The broadsword, otherwise known as the dao or sabre, one of the four main Chinese weapons.The others being the spear, the staff and the straight sword (jian).
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SAVE 52% Now! The dao and the jian are the two tai chi swords used most in training.
The main difference between the jian and the dao, is that the dao has a single edged blade (some have a short part of the back edge sharpened), which can be much wider (hence broadsword) and is slightly curved. The guard which protects the hand is predominantly disc shaped and sometimes slightly domed. The hilt (handle) is curved in the opposite direction to the blade which improves balance and handling, and as with the jian there would be a hole in the end for a sash or tassel.
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The broadsword, known as ‘The General’ of Chinese weapons, can be all sorts of shapes and sizes, the length and width depending on its use. Being a single edged blade it would be used more for chopping and cutting rather than thrusting and stabbing, some can be highly decorative and quite exotic in appearance. The word ‘dao’ originally referred to ‘knife’, which relates back to when swords were much shorter, in fact some of the shorter, wider bladed ones, can resemble machetes.
The broadsword used in tai chi sword training would be of similar size to the jian, and there are single and double broadsword (one in each hand) forms.
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Tags: broadsword, chinese, Chinese sword, dao, kung-fu, tai chi sword, tai chi swords
October 31st, 2011 at 2:02 pm
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