How do people from the various schools/clans of mantis measure the length of their sabers/dao?
Saber Blade Measurements
Hold the blade at your side with the tip of your index finger at the bottom of the handle. The tip of the blade should reach the top of your ear. This is the standard way to measure.
A practitioner that is 5’10" - 6’ generally need a 29" Blade.
Saber measurements
Ying ching, thanks.That’s also how a teacher told me how to measure a gim.
Jian (gim) vs dao (doe)
I’ve been taught to measure appropriate dao length as per Yingching’s method but to measure appropriate jian length by holding the jian by the handle and extending my arm out to the side at chest height, with the blade laid along the arm. If the tip of the jian is at the center of my chest, it’s the appropriate length for me. If it goes beyond the center, it’s too long. Otherwise it’s too short. Hope this helps.
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[b]
A “Laughing Buddha” or “Dai Tao Fut” is usually found cavorting in front of and leading the lion(s) in a Southern Lion Dance troupe.
I speak for myself and not for my Si Fu nor kwoon, s o any errors I make are mine alone.
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Sword Length
I too measure Gims (Swords) that way. A Gim should be longer than a Dao. In My case, I use a 29" Dao and a 31" Gim.
How about spears, do you like to go to the center of the palm with your hand reached over head, or the tips of the fingers?
Spear and staff length
For the spear, I prefer it to be as long as my height plus the length of my arm stretched over my head up to the fingertips. For the staff, while conventional wisdom is “eyebrow height”, I personally prefer to deviate from it by selecting a staff that is six inches longer than I am tall. It’s the only weapon where I deviate from accepted “norms”, maybe because I just happened to learn my first staff form with a slightly longer staff and got comfortable with this longer length.
[b]
A “Laughing Buddha” or “Dai Tao Fut” is usually found cavorting in front of and leading the lion(s) in a Southern Lion Dance troupe.
I speak for myself and not for my Si Fu nor kwoon, so any errors I make are mine alone.
[/b]
[This message was edited by Laughing Buddha on 07-26-01 at 11:40 PM.]