that time in Chinese history is fairly well documented. Tai chi’s theories and practice are therefore believed by these schools to have been formulated by the Taoist monk Zhang Sanfeng in the 12th century, at about the same time that the principles of the Neo-Confucian school were making themselves felt in Chinese intellectual life.^[4] In these legends, Zhang Sanfeng as a young man studied Tao Yin (導引, Pinyin dǎoyǐn) breathing exercises from his Taoist teachers^[11] and martial arts at the Buddhist Shaolin monastery,^[12] eventually combining the martial forms and breathing exercises to formulate the soft or internal principles we associate with tai chi chuan and related martial arts. Zhang Sanfeng is also sometimes attributed with the creation of the original 13 Movements of Tai Chi Chuan. These 13 movements are in all forms of tai chi chuan. Its subsequent fame attributed to his teaching, Wu Tang monastery was known thereafter as an important martial center for many centuries, its many styles of internal kung fu preserved and refined at various Taoist temples.

Family trees

Wu style master Eddie Wu demonstrating Grasp The Bird’s Tail at a tournament in Toronto, Canada

These family trees are not comprehensive. Names denoted by an asterisk are legendary or semi-legendary figures in the lineage; while their involvement in the lineage is accepted by most of the major schools, it is not independently verifiable from known historical records. The Cheng Man-ch’ing and Chinese Sports Commission short forms are derived from Yang family forms, but neither are recognized as Yang family tai chi chuan by standard-bearing Yang family teachers. The Chen, Yang and Wu families are now promoting their own shortened demonstration forms for competitive purposes.

 Legendary figures

 Five major classical family styles

Modern forms

Health benefits

Tai chi is promoted as a method for the elderly or infirm to reclaim the natural vigor of youth.

Before tai chi’s introduction to Western students, the health benefits of tai chi chuan were largely explained through the lens of traditional Chinese medicine, which is based on a view of the body and healing mechanisms not always studied or supported by modern science. Today, tai chi is in the process of being subjected to rigorous scientific studies in the West.^[19] Now that the majority of health studies have displayed a tangible benefit in some areas to the practice of tai chi, health professionals have called for more in-depth studies to determine mitigating factors such as the most beneficial style, suggested duration of practice to show the best results, and whether tai chi is as effective as other forms of exercise.^[19]

 Chronic conditions

Researchers have found that intensive tai chi practice shows some favorable effects on the promotion of balance control, flexibility, cardiovascular fitness and reduced the risk of falls in both healthy elderly patients,^[20] and those recovering from chronic stroke,^[21], heart failure, high blood pressure, heart attacks, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s. Tai chi’s gentle, low impact movements burn more calories than surfing and nearly as many as downhill skiing.^[22]

Tai chi, along with yoga, has reduced levels of LDLs 20–26 milligrams when practised for 12–14 weeks.^[23] A thorough review of most of these studies showed limitations or biases that made it difficult to draw firm conclusions on the benefits of tai chi.^[19] A later study led by the same researchers conducting the review found that tai chi (compared to regular stretching) showed the ability to greatly reduce pain and improve overall physical and mental health in people over 60 with severe osteoarthritis of the knee.^[24] In addition, a pilot study, which has not been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, has found preliminary evidence that tai chi and related qigong may reduce the severity of diabetes.^[25]

A recent study evaluated the effects of two types of behavioral intervention, tai chi and health education, on healthy adults, who after 16 weeks of the intervention, were vaccinated with VARIVAX, a live attenuated Oka/Merck Varicella zoster virus vaccine. The tai chi group showed higher and more significant levels of cell-mediated immunity to varicella zoster virus than the control group which received only health education. It appears that tai chi augments resting levels of varicella zoster virus-specific cell-mediated immunity and boosts the efficacy of the varicella vaccine. Tai chi alone does not lessen the effects or probability of a shingles attack, but it does improve the effects of the varicella zoster virus vaccine.^[26]

 Stress and mental health

There have also been indications that tai chi might have some effect on noradrenaline and cortisol production with an effect on mood and heart rate. However, the effect may be no different than those derived from other types of physical exercise.^[27] In one study, tai chi has also been shown to reduce the symptoms of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in 13 adolescents. The improvement in symptoms seem to persist after the tai chi sessions were terminated.^[28]

In June, 2007 the United States National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine published an independent, peer-reviewed, meta-analysis of the state of meditation research, conducted by researchers at the University of Alberta Evidence-based Practice Center. The report reviewed 813 studies (88 involving Tai Chi) of five broad categories of meditation: mantra meditation, mindfulness meditation, yoga, Tai Chi, and Qi Gong. The report concluded that “[t]he therapeutic effects of meditation practices cannot be established based on the current literature,” and “[f]irm conclusions on the effects of meditation practices in healthcare cannot be drawn based on the available evidence.

