http://shop.store.yahoo.com/martialartsmart/4571kk.html
i’m looking for a new sword and trying to decide between this one and the Hanwei practical tai chi sword, which is a great sword (and a bit cheaper as well).
all of these swords are so short… i’m 6’4" and a 30" blade is not as long as i’d like, but the longer swords that i’ve found are all pretty poor quality and not at all balanced.
bq-
without a doubt, it is hard to find quality weapons, but they are there.
The Jian or Gim comes in a few forms. A general rule of thumb is that craftsmanship and steel quality will determine the price of a sword.
At your size, I would say that you may need to look for a custom solution as most swords are designed for the average sized person. (between 5’7" and 6’)
Custom solutions aren’t easy to come by either and they certainly aren’t cheap.
One thing is that if you live in North America you will have a lot of opportunities to find a custom craftsman who can give you what you want.
By the way, MAM has some excellent swords and blades for martial arts practice! I wouldn’t (and didn’t :)) hesitate to buy one from them.
cheers
The practical is too short for you. I’m 6’ 2" and it is too short for me but I like the sword, he-he! As far as a sharpened sword I would not recomend it at your level of skill or mine for that matter, they are a bit unforgiving.
Tell 'ya what, I’ll sell you the one under my bed for $110!!! The concave one I brought back from Texas. Or you can buy it here for $130, http://www.fistsport.com/main.php3?primNavIndex=1&
It’s called Competition Darn Gim w/case
Lokhopkuen
PS Who’s you teacher?!?!?!?
my teacher
Lokhopkuen - I think you know my teacher 
last time i was down there you were going to sell me that sword for $100, I’d better buy it from you now before you raise the price again! is that the one with the 36" blade?
The extra $10 was aggrivation fee.
Ok sold! $100!!!
Ha-ha-ha!!!
Lokhopkuen
“The Northern Shaolim style of kung fu is one of the most prominent traditional northern styles of Chinese martial arts”
Is the constant use of the word shaolim just a typo or is it…?
I am confused. Not questioning your art, just confused. any insight to this would be helpful.
SD
Not a typo at all my Sifu Kenneth Hui Translates Small Forest as Shaolim (sic). Being that he has a greater understanding of the Chinese language and the Northern Shaolin/ Shaolim style than I do if he said it translated as ?dog poopie in the park? I?d follow right along. Truth be told the Chinese characters are what is important, any translation form Chinese to English is up to the interpretation of the translator himself. My teacher has given me many reasons for his unusual translation but I think the main one is to separate our group and line from others who use the name Northern Shaolin. I?ve seen some pretty interesting variations of practice :rolleyes: and I for one feel I am blessed to have found my teacher.
Hope this sheds some light on the mysterious ?TYPO?.
Peace
Lokhopkuen
beiquan
I really like the new han wei jian. It’s light, strong and fast, you could do some real work with it. 
But it will be a little short for you.
As for the brass dragon It’s pretty wide, like many of the more “historic” designs, and short. Not what most people would consider a conventional jian at all, but interesting to work with. Kind of a wrist breaker, if you’re familar with western sword slang.
Height is definately a problem with swords. Some people will cut down a two hander. I wouldn’t recommend that with our present model, but we used to carry Dragon well two handers that weren’t so thick (and pricey.) I know that they still make them, but we stopped carrying them since so few people were buying them.
It’s true, the romanization of “Shaolin” comes in many forms.
Even the word “Shaolin” is considered to be the Mandarin (common speech) pronunciation. And that’s only the english version! lol
In cantonese to english, it depends on dialect again.
One popular way of spelling it is “Sil Lum”, another is Siu Lahm and so on.
In other countries, Saolim is used, like in Holland.
