2-handed Saber Taught In Nyc

[Carl M]

We are pleased to announce that Teacher David Chan school is starting a new teaching cycle for the 2-handed saber. The first class for this cycle begins Tuesday, October 1, 2002, at 6:00 PM.
The school is at: 161 Bowery, 7th Floor, NYC, NY 10002. Classes are Tuesday and Friday, 6:00 PM to 7:15 PM (they usually run past, as The Teacher is quite enthusiastic). Tuition is $75.00/month. It's on the Bowery between Broome and DeLancey Streets. The nearest subway stop is the Grand Street stop. Switch to the shuttle at the lower platform at the West 4th Street stop.
Here's your chance to learn this great art under the watchful eye of Teacher Chan. Friendly and informal atmosphere.
Clothing: regular workout clothes and sneakers with white or gum rubber bottoms (the dark-soled sneakers tend to mark the floors). We found that the martial arts sneakers, with the smooth bottoms and pivoting circle underneath the ball of the foot work quite well for this and other classes here.
Anyone who is interested should e-mail me here so that I may get a head count.
For more information, please go to:

http://www.chan-internal-martial-arts.com/saber

[taijiquan_student]

Maybe this should be a new thread, but anyway...

I notice on the link page it suggests that Master Chan finds two-handed sword methods to be superior to jian methods. Is this true, and if so I would be interested to hear you elaborate on it. Thanks.

[Carl M]

Thanks for your post!

Yep, common sense tells you that a 2-handed weapon (be it a straight Medieval sword or a curved miao dao) has greater leverage than a single handed sword, assuming that the blades of both are equal in dimension & weight. Does a 2 hander have more speed? Depends. Assuming that the blades of the 1 & 2 handers are of the same weight and dimensions, certainly the 2 hander will feel lighter to you: 2 arms (as opposed to 1 wrist) are carrying the weight of the sword and you have greater leverage (the whole is greater than the sum). A lighter sword will always be quicker and faster than a heavier one. Further, even if you add a little more mass to the 2-hander (within reason, of course), the greater mass will - pursuant to the laws of physics - displace the lighter 1 hander. Will a wielder of a single handed gim or rapier lose to a 2-hander? Depends on who's better. While the 2-hander has a greater margin of error, the single hander has more flexibility. But if both are equally skilled (this depends on the teacher & student), the 2 hander should win out. I hope this answers your questions!

Cheers!

- Carl Moy