There are a couple of good documentaries from China's CCTV on the evolution of ancient Chinese weapons and arms/armor. I'll see if I can find the links. But as armor and massed warfare developed, the one handed jian or long sword fell out of favor, except by the nobility, for the heavier Two handed Jian, which also had greater killing range and the Dao, Dadao type weapons.
It does take greater skill and training to become proficient with the one handed jian as the killing stroke is the narrow tip of the sword in a spear like thrust. Although double edged it isn't heavy enough to kill armored foes with a slice. The Dao is the more of a hacking (generally speaking ) weapon with a greater killing surface. It's also the preferred weapon of mounted cavalry around the world, ask the Mongols, the Saracens, or British royal guards. Wudang emphasizes this proverb: “100 days of bare hand, 1,000 days of spear, 10,000 days of sword” which places mastering the sword as the highest achievement in martial arts.
Heavier two handed Jians and thicker Dao's are more resistant to shattering, surviving longer on the battlefield. If you had to train large amounts of foot soldiers or conscripts it will probably be easier to train them to a decent level of killing proficiency using a dao than long sword.
Just look how elegant the Tai Chi Jian work is compared to Dao demos. Certainly a higher level of dexterity is required.
Check out some the videos entitled 'New Frontier Chinese Civilization or Chinese Kung Fu Weapons of Kung Fu" Lots of good stuff on Wudang and Shaolin and martial arts/warfare on here.
http://www.youtube.com/user/cctv9doc...?feature=watch
Last edited by Hebrew Hammer; 09-16-2013 at 09:20 PM.
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