Schematic representation of the three main chinese martial arts staffs

There are various kinds of gun (pronounced g-oo-en), and they include the following:

• Monkey Staff (Chinese: 猴棍; pinyin: hóugùn)
• Biangan (Chinese: 鞭杆; pinyin: biāngān)
• Mad Demon Staff (simplified Chinese: 疯魔棍; traditional Chinese: 瘋魔棍; pinyin: fēngmó gùn)
• Tianqi Staff (simplified Chinese: 天齐棍; traditional Chinese: 天齊棍; pinyin: tiānqí gùn)
• Staff of Five Tigers and Goat Herds (simplified Chinese: {{{s}}}; traditional Chinese: {{{t}}}; pinyin: wǔ hǔ qún yáng gùn)
• Nunchaku (simplified Chinese: 二节棍; traditional Chinese: 雙節棍; pinyin: èrjié gùn; literally “two section staff”)
• Taiji Staff of Thirteen (simplified Chinese: 太极十三秆; traditional Chinese: 太極十三杆; pinyin: tàijí shísān gǎn)
• Taiji Quarterstaff (simplified Chinese: 太极大秆; traditional Chinese: 太極大杆; pinyin: tàijí dà gǎn)
• Taiji Staff (simplified Chinese: 太极棍; traditional Chinese: 太極棍; pinyin: tàijí gùn)
• Staff of Eight Fairies (Chinese: 八仙棍; pinyin: bāxiān gùn)
• Bagua Seven Star Rod (Chinese: 八卦七星竿; pinyin: bāguà qīxīng gān)
• Flail (simplified Chinese: 梿枷; traditional Chinese: 槤枷; pinyin: liánjiā)

The types of gun normally used nowadays for exercises and competitions are the bailangan (simplified Chinese: 白栏杆; traditional Chinese: 白欄杆; pinyin: bái lángān) and the nangun (Chinese: 南棍; pinyin: nángùn).

Traditionally, the gun is made out of a material called wax wood, rather than bamboo as many people might think. Wax wood is strong, yet flexible, making it ideal as a material for the gun. The gun is fashioned with one thick end as the base and a thinner end near the tip, and is cut to be about the same height as the user. Today, more modern versions may be purchased made with metal and rubber parts.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Chinese martial arts
• Ji, halberd
• Nangun, Southern staff
• Three section staff
• Two Section Staff
• Gun for firearms
• Quarterstaff
• Bō, Japanese staff
• Bâton français, French staff
• Jogo do Pau, Portuguese staff

The jian is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China

In Chinese folklore, it is known as “The Gentleman of Weapons” and is considered one of the four major weapons, along with the Gun (staff), Qiang (spear), and the Dao (sabre).

Parts of the jian

A guard or hilt protects the hand from an opposing blade. The shape of the guard can be described as short wings pointing either forward or backward. A minority of jian featured the disc-shaped guards associated with dao. A handle behind the guard can accommodate the grip of both hands or one hand plus two or three fingers of the other hand. Two-handed jiàn of up to 1.6 meters (65″) in length, known as shuangshou jian, existed but were not as common as the one-handed version. The longer two-handed handle could be used as a lever to lock the opponent’s arm if necessary. Grips are usually of fluted wood or covered in rayskin, with a minority being wrapped with cord.

The end of the handle was finished with a pommel for balance, to prevent the handle from sliding through the hand if the hand’s grip should be loosened, and for striking or trapping the opponent as opportunity required — such as in “withdrawing” techniques. The pommel was historically peened onto the tang of the blade; thereby holding together as one solid unit the blade, guard, handle, and pommel. Most jian of the last century or so are assembled with a threaded tang onto which the pommel or pommel-nut is screwed.

