Man Bo Pa Sim Gim of LKW-lineage
I know this swordform also and it's said that someone who let's say- wasn't a real sword-specialist changed some movements of the form so that it lost much of it's sword-character - but I don't know if it's true.For me- I learned three really nice and elegant wu-dang-sword-forms - this form also looks a bit clumpsy because there are many movements that remind me much more on sabre-choppings..would be interesting to see, how it's performed in other lineages, if the set exists there..? Though German Mantis is right to say that wu-dang-sword looks different from shaolin-sword in generall...
Holding and Moving a sword
Yes as most of you already posted it is right to keep a slightly losse hand while holding the sword. If you have a tight grip you can't move it quickly it's equal to punshing. When you contract the muscles in order to punch right hard it becomes slow, but if you focus the force (and the contraction of the muscles) at the last point it becomes quick and explosive.
Swords cutting movements come mainly from the tip (therefore my question - Broadsword is mainly choping or slashing with the hole blade) so the energy comes from the whist. It is also essential to us the lower palm to press against the grip of the sword so it swung upward and trying to raise the tip by pulling the fingers upward (hope i make it clear).
Most moves are with straight arms (thrust and cuts) this give more freedom for closing the gap between you and the opponent. This is also a reason, why you don't use power in opposite to broadswords chopping and slicing movements.
One can compare the sword very much with the spear, because you have the same thrusting and cutting movements from the tip of the weapon.
O.k. Think that's enough for the moment :D
Nevertheless it still leave the question:
Origin of forms.
And are there any specialist on swords out there, who can tell me more on 7 star sword forms.
Some more eypanations about the character of man bo pa sim gim..try to...
Difficult to explain what differs, for me beeing used to wu-dang the difference is: in the man bo pa sim gim the sword is very often leaded with the whole extended arm, not many movements out of the hand-wrist for small and fast slicing/cutting-movements ..as I understand sword, it lives from the hand-wrist movements that give the sword it's efectiveness and elegance, the shaolin-sword as well as the wu-dang- sword, because it's chinese sword, not european sword! If I see the man bo pa sim gim it seems to me like a sword-form for a realy heavy sword, like the european ones that simply work by the force of their weight, but the chinese swords were light! and because of that have so various techniques! Shaolin swords were more heavy than taoist-wu-dang-swords because the material was different- it was a more old sword-making tradition and the wu-dang-swords were optimized/ "tuned" in a way, to allow faster slicing-movements - so this is an explanation for the differences of both sword-arts in generall, but the man bo pa sim gim looks really not very elegant, even compared to other shaolin-traditioned sword-forms..
So again- it would be interesting to see this form performed in other lineages/ schools, because maybe it just lost it's character because of the way it was taught then, maybe someone in the lieage only wasn't a well sword-performer and so now it differs..???:confused: