real jian fencing school

[golden arhat]

http://www.worldjianshu.org/
they actually teach how to fight with a straightsword as opposed to just dancing with it

cool site

lots of vids on youtube aswell

[Ben Gash]

Cool, that's one for the favourites. Wonder if they'd be interested in starting up a daoshu group?

[xcakid]

http://www.worldjianshu.org/
they actually teach how to fight with a straightsword as opposed to just dancing with it

That's nothing new. A good instructor teaches fighting with weapons first prior to learning the forms. Strikes, stances, block, and applications. Also various strike and block combos. They will also do weapons sparring. You really can't appreciate the deadly application of the movements in the "dance" until you learn to fight. I did not learn my first Jian form until about 9mos from picking it up.

I mean you shouldn't teach form right of the bat without showing someone how to punch and kick first, and basic stances.

[golden arhat]

yeah but lets be fair

when it comes to weaponsin cma
most ppl do not teach the applications first if at all let alonje drill them or make the entire class revolve around that weapon

so i think its something new to most ppl



lol ben i think a daoshu group would be cool, u might have to incorporate some escrima and pekiti tersia training but groups like this are a good thing i think
as chinese weapons are very rarely shown off properly as kendo and kenjutsu and fencing etc are

[Ben Gash]

To be fair GA, your CMA experience is limited to Ang Kee Kong and sport wushu
You have to learn at least some technique before application, especially with Jian. If I had a bigger group with an advanced class, I may consider doing whole sessions on weapons applications, but as it is, it's a PART of our training. Even these Jianshu guys by and large have straight kung fu schools, the Jianshu stuff is an optional extra.

[xcakid]

In all the CMA schools I have attended(and have come across for that matter), there was always a separate weapons class. Where weapons are completely taught. Sparring, strikes, blocks, stances, combos and applications. 2 of the schools I attended included weapons sparring, albeit not until advanced level.

But to be fair G.A. there are schools now that are not familiar with the weapons taught. Some instructors learn their forms from a video. Stay clear away from those. I am always leary of a 30yo "master" claiming he knows all 18 shaolin weapons. But if you have a good traditional instructor, you will learn the weapon.

Jian is probably the most technical in all of the Shaolin weapons. You would need to learn anatomy and some physics to use it properly. You can't block an axe or broadsword with it directly cause it would break or strike armor with it for that matter. That is where physics comes in to work with angles, force and deflection. You need anatomy cuase you just can't hack an opponent, you would need to break them down by cutting tendons, major arteries and attacking pressure points. Kinda like killing with a 1000 small cuts. One of the reasons why the forms looks so smooth and dance like, is to accomodate and show these aspects of fighting with a Jian.

[golden arhat]

To be fair GA, your CMA experience is limited to Ang Kee Kong and sport wushu
.

i see your point haha

that reminds me

still have to kick that guys arse

[Mano Mano]

They have a few more Jianshu clips on youtube.http://www.youtube.com/user/WJLadmin

[golden arhat]

awww this is badass take alook http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAvoa6gqhJU

[PangQuan]

that makes me want to join lol

now i have to find a way to get my old sifu to take me back in and not make me practice sport wushu

[Becca]

LOL! Application be for technique would be stoopid. "Now you just hold that sward up and use it to keep me from hitting you with mine, ok? You servive this session and you will have much better grasp of fighting with a sward."

Forms don't teach you how to use a technique, just how to string a bunch of techniques together. They teach flow. You cannot "flow" if you are cutting your arms and legs as you move. There fore you need to learn the techincal stuff, then a form. If the teacher is competant, and the student isn't a complete bone head, the applications will be taught also. Most forms are 2 person forms, even if they aren't taught that way right away.

[count]

Jason Tsou teaches pretty much all his martial arts with the same outline. He emphasizes basics and techniques above forms training. You do footwork and two man drills until you drop.

He teaches most of the traditional weapons as well as modern ones. Last I know of, weapons are taught on a separate day. At the time I left, there were groups practicing straight swords, sabers, staffs, and long poles as well as canes. But Jason definitely has a few more tricks up his sleeve.