Sometimes a tassel is attached to the hilt. During the Ming Dynasty these were usually passed through an openwork pommel, and in the Qing through a hole in the grip itself; modern swords usually attach the tassel to the end of the pommel. Historically these were likely used as lanyards, allowing the wielder to retain the sword in combat. There are some sword forms which utilize the tassel as an integral part of their swordsmanship style (sometimes offensively), while other schools dispense with sword tassels entirely. The movement of the tassel may have served to distract opponents, and some schools further claim that metal wires were once worked into the tassels for impairing vision and causing bleeding when swept across the face. The tassel’s use now is primarily decorative.[3][4]

The blade itself is customarily divided into three sections for leverage in different offensive and defensive techniques. The tip of the blade is the jiànfeng, meant for stabbing, slashing, and quick percussive cuts. The jiànfeng typically curves smoothly to a point, though in the Ming period sharply angled points were common. Some antiques have rounded points, though these are likely the result of wear. The middle section is the zhongren or middle edge, and is used for a variety of offensive and defensive actions: cleaving cuts, draw cuts, and deflections. The section of blade closest to the guard is called the jiàngen or root, and is mainly used for defensive actions; on some late period jian, the base of the blade was made into an unsharpened ricasso. These sections are not necessarily of the same length, with the jiànfeng being only three or four inches long. [5][6]

Jian blades generally feature subtle profile taper (decreasing width), but often have considerable distal taper (decreasing thickness), with blade thickness near the tip being only half the thickness of the root’s base. Jiàn may also feature differential sharpening, where the blade is made progressively sharper towards the tip, usually corresponding to the three sections of the blade. The cross-section of the blade is typically that of a flattened diamond with a visible central ridge, though some are lenticular (eye-shaped) instead; ancient bronze jian sometimes have a hexagonal cross-section.

 Materials

An iron sword and two bronze swords from the Chinese Warring States PeriodJian were originally made from bronze, then steel as metal technology advanced. There are some, perhaps ceremonial, jian which are carved from a single solid piece of jade.

Traditional jian blades are usually of sanmei (three plate) construction, which involved sandwiching a core of hard steel between two plates of softer steel. The central plate protrudes slightly from its surrounding pieces, allowing for a sharp edge, while the softer spine protects the brittle core. Some blades had wumei or five plate construction, with two more soft plates being used at the central ridge.[7] Bronze jian were often made in a somewhat similar manner: in this case an alloy with a high copper content would be used to make a resilient core and spine, while the edge would be made from a high tin-content alloy for sharpness and welded on to the rest of the blade.

The sword smiths of China are often credited with the forging technologies that traveled to Korea and Japan to allow sword smiths there to create such weapons as the katana. These technologies include folding, inserted alloys, and differential hardening of the edge.[8][9] While the Japanese would be more influenced by the Chinese dāo (single-edged swords of various forms), the early Japanese swords known as ken are often based on jian. The Korean version of the jian is known as the geom or gum, and these swords often preserve features found in Ming-era jian, such as openwork pommels and sharply angled tips.

In martial art schools wooden swords are used for training, so most martial arts students’ first experience with a jian in modern times is with one of those weapons. In some religious Taoist sects, those wooden practice swords have come to have an esoteric ritual purpose, claimed by some to metaphorically represent the discipline of an accomplished student.

Contemporary jian versions are often forged (shaped with heat and hammer) and assembled by mostly traditional methods for training of practitioners of Chinese martial arts around the world. These jian vary greatly in quality and historical accuracy.

Contemporary jian are also sometimes forgeries (artificially aged and misrepresented as original antiques), for sale to tourists and collectors who cannot distinguish them from true antiques.

Historical use

The first jian used in China were little more than bronze double-edged daggers primarily created for close fighting in closed packed environments such as small towns and cities where spears and polearms might prove inconvenient. By that time, jian swords were made from varying lengths to modern lengths by roughly 500 BC. Though there is significant variation in length, balance, and weight of the jian from different periods, within any given period the general purpose of the jian is to be a multipurpose cut and thrust weapon capable of stabbing, as well as making both precise cuts and slashes, as opposed to specializing in one form of use. Although the many forms and schools of swordsmanship with the jian vary as well, the general purpose and use is still not lost.

Wushu jian pair event at the 10th All China games Historical jian wielders would engage in test cutting called shizhan, practicing their skills on targets known as caoren, or “grass men”. Such targets were made from bamboo, rice straw, or saplings. This practice was similar to the Japanese art of tameshigiri, but was never formalized to the extent that the latter art was.[10]

Today most Chinese martial arts such as Taijiquan and their martial artists still train extensively with jian swords and expertise in its techniques is said by many of them to be the highest physical expression of their kung fu. However, most jian today are flexible tai-chi or wushu jian used mainly for ceremonial purposes and not for actual combat.

