Are you considering purchasing a sword and studying a Tai Chi sword form? If so, it's good to be aware of the basics.

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An anonymous reader writes:
"I am thinking about purchasing a sword and learning a sword form, but I have some questions that I haven't been able to get a clear answer on. What size should your sword be? How heavy should your sword be, and why? And finally, how fast should the sword form be? I've seen sword forms done at all different speeds, and this seems strange to me."

The answer to the first part of the question is that it should be measured to you It should run from your tan t'ien, which is about an inch below your navel, to the floor.

Your sword should feel light in your hand. I only recommend heavy swords in correction for those who are using their hands and wrists to control the sword. If that is the case, they need a sword so heavy that they cannot control it, and then they have no choice but to do the form by pushing the sword and following it, and using the waist. Which is how the sword form should be done. But if you do not have a tendency to control the sword with your hand and wrist, lighter is always better - it will help you develop sensitivity in a way you cannot with a heavy sword.

The sword form is learned at a slow speed, like the speed at which you do the T'ai Chi form. However, in correction you learn it again, in a different way, and at a differenet speed. You push the sword and follow it, and move at the appropriate speed of the movement, or the momentum of your sword. This requires you to develop a sensitivity to your sword. It is often where people start to see the light in Tai Chi.

In Tai Chi,
Bill

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William C. Phillips began his study of the martial arts in 1965. He currently holds a 7th degree black belt in Karate, and a 5th degree black belt in Ju Jitsu. He began his studies of Tai Chi in l967, studying with Prof. Cheng Man-Ch'ing from '70-'75. He became the most junior student ever to become a teacher in Cheng Man Ch'ing's New York school, the Shr Jung. Sifu Phillips became interested in the field of holistic health in the early 1970's, when a lifelong allergy problem was alleviated with Chinese herbal medicine. Since then, he has studied widely in that field as well. Sifu Phillips is available for seminars, lectures and demonstrations. He has produced two very successful Tai Chi DVDs, and is currently working on a book on Tai Chi form and a third DVD.For more information...

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