inside kung fu - march 1986 - sword myth - everett

8/2/2019 Inside Kung Fu - March 1986 - Sword Myth - Everett

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The~ h o f llieMaleandFemale.SwordThe concept ofYin andYang, sometimesthought of as theinseparable male andfemale "universal force",permeates every aspectofChinese culture.Considered the mostrepresentative ofChineseweapons, the chienor double edged sword,is described in terms ofYin and Yang, positiveand negative, male andfemale. As the mostimportant weapon ofChinese history, thechien is often the focalpoint of ancient mythsand legends.By Patricia Everettphotos by David J. Everett

Chinese history is filled withmany myths concerning the. sword. One of the most famous tells of the making ofa male and female sword bytwo of the best known sword makers frJmthe Warring States Period (401-221 s.c.).This was a time of civil war in China . Thepower of the Chou emperor had weakenedand many factions were at war. A racewas on to produce stronger and sharperswords. At that time, swords were theprimary weapons and were extremely val

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I -SwordMyth

SWORD CARRIAGE - At the beginning of a form, the chien is carried behind the left arm_ Thehand is kept high on the guard, so the weapon can be quickly shifted to the right46

uable. Swordmakers of the day were highlyrespected. Two of the most famous swordmakers were a husband and wife team ,Con-Cheung and Mok-Cha . They werereal historical figures and also the maincharacters of a Chinese legend.

"Mok-Cha is said to have found twogold nuggets, both the size of her fist. Herhusband, Con-Cheung, decided to forgethe nuggets into two swords. On the topof See Sing Mountain in Chekiang Province, he built a sword oven and put thegold nuggets inside. For three years, Co nCheung heated the gold day and night.The sword oven burned brilliantly, but thegold would not melt. At the beginning ofthe fourth year, the two gold nuggetsglowed brightly and rattled around in theoven. Con-Cheung surmised that the goldwould not melt because no human bloodhad been shed upon it. After consultinghis wife, Con-Cheung decided to sacrificehimself to make the sword. He cu t his hairand fingernails and washed himsdf. Thenhe threw himself into the sword oven .Immediatdy, one of the gold nuggets meltedand the male Con-Cheung sword wasmade. Th e second nugget remained unmelted . Mok-Cha mourned her husband'sdeath. In order to reunite herself with him,she too jumped into the sword oven. Thegold nugget melted and the female MokCha sword was forged."

Of course, historically, Con-Cheung andMok-Cha never physically threw themselvesinto the sword oven. The story is representative of the enormous personal sacrificethat sword makers gave to their art. Th elegend illustrates that the forging of fineweapons entailed a great deal of time andeffort , the kung-fu of sword making.

The legend continues when the ConCheung and Mok-Cha swords wereacquired by the Wu Emperor, Her Leu."H e had the swords buried with him whenhe died. They remained hidden for sixhundred years, until a scholar, CheungWah, from Nanking received a sign leadinghim to the swords. He saw a comet in thesky between the Tin Nui and Ou Yee stars ,directing him a thousand miles away tothe provincial court at So Chow. Therehe found the Con-Cheung and Mok-Chaswords in the bottom of the well in thegarden.

Cheung Wah was very happy with hisgood fortune. He visited his best friend ,Liu Woon , and asked him to deliver theMok-Cha sword to a famous sword makerof Honan Province to see if the swordcould be duplicated. On his way to Honan,Lui's boat capsized in the Yangtze Riverand he and the Mok-Cha sword disappearedinto the waters.Three years later, Cheung Wah decidedto set out for Honan to see what happenedto his lost friend. He traveled the sameroute as Liu Woon. Cheung-Wah traveled


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TH E TASSEL - Ornate tassels are often attached to the handles of female swords for theiraesthetic value. Fighting styles use them to blind and confuse an opponent.

TH E OCCULT SWORD - The Chinese call the empty hand the occult or hidden sword. The twoextended fingers symbolize two blades. Chi must flow through this hand.

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with the Con-Cheung sword. As CheungWah was crossing the Yangtze River , theCon-Cheung sword cried ou t loudly.Cheung Wah took the sword ou t of thescabbard to see what was happening. Ashe did this, the Con-Cheung sword glowedbrilliantly and leapt ou t of his hand intothe river where it was forever reunited withthe Mok-Cha sword." This concludes thelegend. Th e tale illustrates the l:Oncept ofthe inseparability of Yin and Yang.

Women and the Use of the ChienAs the story shows. women as well as

men made swords in ancient China; some

women were also skilled in the use of thesword. Although the status of womensuffered in China, especialy under theteachings of Confucius, the Taoist beliefsheld women to be the equal to men. Th econcept of Yin-Yang, harmony with nature,sprang from Taoist thought. As importantbeings in the natural order , Taoist womenwere allowed to become monks and martialartists.

