#dandao

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Miaodao/Dandao vs. Staff Demo

From last weekend’s Webinar For more than a year now, I demonstrated both sides of every encounter for the formations of techniques taught at the Academy of Chinese Swordsmanship weekend Webinars (https://www.chineseswordacademy.com). This past weekend, Mark Botti helped me demonstrate Chinese Long Saber techniques facing a staff. After the class they recorded the techniques presented: I took the Outer Watch Posture to keep my hands out of distance, opening the upper door to the staff, which thrusts high. That thrust is deflected and answered with a horizontal cut, which the staff deflects and counter-strikes over the top. The Miaodao/Dandao responds by circling the blade under and around for a fan deflection, into a zha. As the staff turns to deflect the zha, the saber stirs around for a pi cut to the neck.

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Photo also makes it obvious why you turn your waist voiding when employing a ge counter-cut.

https://www.youtube.com/user/mugenGRTC

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Forgive me for boasting, but you know your webinars are really good when even cats stop and pay attention. Thanks to Mark Duffner for allowing his cat to join in.

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New Dandao Discovery  

Good research takes a group.

Yesterday I was doing some research on Chinese Swordsmanship and found a few pages from Qing period manual that included a reprint of the Ming dynasty Dandao manual. This Qing reprint from 1866, is quite significant because it helps us date the use of the Ming Chinese two-handed saber well into the Qing dynasty (see images above). I got together with Thomas Chen, gave him the title of the Manual, the Fúníng Jìshì (福宁纪事). He very quickly tracked down the entire text. Being late in the day, I didn’t have time for more than a quick skim of the text, but sent it on to a couple of students.

Poney Chiang, up in Toronto dove into the text of the reprinted Dandao, and got back to me this morning with an excellent summation:

“The Intro from the Qing version (Fúníng Jìshì, published 1866) intentionally removed all mention of pirates or Japan.  It still mentions Cheng Chong You (the Ming author of the Dandaofa Xuan), but chose to omit Cheng's teacher Liu from the introduction.”

Poney also made the interesting observation that the Qing version omitted a number of stances, the omitted stances are: Cut Waist Posture Receive Push Posture Left/Right Brace Step Posture Placing the Saber Back in the Scabbard Posture Carrying the Saber Posture, Drawing the Saber Posture Press Down Saber Posture Throw and Catch the Saber Posture Push the Tiger Saber Posture Low Pierce Saber Posture Single Hand Thrust Saber Posture Diagonal Peel Saber Posture

Poney noted that the Fúníng Jìshì comments on the Shoulder Carry Saber Posture page that this posture together with the Single Lift Saber Posture, give big openings as lures, and spear man often fall for it. Poney also found the Dandao form has been shortened in the Qing version. It has moves that are omitted (e.g. Receive Push, Push Tiger etc), so not sure how the reader is supposed to do the form, with that info removed.The form seems like the changes are in the end.  Beginning are the same."

Personally, I have to say I also found it assuming how the illustrations of the swordsman in the manual were redone so the that he is clearly a Manchu, complete with a distinctive Manchu style hat and boots.

For the full text of the original Dandao Manual, please pick up my translation at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01A0EM6WK/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i5

If anyone would like a copy of the Fúníng Jìshì,  the full PDF of the book can be downloaded at (note that only the last book has the Dandao and other martial martial manuals):  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vWz-5eOEWnjCQDzfbeV2qnWrB6JiITXf/view?fbclid=IwAR0kH5hQAv7k4AiRpe_m9gM2sORqSIT0Kb56Z1YZW-kCkPWA9A44mzd0zjQ 660 megabytes

In other news, the final edit of all the video for my Miaodao Online Course is done and off to the Web Developer. Hopefully it won’t be too long before the Course is up. To get the latest updates, please join the wait list at: https://threeislandsmedia.com/

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It’s out- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08479KYT1/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Ming+Chinese+military+swordsmanship&qid=1580067546&s=books&sr=1-1&fbclid=IwAR1HJO8qZNqiPch65VWve-_Oxk_9zL82LPohc1udGu82OzNaDte494vA7wg

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Steel Dandao Swordplay Presented by Scott M. Rodell with Poney Chiang The techniques demonstrated are from the Four Roads Miaodao form. Teacher Rodell, in blue on the left, employs a běng tiāo (繃挑) deflection in a kǎn cut (砍), follows with a circular jiǎo (絞) deflecting into a pi cut, then slips to his left with a jià hù (架護), countering with a jī cut (擊) to the next neck, then circles into a second jī (擊) cut as his duifang responds to his first. These and other techniques, the form and basic cuts of this Miaodao system are covered in detail in a forth coming, comprehensive Online Course due out in early 2020. For more information, please see: https://threeislandsmedia.com/ Produced by Great River Taoist Center: https://grtc.org/ recorded at 276 Sterling Studio, Toronto, Canada

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Waifan deflection into a zha cut at my Toronto Miaodao Mini-Seminar this past Saturday.