Miao dao
Two handed jian
Guan dao
These are the new swords in the Adam Hsu line. I’m really excited that the rest of the series is coming along. For my review of the Adam Hsu jian, see here.
I’m particularly excited about the first pic, the miao dao. I really want to learn that particular weapon, but I’m having a really difficult time finding anything but typical wushu junk here in Taipei. It seems the wushu tin foil version of the weapon is all I can find so far. Yuck!
The guan dao also looks interesting, although I’m a bit surprised by the light weight. I was expecting around 10-lbs. but specs that I’ve seen so far show it coming in at around 6 lbs. That seems a bit light. But then my wife just came in, saw me writing the post and asked if I was really gonna practice with that thing out in the park. The taiji seniors might be scared. Haha!
You can find the specs for the swords here, but the prices seem better here. Unfortunately, I can’t find anything on the dao yet. If anyone has any info, please let me know.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Orz // Oct 16, 2006 at 12:41 pm
Adam Hsu
Hm…… very successful businessman & kungfu dancer. A man who really knows how to promote himself.
2 chessman71 // Oct 16, 2006 at 5:53 pm
Orz,
Despite your personal feelings about Hsu, I would suggest that you check out his weapons. I have his sword and I like it. For the price range, I think it’s hard to beat. Since you’re here in Taiwan, you must know what junk the local MA stores carry.
3 Iron_Jackal_TW // Nov 6, 2006 at 12:29 pm
Two handed jian!? What the fuck? It’s a SHAME that people don’t know a damn thing about swords are trying to build and to sell them for profit.
Tai Chi style sword are NOT build to cut down people, which means you don’t need two hand to swing it for max power. Tai Chi style sword are made for thrust, which means it only needs one hand and the forward momentum of the striker for most its power.
Miao dao is a clone of Japanese katana. They are curved because it offer max surface for cutting off people’s arms or legs. They are designed for horseman to draw quickly while on their horse as well. However, they are poor thrusting weapons.
As for thrusting vs cutting, thrusting needs to hit the heart for a quick kill while cutting can easily off someone’s arms, legs, and of course the head (quick kill from the neck)! Two hand will not give one the precision to hit the heart. In fact, the lighter the sword the better for thrusting type weapons.
4 Hermann Bohn // Jan 20, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Dave,
still satisfied with the Hsu sword?
Did the bolt get loose, yet?
Any special experience after several months of training?
5 chessman71 // Jan 20, 2007 at 8:14 pm
The bolt didn’t get loose yet. I’m happy so far. But I’m looking to upgrade to something that I can use for cutting practice. I plan to buy something on the mainland when I go there this summer. I’ll keep you informed of the market there and cover it on my blog.
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