Jian in popular culture

“The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea” The figure on the lower left wears a jian on his backThere are several Taoist immortals who are associated with the jian. One example is Lü Dongbin.
The bodhisattva Mañjuśrī (Ch: 文殊 Wénshū) is often depicted holding a jian, which is then referred to as the “sword of wisdom”.
Jian frequently appear in wuxia fiction and films. The swords or the techniques used to wield them may be effectively or explicitly supernatural,[11] and the quest for such swords or techniques may be a major plot element. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and its featured antique jian, the Green Destiny, are examples.
Hero, Jet Li’s titular character uses a steel jian with a central rib split.
In the game, Final Fantasy X-2, the primary antagonist, Shuyin, uses a jian-like weapon in the final boss fight.
In the Pirates of the Caribbean film “At Worlds End”, Elizabeth Swann uses a jian in the climatic battle scene in Calypso’s maelstrom.
In The Twelve Kingdoms the main protagonist and several other characters wield jian-type swords.
In the Judge Dee novels by Robert van Gulik, Judge Dee is portrayed as an expert jian swordsman. His own jian, “Rain Dragon,” is eventually buried with his loyal assistant, Chiao Tai, after an enemy of Judge Dee used it to murder him.
In Avatar: The Last Airbender, Sokka learns how to use a Jian from a Fire Nation swordsman named Piandao. Sokka later forges his own Jian from a meteorite, giving an unusual all-black appearance.
Syaoran Li, a character in Cardcaptor Sakura and the main character of Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, uses a jian as a weapon.
Yoshi, an antagonist appearing in the anime-only Bount arc of Bleach, fights opponents using a combination weapon composed of a jian and battle fan joined at their bases by a chain.
Xianghua, a popular character from the Soul Calibur series of video games uses a Jian.
On the anime Shaman King Len Tao (Ren Tao in the manga) uses jian which is called Hou Rai Ken (or the Sword of Thunder as referred to in the anime) which has the special power of purifying and refining the spirit being integrated into it, making the spirit recall all of its past techniques from when it was still alive.
Mugen, one of the main protagonists in the anime Samurai Champloo uses a Jian.

Qiang (traditional Chinese: 槍; simplified Chinese: 枪; pinyin: qīang) is the Chinese term for spear. Due to its relative ease of manufacture, the spear in many variations was ubiquitous on the pre-modern Chinese battlefield. It is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the Gun (staff), Dao (sabre), and the Jian (sword), called in this group “The King of Weapons“.

Common features of the Chinese spear are the leaf shaped blade and red horse-hair tassel lashed just below.

When the spear is moving quickly, the addition of the tassel aids in blurring the vision of the opponent so that it is more difficult for them to grab the shaft of spear behind the head or tip. The tassel also served another purpose, to stop the flow of blood from the blade getting to the wooden shaft (the blood would make it slippery, or sticky when dried). The length varied from around 7 feet (2 meters) long, commonly used by infantry, increasing up to the length of 13 feet (4 meters) favoured by cavalry. The spear is typically made of wax wood, a strong but flexible wood. It bends to absorb impact preventing breakage. The bending motion combined with the horse hair tassel makes the spear tip very hard to follow.

Many Chinese martial arts feature spear training in their curriculum. The conditioning provided by spear technique is seen as invaluable and in many styles it is the first weapons training introduced to students. Moreover, some schools of empty handed fighting in China credit spear technique as their foundation, notably Xingyiquan and Bajiquan.

Dao (Chinese: 刀; pinyin: dāo; Wade-Giles: tao1, “knife”) is a category of single-edge Chinese swords primarily used for slashing and chopping (sabres),

The weapon, also known as dan dao 單刀 (single knife) when just one is used, is thereby thought to be an adaptation of the kitchen knives common to Chinese cuisine. Dao also appears in the names of such polearms as the pudao and guan dao, indicating that their blades were primarily intended for slashing and cutting attacks rather then stabbing ones

General characteristics

While dao have varied greatly over the centuries, most single-handed dao of the Ming period and later, and the modern swords that are based (sometimes loosely) on them share a number of characteristics. Dao blades are moderately curved and single-edged, though often with few inches of the back edge sharpened as well; the moderate curve allows them to be reasonably effective in the thrust. Hilts are canted, curving in the opposite direction as the blade which improves handling in some forms of cuts and thrusts. Cord is usually wrapped over the wood of the handle. Hilts may also be pierced like those of jian (straight-bladed Chinese sword) for the addition of lanyards, though modern swords for performances will often have tassels or scarves instead. Guards are typically disc-shaped often with a cupped shape to prevent rainwater from getting into the sheath, and to prevent blood from dripping down to the handle, making it more difficult to grip. Sometimes guards are thinner pieces of metal with an s-curve, the lower limb of the curve protecting the user’s knuckles; very rarely they may have guards like those of the jian.