Depending on your own point of origin, it will differ, but generally, one will use the preferential spelling that has been taught to them in the course of their learning.
in the end, shao, xiao, siu, or sil transliterate as “young” or “small” or “little” where lin, lum, lam, or lahm transliterates as “forest” or “trees”.
ergo - shaolin=young forest
Hardly anybody uses that name (young forest) though by reason of the need for cultural connection to the temple arts. But when someone who uses the language (chinese) daily says “Shaolin Si” they are saying “young forest temple”.
cheers
Hey Gene;
The Han Wei Gim is really fun to work with but you are right about it as a wrist breaker. When I was learning Dat Mo Gim I hurt myself pretty bad with a wrist strain from snapping the blade out and back again. Beiquan has played with it and likes it but it is really short for his 6? 4? lanky frame. I am curious, I know you are a collector like me. Do you use different swords to practice different sets? Since the Dat Mo Gim is a Shaolin set it is very powerful and does not lend it?s self to using a sword with a tassel so I use the Han Wei Gim or my custom made Wing Lam Dragon well sword. For Dragon walking sword or 8 drunken fairies sword I use a lighter Dragon well sword with a tassel. For tai chi I use a very heavy combat steel blade I had made at Shaolin temple forge.
Peace
Lokhopkuen
lhk
Actually, I meant the brass dragon was a wrist breaker, not the Hanwei. We don’t carry the high end Hanwei - not enough market for us with them - too much money to sit on the shelf too long. The Hanwei we carry are really light and functional. A lot of the newer stuff coming out of shaolin and dragon well are really heavy. This is better for training but not as practical, at least when the historical evidence is concerned. Of course, we aren’t using swords practically anymore, so heavier training weapons make more sense.
Heavy Training weapons are great.
Any specific Recomendations for a broadsword for 6’?
For Bo staff I have:
1 waxwood staff
1 Redwood staff
1 20 Lb steel rod
After using the rod, you can make the other 2 SING, especially that waxwood sh!t.
I use two totally different weighted swords… I use a wushu steel sword for learning the form, or demonstrating it for a few students in the class if we are “holding” our stances. I use a combat steel sword for actually practicing the form at a regular speed, as it is still a bit heavy for regular training. For broadsword I have a few, all the same size, different weights (spring, middle, combat) and use all three just to get different dynamics.
Hey Gene;
Have you tried the King Yue sword?!?!?!
I think I am in love!
Is the handle solid brass?
Cool sword.
Mine, mine, mine!!
LOKHOPKUEN
sticks and swords may break my words
sd - Redwood staff? Surely you mean that the wood is the color red, not made of redwood. Redwood is a conifer, way too soft for any serious work.
np - Swords are like golf clubs for me. I chose different strokes for different occasions. Heavr for training, light for demo, antique for when I’m feeling nostalgic of spiritual. I have them all over my room, plus a lot in storage. I used to collect and deal them. Now they mostly collect dust.
lhk - Ah, the king yue sword. That’s a real interesting piece - beautiful hollow ground blade. I don’t beleive the handle is solid brass or it would weight a ton, but I’ve never opened one up to see for sure. It’s definately thick brass though, quite solid. I find that it plays a little strange as a jian because the blade is short and the handle is long. Personally, I feel like I want to get two hands around that baby and swing it like a roman short sword. It has an alomst Conan Barbarian sword energy to me. Swing and chop in a berserker frenzy - it’s something about the leverage a short blade and a long handle provides that makes it so.
Also I find that a brass handle is a really unusual surface. If I were to get one, I’d probably rewrap the handle in leather if I was being classical, or one of those modern synthetic racquet handle materials if I wanted something more practical. But in truth, I’ve only picked it up and played around with it, so I don’t know how the naked brass would feel over time.
You will have to tell me what you think if you invest in one and work with it w while…
I don’t beleive the handle is solid brass or it would weight a ton
and the balance of the sword would go out of the window…
Gene, I use my mid weight swords as they were my first purchases for the whole nostalgic thing… not antique but definitely beat up pretty good…
nostalgic swords
There’s nothing like working with a good antique. Practicing with a sword that might actually have been blooded brings a whole new level of intensity. Also, you tend not to be careless since antiques are irreplacible. Plus there’s something about the balance of a real antique that just can’t be found in any modern made sword without some serious modification.