Some Chinese Swordfighting looks like a
BAD PIRATE MOVIE

Why waste your valuable time playing with poor swordfighting skills, when you could spend it profitably learning proven techniques that have been handed down from the days when good swordsmanship meant life or death. These days there are schools and teachers available for most styles.

This guide aims to help you find what you are looking for by presenting good information so that you can make informed choices. I do not expect it to take the place of face to face swordfighting classes with expert teachers. It is meant to be a resource that will help you train well, ask the right questions and avoid the pitfalls. In this section I plan to present information about:

• Real Historical Chinese Swordsmanship
• The best equipment
• How to begin and continue sword lessons
• Specific strike techniques
• Correct stance and grip
• Types of training swords - which to use and when
• Drills and exercises
• Test Cutting
• Sword etiquette
• What to call your teacher
• Free Sparring

Take a look at this new series on Common Errors to avoid in Chinese Swordfighting:

• Part 1: Wrong grip, leaving yourself open, leaning forward.
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• Part 2: Standing in one place, cutting without deflecting, hard blocks
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• Part 3: No get away room, wrong front foot alignment, distraction

SELFDEFENSE-4-WOMEN.com For more information on self defense weapons please visit Self Defense Weapons at Self Defense for Women.

And much more. Please be patient as this guide to swordfighting grows to include everything you are looking for. If you are in a hurry for some information, email me at the address in the footer, and I'll speed up the priority of your favourite topic.Here's one for you now on < on choosing a good wooden sword for training.

Students training in thrust and deflect techniques of at a Chinese Swordsmanship camp in the Blue Mountains of Australia.

Training in Difficult Circumstances

You've decided to train in Chinese swordsmanship - perhaps within a whole taiji system. Now it seems that everything is conspiring against you to make that as difficult as possible. At the bottom of this page, I've included an interactive section for students to ask questions, give each other advice, and tell your own training stories. Please use this feature. Your insight or questions will help improve this swordfighting section for the hundreds of people who visit it every week.

Look for these difficulties to be addressed in the upcoming months:

• Wet weather
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• Long distance
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• Confined space
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• Injury
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• Small children
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• Antagonistic family members
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• Limited time
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SO WHY DO WE DO IT?
Soldiers don't need to use swords for war these days. There are much more sophisticated weapons. This is not why we train. We do it first of all, for fun. There is something about doing battle with swords that sparks off in childhood and stays with us for life. We just get better at it. I like to think I'm helping preserve an ancient art, restoring something from the past. I do it for exercise as well. Swordfighting is great for health and fitness .... usually - healthier for me than the other guy, I like to think.

Then there's the special bond we have with friends, fellow students and teachers - the fun of doing something together that we all enjoy. There's just something about going to a training retreat or a seminar, together, that sets up good memories for life. That's another thing about swordfighting - you can keep on doing it for life. You will stay healthy and fit longer, and you can teach from your experience, collect swords, write a website... It's an occupation that never wears out.

Students training in full speed Chinese Swordsmanship, in the Yangjia Michuan Jian tradition. Would you like to know how to make a gambeson like these? How about finding a wooden sword that will stand up to this sort of punishment? What about the gloves? How can you find the best for swordfighting? All this and more as the Chinese Swords Guide grows.

Check this out for information on traditional Filipino swordfighting Filipino Kali sword fighting

Do you have questions, advice or a story to share with us?

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