The Wubei Zhi 武備志 by Mao Yuanyi contains the oldest record of two handed sword use in the Chinese literature. Not only is it the oldest it is one of the very few pre-Qing Dynasty document detailing the use of the straight sword or "jian"劍. The bulk of this text consists of 24 entries for… Continue reading Ju Ding: Raise the Cauldron
Below is my translation of the 24 stances of longsword found in the Wubei Zhi (武備志). I continue to work on and improve my translation and interpretation for ChaoXian Shifa(朝鮮勢法), and the challenges of translating old texts like this are myriad. But I enjoy the effort. Figuring out the changing meanings for words in their… Continue reading ChaoXian Shifa: Korean Stances-The Art of the Chinese Longsword.
I am a student of traditional Chinese martial arts. And like most fellow practitioners I was weened in my training on stories of ancient manuals of legendary skills not able to be taught by living teachers. These come from a variety of sources, including, movies, novels, comic books, and video games, but are also legitimate… Continue reading The 24 Stances of Mao YuanYi
The Introduction The introduction of the section entitled ChaoXian ShiFa is a simple and straight forward breaking down of the skills need in two-handed swordsmanship according to this style. There are five categories, each with a certain number, either 3 or 5, of methods or stances that would be indicative of them. The exception to… Continue reading ChaoXian Shifa: The introduction
(This piece was originally published on Kung-fu Tea) Introduction Here is the full translation of the Qi Jiguang’s Fist method as it appears in the Wubei Zhi. I want to make this available to everyone who expressed interest and to anyone else who might find it helpful. I do not intend this to be authoritative… Continue reading The Fist Verses of Qi Jiguang
(This is a post originally posted on Kung Fu Tea.) When talking about old martial arts texts from China, one thing that is often observed is that for a considerable period, the tradition had been to render the information in verse form. Some times these verses are even called “songs” by martial artists today. While… Continue reading Poetry of Motion- Qi Jiguang in verse