Other variations to the basic pattern include the large bagua dao and the long handled pudao.

Dao as seen in contemporary wushu.

 Early history

The earliest dao date from the Shang Dynasty in China’s Bronze Age, and are known as zhibei dao (直背刀) - straight backed knives. As the name implies, these were straight-bladed or slightly curved weapons with a single edge. Originally bronze, these would be made of iron or steel by the time of the late Warring States. Originally less common as a military weapon than the jian - the straight, double-edged blade of China - the dao became popular with cavalry during the Han dynasty due to its sturdiness and superiority as a chopping weapon. Soon after dao began to be issued to infantry, beginning the replacement of the jian as a standard-issue weapon.^[1][2]

During the Tang Dynasty, dao were exported to both Korea and Japan, influencing the swordsmithing of both nations. The blades of Tang era dao are reminiscent of the Japanese chokuto or the popular image of the quasi-mythical ninjato.

During the Song Dynasty, one form of infantry dao was the shoudao, a chopping weapon with a clip point. While some illustrations show them as straight, the 11th century Song military encyclopedia Wujing Zongyao depicts them with curved blades - possibly an influence from the steppe tribes of Central Asia, who would conquer parts of China during the Song period. Also dating from the Song are the falchion-like dadao^[3] and the long, two-handed zhanmadao.

 Yuan, Ming and Qing

One of the Qianlong Emperor’s Imperial Guards Brigade (1760) carrying his archery equipment and wearing a sheathed dao. Notice the lanyard through the handle.

The Mongols invaded in the early 13th century in the process of conquering the largest land empire in history. The Yuan dynasty of the Mongols influenced China and other nations considerably, particularly in the tools and tactics of war. A favored weapon of the Mongol cavalry was the sabre: this simple, one handed, curved blade had been used by the Turkic and Tungusic tribes of Central Asia since the 8th century at least. Its effectiveness for mounted warfare and popularity among soldiers across the entirety of the Mongol empire had lasting effects. The Persian shamshir, the Indian talwar, the Afghani pulwar, the Turkish kilij, the Arabian saif, the Mamluk “scimitar“, and the European sabre (adopted via Hungary’s Magyar horsemen) and cutlass are perhaps descended from the Turko-Mongol curved blade.

In China, Mongol influence lasted long after the collapse of the Yuan dynasty at the hands of the Ming, continuing through both the Ming and the Qing dynasties (the latter itself founded by a steppe people, the Manchu), furthering the popularity of the dao and spawning a variety of new blades. Blades with greater curvature became popular, and these new styles are collectively referred to as pei dao. During the mid-Ming these new sabers would completely replace the jian as a military-issue weapon.^[4] The four main types of pei dao are:^[5][6]

• yanmao dao, or “goose-quill sabre.” This weapon, similar to the earlier zhibei dao, is largely straight, with a curve appearing at the center of percussion near the blade’s tip. This allows for thrusting attacks and overall handling similar to that of the jian, while still preserving much of the dao’s strengths in cutting and slashing.^[7]
• liuye dao, the “willow leaf saber.” The most common form of Chinese sabre, this weapon features a moderate curve along the length of the blade. This weapon became the standard sidearm for both cavalry and infantry, and is the sort of sabre originally used by many schools of Chinese martial arts.^[8]
• pian dao, “slashing sabre.” A deeply curved dao meant for slashing and draw-cutting, this weapon bears a strong resemblance to the shamshir and scimitar. A fairly uncommon weapon, it was generally used by skirmishers in conjunction with a shield.^[9]
• niuweidao, the “oxtail sabre.” A heavy bladed weapon with a characteristic flaring tip, this is the archetypal “Chinese broadsword” of kung fu movies today. It is first recorded in the early 1800s (the late Qing dynasty) and only as a civilian weapon; there is no record of it being issued to troops, and it does not appear in any listing of official weaponry; its appearance in movies and modern literature is thus often anachronistic.^[10][11]

Besides these four types of dao, the duan dao or “short dao” was also used, this being a compact weapon generally in the shape of a liuye dao.^[12] The dadao saw continued use, and during the Ming dynasty the large two-handed changdao and zhanmadao were used both against the cavalry of the northern steppes and the pirates of the southeast coast; these latter weapons would continue to see limited use during the Qing period. Also during the Qing there appear weapons such as the nandao, regional variants in name or shape of some of the above dao, and more obscure variants such as the “nine ringed broadsword,” which were likely invented for street demonstrations and theatrical performances rather than for use as weapons.

The Chinese spear and dao (liuyedao and yanmaodao) were commonly issued to infantry due to the expense of and relatively greater amount of training required for the effective use of Chinese straight sword, or jian. Dao can often be seen depicted in period artwork worn by officers and infantry.

During the Yuan dynasty and after, some aesthetic features of Persian, Indian, and Turkish swords would appear on dao. These could include intricate carvings on the blade and “rolling pearls”: small metal balls that would roll along fuller-like grooves in the blade.^[13]

 Recent history

Chinese soldiers wielding dao.

Some of the blades from the Qing Dynasty lived on and even had descendants see military action in the 20th century. The dadao was used by some Chinese militia units against Japanese invaders in the Second Sino-Japanese War, as was the miao dao, a descendant of the changdao. These were used during planned ambushes on Japanese troops because the Chinese military and patriotic resistance groups often had more willing soldiers than firearms.

Most Chinese martial arts schools still train extensively with the dao, seeing it as a powerful conditioning tool and a versatile weapon, with self defense techniques transferable to similarly sized objects more commonly found in the modern world, such as canes, baseball or cricket bats, for example. There are also schools that teach double broadsword shuang dao 雙刀, forms and fencing, one dao for each hand.

One measure of the proper length of the sword should be from the hilt in your hand and the tip of the blade at the brow and in some schools, the height of shoulder. Alternatively, the length of the sword should be from the middle of the throat along the length of the outstretched arm. There are also significantly larger versions of dao used for training in some Baguazhang and Taijiquan schools.

 

Contemporary Wushu Nanquan

The contemporary Wushu event Nanquan is a modern style created in 1960 derived from martial arts derived in the Chinese provinces south of the Yangtze River and predominantly those styles popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and Zhejiang. The basis of contemporary Nánquán hail primarily from traditional Cantonese family styles of Hong (Hung), Li (Lei), Liu (Lau), Mo (Mok) and Cai (Choi) along with their more contemporary Kung Fu variants of Choi Lei Fut and Hung Ga.

Contemporary Nanquan features vigorous, athletic movements with very stable, low stances, extensive hand techniques and a vocal articulation called fasheng (”release shout”) which is the predecessor of the Japanese and Korean martial arts kiai. Power is driven from sharp waist movement with special emphasis on fast stance transition to generate power and speed in the arms. Signature hand techniques of Nanquan are the consecutive downward strikes of the left and right fist called Gua Gai Quan (Gwa Kup Kuen; 挂盖拳), and consecutive upper cut while driving forward called Paoquan (Pow Kuen; 抛拳). There are relatively few kicks in Nanquan although the Tengkong Pantui Cepu (腾空盘腿度侧扑; “flying cross legs kick and land on the side”) and Li Yu Da Ting (鲤鱼打挺直立; carp skip-up) are very common in advanced Nanquan routines. Nanquan also has its own contemporary weapons - the Southern Broadsword (Nandao; 南刀) and Southern Staff (Nangun; 南棍), which were included in the International Wushu competition in 1999.

In 2003, the International Wushu Federation (IWUF) changed the rules of contemporary Nanquan to make jumping techniques (难度) mandatory in Nanquan routines. Jump kicks spinning in mid-air between 360 and 720 degrees before touching the ground are now used in all Nanquan forms along with Stationary Back Flip (原地后空翻) and Single Step Back Tuck (单跳后空翻) for advanced competitors.

Chinese Boxing

Nanquan is also another form of Chinese boxing with a rather long history and a lot of schools and one of the more dynamic styles of Wushu. Nanquan is relatively popular in various parts of Guangdong Province, with each system having different styles and features from the others. To form this series of Chinese boxing, the essentials of the different postures of the various schools were systemized and summed up. As a result, a series of systematic and integrated United Nanquan has been created. It has very powerful and intense forms and tense postures which enable every part of the body to be fully toughened, so young people are very eager to learn this style. Practicing the various styles within the Nanquan system gives one great physical benefits.