Formosa Neijia

I’ve been fortunate to be in contact the past few weeks with Mike Martello, the head of the WuTan martial arts branch in Belgium. We’ve been discussing one of my favorite topics in Taiwan’s martial arts: the miao dao.

For those of you who don’t know, the miao dao is a type of long Chinese saber that closely resembles the dai-katanna of Japan. Here’s a pic:

The miao dao practice found here in Taiwan is very tradtional, unlike some of the wushu-tainted miao dao material commonly found in China. Considering that and how rare the sword training is just in general, I think that the miao dao is a great example of Chinese martial culture that has been perserved by Taiwan practiconers.

So without further ado, I’d like to introduce a short excerpt from an up-coming publication by Mike Martello on the history of the miao dao. When my video plugin is up and running, we’ll be featuring clips of his miao dao training. But here’s some history first:

An Introduction of the Miao Dao (Grain Leaf Saber)
During ancient times, before China became an empire under the rule of the First Emperor Qin Shihuangdi, Chinese warriors only used swords, not sabers. It was only until the early Han Dynasty (206 AD – 220 BC), when frequent clashes occurred in the Northern borders of the empire, that the saber was introduced. Due to their battles with the nomadic tribes from the Northern wastelands, such as the Xiongnu (Huns), the Chinese learned that sabers were much more efficient against cavalry. In the following centuries, the saber became the most widely used weapon within the Chinese military, and the skills in wielding such blades reached its pinnacle during the glorious Tang Dynasty (618 – 907). The Tang Dynasty was the golden age of Chinese civilization, and many smaller kingdoms sent emissaries to pay tribute to the Tang court. The Chinese emperor would bestow many gifts to the vassal kings in return for their homage. It was during this period of cultural exchange that the Chinese long sabers (Chang Dao) found their way to the island kingdom of Nippon. After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, Chinese society gradually became less and less martial, while the Japanese people preserved the ways of the warrior. Thus, while the usage of the long saber slowly disappeared in China, the weapon was fully accepted and absorbed within Japanese culture and eventually led to the creation of the Nodachi.

The long saber vanished from the Chinese mainland for many centuries, but in the mid-16th century this fearsome weapon reappeared. This time, the weapon returned to its homeland in the hands of Japanese pirates. Japan at that time suffered from a series of small-scale civil wars fought between regional warlords. Many defeated Samurai as well as impoverished workers and farmers turned to piracy. They often occupied offshore islands near the coast of China and raided Chinese coastal cities.

The Chinese general Qi Jiguang mentioned in his memoirs: “The long saber was unknown prior to the arrival of the wako pirates. The weapons used by our troops prove to be useless against such blades, and our soldiers were often cut in two by the enemy.” From his various battles with the pirates, General Qi observed and studied their ways of swordsmanship. His analysis, coupled with the blades taken from the slain enemy, allowed the Chinese military to forge their own Chang Dao and device their own fighting methods. After rigorous training and having obtained their new equipment, the Qi army drove off the Japanese and later scored many victories against other enemy forces threatening the Ming Empire. The troops of General Qi became known as “the invincible Qi army” and those warriors who learned the art of the Chang Dao cherished it dearly and did not easily pass it on to others. Nevertheless, the unique fighting method of the long saber was preserved in later centuries, although it remained virtually unknown to outsiders.