First time post, (Miao Dao vs. Bokken

[thecrowrains]

greetings fellow Kung Fu members,

Sort of an odd question to start with, but here goes: Does anyone have a bokken, which they use, to practice sword technique? ***But are not in Kendo and/or Iaido?

I'm in Wu Tan Kung Fu.

I hope to train with the Bokken on off-days in my curriculum. Has anyone used a Bokken, under/with a Chinese sword curriculum? Or is the Jian sword strictly used?

thanks,
Eric

[count]

greetings fellow Kung Fu members,

Sort of an odd question to start with, but here goes: Does anyone have a bokken, which they use, to practice sword technique? ***But are not in Kendo and/or Iaido?

I'm in Wu Tan Kung Fu.

I hope to train with the Bokken on off-days in my curriculum. Has anyone used a Bokken, under/with a Chinese sword curriculum? Or is the Jian sword strictly used?

thanks,
Eric
Definately not for Jian. For Miao Dao, maybe. But my recommendation is to ask Bob. (If you know who that is) He's been making good quality practice swords up there. Also a student of Kurts.

Ask him where's my wooden Miao Dao is while your at it.
:D

[@PLUGO]

try any of these:
wooden broadsword (http://martialartsmart.net/40-04.html)
wooden straight sword (http://martialartsmart.net/40-06.html)
collapsible straight sword (http://martialartsmart.net/45-52.html)

[thecrowrains]

Count,

Is the Miao Dao a sword of similar dimension/shape as that of the Bokken?

Oh, you know of Shifu Wong in Alaska? Who's Bob? or Kurts? Shifu Kurt Wong, of the Wu Tan Kung Fu studio in Alaska?

thanks,
Eric

[GeneChing]

The balance is all messed up for dadao, because a dadao is much shorter and wider. But a bokken is much better to practice sword vs. sword applications; I wouldn't want to mack up my nice sharp dadao blade (http://www.martialartsmart.net/451012.html) on anything but the bones of my enemies. ;)

[count]

Count,

Is the Miao Dao a sword of similar dimension/shape as that of the Bokken?

Oh, you know of Shifu Wong in Alaska? Who's Bob? or Kurts? Shifu Kurt Wong, of the Wu Tan Kung Fu studio in Alaska?

thanks,
Eric
Bob and his son are both students of Kurt Wong's in Alaska. He recently showed me some of his woodwork which seems much better than the usual practice swords I've seen for sale. Pricier, but well worth the cost. Especially if you actually spar with them. I'm with Gene. I'm not interested in dinging up or bloodying my razor sharp, hardened steel, jian unless necessary.

The Miao Dao is a double handled saber. The blades are sometimes thin and similarly shaped as bokkens. It's one of Wu Tan's main stays for weapons training.

Regards to all my Alaskan Wu Tan cousins.
;)

[Wong Fei Hong]

Hey dude i fit the bill,lol i use a bokken and ive never studied weapons in jma or cma!
More than anything i use it as an extension of my chi exercices as well as body shifting , if you can imagine getting the hell out of the way from a sword its a lot easier than a punch or kick.
I dont remember where i bought it from as the website died on my otehr pc but there is a place online that sell them about 30 50 odd dollars for a hand made one, they can make to any school you like or custom ones, i got an itto ryu one. And they ship cheap considering its from japan, very cheap all in all.
I just websearched it , www.bokkenshop.com highly reccomend it. Its cheap and rocks.

But in answer to your last question, if your studying a trad kf style then they will teach you their weapon, so really no chance of going near a bokken, also a bokken is heavier by a mile than a jian you cant do 1 handed techniques with a bokken like a jian. (unless your musashi)

[GeneChing]

It just occured to me - aren't Miao Dao much longer than bokken? I've seen Miao Dao that are like a good foot longer, more like an O Tachi (if I'm remembering my Japanese sword terminology correctly).

I'm currently training Xingyi Dadao under Shifu Tony Chen (http://www.usaomei.com) - in the absence of dadao, the sword sets can be trained with jian or dao, and we use bokken a lot for this too. It messes me up - I'm not at the level of skill that I can transfer the essence of the movements from one type of sword to another yet, but Tony can. I'm beginning to think he could pick up a dust mop and use it in our dadao form. Right now, it's been part of my training to switch back and forth, jam the system, so to speak. Right now, my xingyi dadao is a mess, but I'm confident that once I get through this, I'll be better for it.

[count]

Gene,

Is your big saber as big as this?

http://www.privacyplease.net/images/DaoCompare.jpg

:D

Yes, miao dao is longer than an average bokken. It's the double handled grip that's useful to me for training.

[GeneChing]

...now I have dao envy. ;)

The dadao blade is actually short, despite the name. I posted a link to a modern one above. Even though it's short, it has a hand-and-a-half handle, so in that respect, it's akin to a katana. But the blade is much shorter, like a nan dao (http://www.martialartsmart.net/45-76.html).

[thecrowrains]

Whew,

I certainly didn't expect so many good replies to this question. Obviously, most everyone here is an advanced or near-advanced "sword" practitioner.

interesting, one of you, Wong Fei Hong, had a good use for the Bokken: Chi practice!.

Personally, as a newbie to the Bokken, I enjoy the heft and weight of it. I've had some access to the light-weight tai chi sword, but I've found that I'm fonder of the Bokken's direct approach.

thanks and keep up the great reads.

peace,
Eric B.