Tamo Sword (Jing Mo)

[r.(shaolin)]

Yes this was common

[Peter Giles]

I've heard somewhere that short tassals are used for decoration in forms and demos to give a smooth, flowing look (Everyone knows that though) and that longer tassals are actually used for grabbing the wrist or even to disarm an opponant.

[David Jamieson]

Gene-
I'm pretty certain that an experienced player wouldn't have any trouble dumping the dart move in a flash, hahahaha. Truthfully, I've never used the technique against anything more than cork

such is the life of a martial artist in the world today. Well, at least when it comes to classical weapons play.

peace

[GeneChing]

r. (shaolin): Never knew that fans had balls - and here I've been thinking fans were too effeminent

As for tassle-like weapons, there is also the fei mao dan (fly whisk) which is basically a stick with horsetail hairs on the end. Many of the qualities attributed to tassels are also attributed to fly whisk (entangling weapons, blinding opponents.) No ball, tho. Eh, just give me the stick. You still see a few people work the fly whisk today, but not many.

BTW, I forgot to plug this video on this thread: http://store.yahoo.com/martialartsmart/pr-gs007.html Cool, vid, but I doubt it is the same as the one that started this thread.

[Tainan Mantis]

For the use of tassel as lanyard.
Grip the end of the tassel and wrap tassel around wrist. Then when you grip the sword the tip of tassel is between the sword handle and palm of your hand.

Is this what you mean when you say tassel as lanyard?

[Lokhopkuen]

NS;
We do not use a tassle with this set either since the movements are rather powerful and direct as compared to a smoother set of drawn circles like Loong ham gim (Dragon walking sword) it would seem the tassle would spend a lot of it's time wrapped around the wrist unless the player had major skills. Funny I competed in Dallas last weekend at the Chin Woo event and the guy who got first place in Gim had his tassle tangled from beginning to end......

Peace

Lokhopkuen

[NorthernShaolin]

Lokhopkuen,


Using a tassel with the sword has become a matter of choice but personnally I feel a tassel is a distraction for the user because, as you mention, if one has great skill, it will get tangle. The user will, in my opinion, has to modify some of the techniques which may compromise the real intend of the technique.

Unless the sword set was specifically developed to be performed and practiced with a tassel, a tassel on a sword will cause one to modify the technique by making larger circular techniques which cause one to takes more time to complete. Larger circles makes a set appear visually pleasing but as far as combat conditions, quicker the techniques the better, hence forget the tassel.

As far as the person who took first place with a tangle tassel, the other contestants must have not perfromed to their potential in order for this person to take first. Generally the rule is that any object attached to the weapon is part of the weapon and the user must have full control of his/her weapon at all tiimes.

Therefore the tassel is part of the weapon and the judges should have substracted a percentage of points because of the tassel getting tangled.

Can you image if one was fighting for his life with a sword and he gets killed by his opponent because his own tassel got tangled around his wrist that prevented his movement of his sword?
oh, for shame...what a price to pay because of a stupid tassel.

[buddhapalm]

Hi NorthernShaolin,
Good point, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Those tassels could serve only one function in my opinion, that is wiping the blood of my sword........ probably my own :-))))

But as we know that was probably not their intended purpose.

I have noticed on some of the antique jians that there are holes in the handle where a tassel seemed to have been attached. These Jians were not warrior battlefield jians, but were swords carried by nobles, officials and scholars. Therefore perhaps the tassels were purely a ceremonial decoration on swords that would never be used, except for display on a noblemans belt. Therefore having nothing to do with martial application.....Or as mentioned above, wiping your own blood off the sword as it tangled on your wrist while in a duel. Just a thought.

Cheers

Buddhapalm

[GeneChing]

Well, tassels make lousy blood mops. It takes a lot of work to weave a tassel, and you'd never get all that blood out. It would be a nasty, drippy mess. Which brings me back to my original point, you find tassels on swords in other cultures, used as a lanyard. That just makes more sense to me. In a way, it's meant to get tangled. Anyone who has fought with sword has dropped one. That's where a lanyard would come in real handy.

[ngokfei]

northernshaolin

your mail box is full so have to post it here.

Just got copies of Chao Lin Ho's Tan Tui and Sup Ji Jin books.
Wondering if you'd be interested in trading a xerox copy of your Da Mo Sword book for copies of these two.

Since your a Jing Mo man I presume you might have them already so if this is so let me know what else may be of interest to you. I do have a copy of the Hop Jin book but have to look for it.

e-mail me if your interested

ngokfei@juno.com

thanx, later

[GeneChing]

We've had a tassel thread on the Internal forum that'a been a little more in depth than this one.

[Shaolinlueb]

yo NP that post reminds me of iron monkey when the kid is kicking everyones butt and calling out all thsoe crazy stances.

[GeneChing]

Half the fun of kung fu is kicking someone's ass and telling them "#4: dragon whips his tail!"

[norther practitioner]

My all time favorite is from a movie, can't remember the name right now, but he yells out buddha palm, palms this dude in the chest, and the bruise shows up on his back.

[MasterKiller]

Iron Monkey, maybe? The bad monk does the Shaolin Wonder Palm and poisons the guy, leaving a hand-shaped bruise.