Republican Era Chinese Jian with clearly visible differential heat treating of the edge plate that creates a very hard edge. This harden edge makes it excellent for cutting, and it holds its edge quite well. However, the same hardness than makes for superior cutting effectiveness also means that the edge is relatively brittle. For this reason, Chinese Sword Arts standardly deflect with the blade flat rather that parrying with the edge.

Merging Jianfa & Daofa in Your Swordplay:

Practitioners of Jianfa looking to explore the depths of Chinese swordsmanship, incorporating Daofa, the art of the saber, can add a more assertive, power orientated flavor to your swordplay.

This journey is not just a weapons switch up; it's about expanding your mindset, augmenting your skill set, while broadening your approach to swordsmanship.

In this guide, we'll navigate through the transition, focusing on practical techniques and insights to enhance your martial arts skills.

The Jian, with its straight, double-edged blade, epitomizes precision, agility, and adaptability, demanding a level of finesse and fine movement.

In contrast, the Dao, featuring heavier cuts, is a single-edged blade, representing power and efficiency in combat.

Uniting Daofa with Jianfa involves more than learning to handle a different sword, it means embracing a different approach in swordplay.

The Dao's point of balance is more forward than the Jian’s. This provides for more powerful cuts and thus a significant shift in technique. Daofa focuses not on the quick, wrist-led maneuvers that are the essence of Jianfa, instead focusing on powerful, elbow-driven techniques.

This style engages larger muscle groups for stronger and more impactful strikes, a key aspect in effectively wielding the Dao.

Starting with Pi Cut from Stirring Deflection

Begin your transformation with a drill common to both Jianfa and Daofa, the Pi cut from a stirring deflection. This provides a familiar base while introducing Dao's unique handling characteristics.

Chan involves a binding or wrapping movement, where the blade circles the body. It's a deflecting technique where the flat of the blade is used to deflect an incoming cut on one side of the body and then continues the motion to circle the blade around the torso, behind the back. This allows for a follow-up cut from the opposite side.

Deflecting with a Chan movement, the empty hand moves inside the blade, close to the chest, and can be employed to momentarily control the opponent’s sword arm as one advances forward. Training this technique introduces practitioners to the closer, more direct combat style found in Daofa. In contrast, Jianfa's prefers maintaining a distance that provides space to maneuver.

After gaining familiarity with the Pi and Hua cuts, it's insightful to progress to the distinctively heavier Kan cut. The Kan is and unique to saber systems, not being present in Jianfa.

Following this, the Duo cut would be the next logical cut to add. While the Duo cut is also present in Jianfa, it’s not made use of as frequently when wielding the straight sword.Training Daofa’s use of the Duo reminds us of why we are evolving our swordplay, merging the mindsets of Jianfa and Daofa, mixing more aggressive and assertive actions into our sword work.

In practice, although the timing of the Duo cut may appear similar to its Jianfa counterpart, it requires a considerably larger window of opportunity, reflecting the bolder and more direct approach of Daofa.

This exploration into the Duo cut provides practitioners with a new perspective on the rhythm shift from the more measured Jianfa to the dynamic and forceful Daofa.

The Pi cut can be likened to the power needed to trim a leaf off a tree, the Kan cut to chopping a thick branch, and the Duo cut to the robust action of felling an entire tree or splitting a log. This progression not only illustrates the escalating power inherent in Daofa techniques but also underscores the distinct tactical mindset required for this style of swordplay.

The Gua cut, though mechanically akin to the Liao cut in Jianfa, takes on a unique role in Daofa. It focuses an aggressive sweeping action to proactively capture the line, reflecting Daofa's assertive and power-oriented nature of Dao swordplay.

Incorporating shield work, especially with durable circular cost effective riot shields, provides insight into how the Dao would have been wielded on the battlefield. This practice not only enhances sword skills but also offers a better understanding of strategic defense and offense in historical combat contexts.

You can use a rattan Tengpai, but these are a lot more costly than a riot shield, which are far cheaper and will hold up to virtually anything you can throw at it during swordplay.

These individual cut drills can be combined into dynamic semi-fixed sparring routines, crucial for experiencing the reactive and adaptive nature of Daofa and preparing for unpredictable combat situations.

Merging Jianfa to Daofa offers an opportunity to evolve your understanding of Chinese swordsmanship, introducing new techniques and strategic thinking. It also adds tactical options to your swordplay, making you less predictable. This journey, embraced with dedication and an open mind, not only enhances your swordplay skills but also enriches your overall approach to swordsmanship. Enjoy the growth and mastery that come with learning the powerful art of the Daofa.

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All of the drills and cuts discussed in this guide can be found in the Daofa sections of the Academy of Chinese Swordsmanships Online Archives. Available to all members of the Daofa and Sword Scholars Study paths.

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Quick Draw with the Rodell Cutting Jian -

Some 5 plus years ago, I began working on reconstructing Chinese Fast Drawing Techniques. Here’s my early effort.

Thoughts on Sword Tricks...

During my winter break from seminars, I thought I would have some fun and try my hand at a few sword tricks from different traditions. In all honesty, some of the tricks preformed are essentially just that, tricks. What I mean by that is that they do not embody any skill a swordsman might actually use in a duel. And so, they don’t provide the swordsman with any useful training. They are just for entertainment.

When I started practicing throwing an apple in the air, cutting it, I was thinking it was just a trick and it might even be fairly criticized as showing off. (I bought a bag of small wiffle balls to practice with in the wuguan. I didn’t want to waste food). And there is certainly a trick to this trick. You have to throw the ball or apple where you can cut it. You have to practice throwing the same height each time too, so that he pacing is always about the same. You have to practice the timing of the throw and draw. It is easy to watch the ball or apple too long and draw late. So as I practiced, usually in the short time after dinner and before students arrived for the evening classes, I observed other useful aspects of this practice. For example, the delay I mentioned. You cannot separate watching the target and cutting. When you do, the body and mind and essentially separate for a moment. When you start to cut, there is a delay, and you tend to miss.

As when shooting arrows, if you start thinking about how you are doing well after hitting several in a row, your mind is elsewhere and you are probably going to miss the next one. There is also a tendency to over swing after the cut. This is a common error in most students’ cutting. The control of the after cut is the most difficult aspect of good cutting technique. If you let yourself start chasing the ball, you tend to swing like you are trying to hit it out of the park.

In a way, practicing cuts That one normally would not is like any different sort of training that takes one out of comfortable territory. Any sort of new cutting provides a fresh look at one’s skills. A fresh opportunity to critique one’s practice. So in hindsight, I am finding sword tricks I did for amusement to be an unexpected and useful test of my skills. Not in the sense that these are difficult or physically demanding cuts, but in the sense that they gave me a clean look at my practice. In a way, what does it matter if a cut is just a “trick?” Perhaps what is more important is how one makes use of practice time?

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