Women throughout the ages have beenattracted to the double edged sword becauseof its beauty and because it does notrequire a lot of muscular strength , unlikethe saber. Women's physical characteristicsare particularly well suited to the use of

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Sword Mythchien. The quick footwork , suppleness is abducted by an evil monk but she uses(especially in the wrist), speed, and flowing her skill with the sword as well as magicgrace that it takes to properly use to reclaim him. Some women's swordplaythe sword are inherent qualities in most was so extraordinary that it inspired poets.women. One such poet was Tu Fu , who wrote the

Women skilled in using the sword also following poem describing the swordplayshowed up in Chinese history and legend. of Madame Kung Sun.One such legend is the StOIY of the WhiteSnake. It is the tale of a white snake in "Her swinging sword flashes like the ninethe form of a beautiful woman. Her lover falling suns shot by Yi , the legendary

THE GUARD - The hand guard on the chien usually faces away from the handle. It is used to trapand hold the opponent's weapon, as well as deH.ect cuts.48


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LOW STANCES - Since the chien is used from long range, the abil ity to "bridge tbe gap" with light, fast footwork an d elongated, low stances mustbe practiced to an exceptional degree. Both offensively and defensively, an awareness of distance should be cultivated.bowman; Its sheath was made of wood and was heavier than the female sword. It has a

She moves with the force of a team of covered with alligator or snake skin to sharp, pointed tip used for piercing thedragons driven by the gods through the make it waterproof. enemy. The male sword's primary use wassky; The female sword often had a tassel on the battlefieJ:d as a backup weapon to

Her strokes and attacks are like those of hanging from the end of its handle. Some the spear. The sheath was made of metalterrible thunder; sword styles created sophisticated tech- so it could withstand the punishment of

And when she stops, all is as still as waters niques using the tassel. It was used to blind being used to block and hit the opponent.reflecting the clear moonlight. " or confuse the opponent or as a warning The most common carriage of the maletechnique . The tassle was sometimes made sword was to strap it to the back.of silk or wirelike strands so it could easily On e very important feature of the maleThe Female Sword cut or blind the enemy. This type of tassel sword is the blood groove. The blood

Th e female sword is also known as the would create tiny slashes like paper cuts groove is a ridge indented on both sidesscholar's sword. It is characterized by its on the skin of the opponent. of the blade (located in the center of therounded tip and its long , light body. This In its role as a ta i chi sword , the female flat area). Without this feature , a vacuumtype of sword was used for personal self sword is an implement used for meditation is formed and the blade would becomedefense; to create a fashionable appearance; and spiritual development. An individual stuck in the enemy's body. Th e only wayfor use in a dance or as a wall ornament. can practice with the sword to develop his to withdraw the sword was to stab throughThe female sword was often elaborately projection of chi through the weapon. the body to break the suction, or to executedecorated. The handle and guard were Thus the chien becomes the "wisdom a widening cut. This procedure was to ooften cast into a sl1ape resembling part of sword," used to cu t away at ignorance and time consuming for the battlefield, wherea dragon , phoenix or other animal. Ancient delusion. Th e ta i chi use of the female a fighter always faced mUltiple attackers.female swords were sometimes made of sword also results in the promotion of Th e presence of the blood groove preventsgold or other valuable metals, and they good health and relaxation . The female the vacuum from occuring and enables thewere often inlaid with precious stones. sword is used extensively in Chinese folk blade to be quickly withdrawn.Wearing an ornamental sword not only dances and opera . The chien ha s no t been used in battlemade the bearer look elegant , but it also for hundreds of years. It went out of useindicated his status. The female sword was The Male Sword in the middle 1800's when the gun wasusually slung from a belt around the waist. Th e male sword, also known as the introduced in China. But even as far backSometimes it was strapped to the back. "martial sword," is somewhat longer and as the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A. D .),

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SCABBARDS AND THRUSTS - Female sword scabbards are decorations. Male swordscabbardsare functional, used to block and strike. Thru sts are often angled downward, to overridethe opponent' s defense. Withdrawal, especially from a falling body, is also easier after a downwardthrustation and the Chinese Central GovernmentKung Fu Institute. In spite of these or-ganizations, true masters of the martialsword a re very rare nowadays, ."About the author: Patricia E verett is a freelancewriter, martial a rts instructor and COowner of th eWhite Lotus Kung Fu Center in Hartford, CT . Sheand her hu sband teach shaolin kung-fu and ar nis.

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Sword Myth

there were very few sword practlllonerswho had mastered the martial applica tionsof the chien, Consequently, the femalesword predominates in modern times, Themartial application of the chien has beenpreserved up to modern times by 20thCentury organizations like the Ching MoAthletic Association , the Koushu Feder-
http:///reader/full/Chintel)8.95http:///reader/full/Chintel)8.95http:///reader/full/Chintel)8.95http:///reader/full/Chintel)8.95http:///reader/full/Chintel)8.95http:///reader/full/Chintel)8.95

inside kung fu - march 1986 - sword myth - everett

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