www.Longfei-Taiji.co.uk	Longfei Taijiquan Association of Great Britain
		Longfei Newsletter Volume 8 Issue 3

49 Forms Wudang/Taiji Jian (Sword)

This year's summer camp saw the introduction of the Wudang/Taiji Jian and who more qualified to teach it than Professor Li Deyin. The Wudang/Taiji Jian is a beautiful routine, that is more comprehensive and challenging than many of the other taiji routines. It is a well balanced routine that is beneficial to the performer's health and fitness. It also offers practitioners a greater understanding of sword applications, sword skills, strategies and principles. It is a well thought out and constructed routine that displays all the characteristic grace and beauty the double-edge sword has to offer.

Construction

The Wudang/taiji sword contains within the routine 49 forms. This number includes the opening and closing postures. The forms are sub-divided into 6 sections and contain 24 applications. The choreography takes into account various directions of attack and defence which includes many changes of stance and footwork etc. The routine is a combination of Wudang and taiji sword forms, so it encapsulates the two routines. Both the Wudang and taiji styles are among the most representative sword techniques in Chinese martial Arts. The Wudang/taiji sword as a combination displays some unique and subtle characteristics, one major feature is the inclusion of a mixture of fast paced movement and techniques, combined with the slower movement more akin to the principles of the taiji sword. The Wudang sword was taught to Grandmaster Li Tianji (Longfei) by Li Jing-Lin at the tender age of 16, he was the first new recruit to learn the Wudang sword. So from a family point of view, the connection reaches back to Li Jing Lin.

The characteristics and principles are similar to the strategy and theory of the Taiji sword. First neutralising, then seeking opportunity to counter attack. Force against force is discouraged, rather evade follow then attack.

Bi Qing Rou Hong (avoid the green and go for the red)

Bi Qing Rou Hong: the green arises from the fact that early Chinese weapons were made from materials containing bronze which gave a greenish tinge to the metal. The red refers to an opponent's blood. So this strange saying makes good sense and masks a useful strategy. Discussing this with David Arnold (David is an expert in various weapon techniques of south-east Asia) he remarked that it would be impractical and ineffective to use hard against hard. The use of hard against hard or, in other words to allow one sword to clash with another would create the possibility that one of the swords would fracture or alternatively if the blades are razor sharp and strike together with great force they could fuse together, making it difficult to separate them.

The Wudang Sword of Li Jing-Lin by Li Tian-Ji

In 1930, the famous veteran martial artist Li Jing- Lin arrived in Jinan and set up "Shandong Province Martial Arts School" (Shandong Sheng Guoshu Guan) inviting my father Li Yu-Lin to come to Shandong from Shanghai to assume the post of "Head of Instruction" (Jiao Wu Zhu Ren) for the school. At that time I was a student at the school, this afforded me the opportunity to learn the Wudang sword art from Mr Li Jing-Lin. Counting the prearranged routines (Ta Lu) of the Wudang sword art, there was one solo practice set, six sets of dual (partner work) training. The sixth set was moving-step (Huo Bu) dual training, there was also a free form of training as opposed to the pre-arranged set (San Jian). (For the record Master Li Tian-Ji (1915-1996) learned his martial arts from his father Li Yu-Lin (1885-1965), embracing: Yang style taijiquan, Sun style taijiquan, Xingi, Shaolin and much more. He is recognised and acknowledged as an innovator and the father of modern taiji, he has been placed in the top ten Chinese martial arts masters of all time.)

Mr Li Jing Lin was a native of Zaoqiang County, Hebei Province. From an early age he had an intense liking for martial arts and graduated from the "Baoding Military Officers School". He served as commander of the first army (Feng Jun or Liaoning) under the warlord Zhang Zuo-Lin and as Military Governor (Jun Wu Du Ban) of Hebei Province. After 1925 he came under interrogation by Zhang Zuo Lin and was summarily dismissed from the service. After his dismissal he devoted all his energy to martial arts activity. Li Jing-Lin claimed he had learned his Wudang Sword from one Chen Shi-Jun, an unknown from Northern Anhui Province. In reality this was a fabrication, because there isn't any record of this person's existence.

Son Wei-Yi

It is recorded that Li Jing-Lin learned his Wudang Sword from Song Wei-Yi from Beizhen, Liaoning Province. While garrisoned (circa 1922) in the Jinzhou area of Liaoning Province, one of Li's fellow officers, Ding Qi-Rui became acquainted with a martial arts expert Song Wei-Yi. Song was skilled in Bagua Zhang and the art of the sword. He had written a work on the sword in three parts entitled, Wudang Jian Pu. As a result of this meeting Li went to visit Song at his residence and implored Song to demonstrate with a performance of his sword art. Later, he invited Song as a guest to his residence in Tianjin, treating him as a distinguished visitor and requesting of Song, that he teach him his bare hand boxing method and sword art. Studying with Li were a number of his fellow officers, including, Jiang Xing-Shan, Guo Qi-Feng, Ding Qi-Rui, Zhang Xiang-Wu. (Zhang Xiang-Wu was in possession of Song's aforementioned book).

At that time the sword art of Song Wei-Yi made use mainly of solo practice and free-form practice (San Lian). After Li obtained the art, he expended great effort in extensive research into sword arts. Using as a foundation, his solo practice and his own research he created six two-person training sets (Dui Lian Tao Lu). As a result he enjoyed a reputation in martial arts circles for his superb swordsmanship.

"Taiji Jian Ru Men" - Introduction to Taiji Jian by Li De-Yin

In a recent book about the taiji sword (1993) by Professor Li De-Yin, (nephew of Li Tian-Ji) he states in his preface "From the historical materials on taijiquan currently available, it is very difficult to locate any records on the taiji sword." Also in the Chen Shi Jia Pu and the Quan Xie Pu one cannot find a single written record. In Li Yi-Yu's hand copied edition of Wang Zong-Yue's treatise on taijiquan (Taijiquan Pu) one also cannot find any record.

In addition, in the historical records of the following eminent taijiquan figures: Jiang Fa, Yang Lu-Chan, Wu Yu-Xiang, there is no mention in the records of their martial arts studies encompassing the sword. Doc Fai Wong has recorded that Song Wei-Yi, and Yang Ban-Hou, traded form for sword and that is how the taiji sword came to be in the Yang family lineage curriculum. As stated previously there is no documented or verbal transmission in the recorded history that, Yang Lu-Chan (precursor of the Yang Style) practiced a sword routine. It has been recorded that his training included the spear (Qiang) and broad sword (Dao).

It is also possible to maintain that the art of taiji sword was the product of a later graft of an unspecified sword art, onto the already existing art of taijiquan, taiji broad sword, taiji spear and taiji staff. Li De-Yin proposes in Taiji Jian Ru Men, however subject to unspecified research, that each of the present day styles of taiji sword are probably derived from, one of three types of sword: "Xuan Hua Jian or/and, "San Cai Jian" also "Quin Kun Jian".

Information source: The Journal of the Chen Style Taijiquan Research Association of Hawaii Vol. 2, No. 2, (notes on the taiji sword). Taiji Jian Ru Men by Professor Li De-Yin. Doc Fai Wong.

Simon Watson

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