My sword background is primarily with Japanese and Korean sword work, so I found Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming’s DVD “Sword Fundamental Training: Solo Drills and Matching Practice” different from what I’m familiar with, but very interesting and very well done for an instructional DVD.
I’ve been very impressed with Dr. Yang’s DVDs on Chin Na, especially since my primary art of Hapkido also consists of many joint lock and pressure point techniques. So I wanted to learn more of the sword fundamentals from the Chinese arts that Dr. Yang teaches. This is a very good DVD to introduce those concepts and training methods.
The DVD is divided into six main chapters: Intro, General Knowledge, Techniques, Solo Practice, Matching Practice, and the Conclusion. These six main chapters are divided into more than 60 chapters to help you skip to the section you want to review and study. The entire program is a little over three and a half hours long, so you will want to take notes and skip back to the sections as you progress. There are subtitles that go along with Dr. Yang’s instruction. I don’t think they are necessary, but having them there does not hurt. They do not match the exact words of Dr. Yang, but convey the general concepts he discusses.
The first portion of the DVD focuses on information and history of the sword. It was very interesting and informative. It’s a lecture on the sword that includes Chinese proverbs on the sword. This portion was very interesting if you are interested in all things martial as I am. Dr. Yang then teaches 27 fundamental techniques with the sword. The instruction is very clear, and Dr. Yang brings out students to assist him in showing applications of the techniques. So many DVDs would just show the movement once or twice and move on to the next. Dr. Yang provides so much more, and it is really refreshing to see an instructor who goes above and beyond while teaching.
Like a double-edged sword, each side is important if the practitioner is to be truly successful. The first part, your physical training should arm you with not just physical techniques, but an understanding of the critical principles and concepts that are being taught by the technique examples. This way, you won’t have to depend on the preset techniques themselves, but instead will be able to operate in the moment, not against a stylized attack but, against whatever your attacker is throwing at you. Some of these foundational concepts include:
1) Cover
2) Strategic angling and positioning
3) Timing and flow
4) Proper distance
5) etc.
The second relates to attitude, or “heart.” No matter how tough you are, or feel in class with your friends, peers, and junior students, what matters in a real self-defense encounter is how you act and deal with the raw, animalistic violence being thrown at you by someone who isn’t pulling their punches and doesn’t care about your well-being at all. Will you focus or fold? The only thing that will matter is what you do when the moment is on you.
The next step in solo practice is all Qi Gong. You begin to work different aspects of energy within your study both for fighting and for self defense purposes. There are approximately 36 different primary expressions of energy in Tai Chi. You use your mind to direct the internal movement and chi into an expression. That expression is known as Jing. Jing is an expression of Chi or energy hence it is energy work. A few jing expressions are well known and some are quite obscure
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