weapon sparring

[mr_S11034]

I was wondering if anyone does any freestyle sparring with weapons? I know people do two man forms and maybe do demonstration routines. I realize that we live in a time were no one fights with weapons anymore but I enjoy concentrating on applications and i also want to do some sparring (with protection) for fun.

[jeff]

First: Yeah, I believe from past discussions with members on here, that some of us spar with weapons. (Well, I know that I still do...mostly with knives) and it is a rewarding training exercise if practiced correctly.

Second: Actually we live in an era where people still fight with weapons. Maybe not swords, battle axes, staffs and such as in the olden days but I've seen baseball bats, crowbars, knives, brooms, and such used. So...technically it's still a dangerous time and weapon training still has it's high points.

Thanks, Train hard.
-Jeff

[grimner]

Me and some friends does sparre with weapons.
Since its such a big part of the training we see no reason not to practice it.
We try to as far as protection gear only go with , Head protection and gloves. Since the weapons are padded there really aint so much need for protection.
Personally i train really hard with the butterfly swords atm.
I think that the weapon training adds a lot to your training and understanding of your stile in general.
This said i wont have my butterfly swords with me to use for self defense, but the training and techniques i use with them i can well use with a stick or anything i might get my hands on.

And its also a lot of fun, not to forget.

[mr_S11034]

thanks for the responses, I guess I have been more clear when I was saying that no one fights with weapons anymore. I should have said that no one fights with traditional weopons like spears, staffs, quand dao's, butterfly swords etc. I do agree that traditional weapons can be adapted for more "modern" weapons.
I tried to get some people together to do some sparring but it did not last long, but I am going to try it again and see how it goes.

Anyway, I was wondering what weapons (top 2) do people like to spar with? I like to use a straight sword (kun lun) and the eyebrow height staff (monkey King)
the straight sword I learned from the wing lam videos but I actually enjoy it more than other weapons that I learnt from my teachers, maybe Its because it is different than other weapons or maybe I watched too many avatar episode

[ken]

My school does Jian Shu (straight sword) training. We spar with straight swords, military grade polymer ones. We have fencing masks,a chest protector, and some gloves on to help protect ourselves a little bit. It is a lot of fun. Teaches you that sword fights can be very quick. Footwork is key. Understanding how the weapon is properly used to slice and dice. After that it can even cut through cans. J/k.

It is a traditional weapon.

--train hard
ken

[grimner]

In the group i train weapon sparring start when you have learnd your first weapon and start gained control over it.
And that is monkey king staff, however most people "quite" fight with the staff as soon as they learn the Darn Dao.
So in my experience the Darn Dao is the most trained on until you learn the Gim sword then students tend to swap again: .
ATM i fancy the Butterfly swords myself and i also spar a little with Quan Dao (No body else use it so someone have got to ).

[NJM]

Here's an interesting video with Tai Chi straightsword sparring: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_wq23TB ... annel_page

@ Ken, where did you get those polymer straightswords? Were they custom made?

[jeff]

My school does Jian Shu (straight sword) training. We spar with straight swords, military grade polymer ones. We have fencing masks,a chest protector, and some gloves on to help protect ourselves a little bit. It is a lot of fun. Teaches you that sword fights can be very quick. Footwork is key. Understanding how the weapon is properly used to slice and dice.

Ken,
That was one of the coolest things I got to do during our seminar. After I realized that we couldn't hurt each other too severly and could open up, I had a blast. The old days with the wooden swords left too many bad memories, but this...this was an incredible learning session. Still planning on ordering a set of my own here soon. Can't wait.

-JEff

[ken]

Jeff,
I am glad you had fun. It has been a great learning tool for our school. It really taught us how footwork is vital. We have gotten more technical with it by knowing if you hit with the flat of the blade or not. That is the biggest area that we got to spar in so it was exciting for us too. Somehow I missed you and mike doing the jian shu. Anyway, I am glad you had that much fun sparring.

peace
ken

[jeff]

Ken,
Yeah it was awesome. You could go all out even with blows to the head, which we restricted back when we played with wooden swords years ago. After I realized we could go out, it was a load of fun...and it was Quitin and I that went at it after we watched Mike and someone else go for a couple of rounds. Good training, and I honestly believe more schools should try it because it teaches some realistic principles.

TAke care
-Jeff

[ken]

NJM,
The swords were purchased from the World Jianshu League. here:http://www.worldjianshu.org/Store/tabid/119/Default.aspx. and the home page is here: http://www.worldjianshu.org/Home/tabid/88/Default.aspx which has sparring on it. I hope that helps. It is so much fun. you will need a fencing mask, chest/ab protection. and some sort of gloves. I think we are currently using hockey gloves. Get hit on the fingers is painful.

ken

[NJM]

NJM,
The swords were purchased from the World Jianshu League. here:http://www.worldjianshu.org/Store/tabid/119/Default.aspx. and the home page is here: http://www.worldjianshu.org/Home/tabid/88/Default.aspx which has sparring on it. I hope that helps. It is so much fun. you will need a fencing mask, chest/ab protection. and some sort of gloves. I think we are currently using hockey gloves. Get hit on the fingers is painful.

ken

Those are incredibly cool, thanks for sharing that!