Chinese Minority Duandao (Short Saber)- Chinese Swords & Swordsmanship Series

[@polymathart]

Like a messer or hangar

[@smrsevenstarstradingco.241]

Kind of. Were hangers also worn as sort of everyday carry swords?

[@Viktor_Johansson]

That blade is gorgeous. I immediately though its from somewhere to the south and west.

[@smrsevenstarstradingco.241]

Beautiful & quite interesting isn’t it?

[@bacchianlout110]

The return of the king, thank you for the video laoshi.

[@smrsevenstarstradingco.241]

My pleasure, planning another one for this month…

[@JonseyWales]

What a beautiful short sword! I absolutely love these excellent knowledge sharing videos ('show and tell' for grown ups) by Master Scott Rodell! I always click on them as soon as I see one come out. Fascinating, instructive and really well presented! Many thanks.

[@mugenGRTC]

Thanks, we love hearing that! We're planning 2 more video releases this month...

[@brianlmeyers6169]

Thank you, Liaoshi. Very interesting.

[@mugenGRTC]

Thanks for your Support, we've 2 more videos in the short term line up...

[@JCOwens-zq6fd]

Its a funny thing that we in the modern era show so much attention to larger war swords. While the short sword was typically the more important weapon as far as ones social status & spirituality is concerned. You find this with Scythians & Ackenakes & they passed it to all their descendents. the Scots-irish & their dirks/skeans, the Persians & their Qame & so many more that have Scythian blood in them.

[@KF1]

That's super cool. Thanks for showing

[@mugenGRTC]

Our Pleasure! Thanks for your Support!

[@wrentuathadedanann6209]

That is a very cool Dao! I love the shape and….Im a fan of the short swords.

[@smrsevenstarstradingco.241]

Is that because you’re also… you know, not so tall… ???😮

[@wrentuathadedanann6209]

@ Yes, but it’s also the interplay between moving both swords at once that is captivating to me.

[@johnpartika]

You really can't beat the aesthetics on that piece. That's definitely my favorite pommel I've seen on an antique. How is it attached? Is it pinned onto the hilt somehow, or some type of adhesive?

[@smrsevenstarstradingco.241]

The pommel is pinned & the tang is peaned.

[@ycplum7062]

How was teh blade constructed? Did they use a san-mai technique. You mentioned 7 layers. I am thinking they could have used a 6-layer billet wrapped around a high-carbon steel core, much like a taco or hotdog. Also, is the sawtooth edge pattern due to differential heat treatment or did they grind them in before additional forging and blade shaping?

[@scottm.rodellgrtc2969]

Great question, I'll see if I can get a smith I know to answer. Better I stay in my lane, not being a swordsmith myself. The "Saw tooth," or Horse Tooth edge was not due to differential heat treating, but was forged in.

[@manatoa1]

That is extremely nice.

[@KGatLC]

Good tea from Yunnan

[@ZengHuaXiansheng]

Does that mean we produce fake silver in Germany? Just kidding! 😅 Anyway, really interesting video, thanks for sharing!

[@smrsevenstarstradingco.241]

Good question?! Actually, it does make you wonder where that name came from?

[@sparrowhawk81]

Oh wow so your community is at the "parry / deflect with the flat of the blade" stage too. How long have you been stuck there? I mean just waggle your wrist back and forth side to side, then stick your hand out in front of you with your thumb up and try to point your thumb straight back at your face. If parrying with the flat were a mechanically sound idea, then house would be framed with the studs facing flat-side in. They are not, and that is for a reason. If you value your sword's pristine edge over your own life, well.....seems to defeat the purpose of learning to use a weapon.

[@mugenGRTC]

If you are not just trolling, blade flats are preformed with the entire body, not just the wrist or arm. This is not only the way Chinese Sword Arts have been taught for centuries, it is quite effective. Note that Chinese Sword Arts Deflect rather than Parry. If you are interested in broadening your world view, attend one of the Full Contact Chinese Swordplay Tournaments. There you will see how effective the blade flat deflections are in full contact, powerful sword fights. Please also note that an examination of thousands of antique Chinese Swords by Rodell Laoshi found zero evidence of edge parrying. The swords examined included everything from the roughest trooper sword to “court” swords.

[@scottm.rodellgrtc2969]

The misunderstanding as to why Chinese Sword Arts employ a dedicated blade flat deflection is most often rooted in a misunderstanding of the technique. It is a deflection that redirects the duifang's cut off target, while aligning the counter-cut, rather than a hard blocking parry. Also, given that Chinese swords are constructed of sanmai (three plate), with a very hard, high carbon central edge plate, this edge cuts very well and holds it edge well, but is prone to chipping. Swords were quite expensive during imperial times. Swordsmen could not afford to wield them in a fashion that knowingly destroyed them and that also lead to very possible catastrophic failure, as hard edge parries can. This is another reason why blade flat deflections were the orthodox method employed.

[@sparrowhawk81]

@@mugenGRTC Alright, some good food for thought. Thanks.

[@mugenGRTC]

@@sparrowhawk81, no worries.

[@ef.9095]

european 15th-16th century swords are not jian or dao. The ones used for parry-heavy arts tend overall to have thick edge geometry and very rigid blades compared both to jian and to their earlier european counterparts, as well as generally being quite soft at the edge. also, as a sidenote, your take lacks nuance even with regards to european swordsmanship. Edge parrying to stop an active attack only applies in some systems with certain types of swords that are capable of doing it effectively. I would encourage you not to treat your weapon-specific mechanics as a universal constant. I don't go around telling bolognese-style fencers to stop entering the bind with forceful cuts or stop doing beats because I know their weapons are different from the earlier medieval swords I use, for example. Different weapons are different, and different does not equal worse.