Fully extended, this collapsible training sword is 37" long, lightweight, and stable; retracted, the entire sword will fit into a ten inch carrying case. It is by no means strong enough to be used in self defense or in striking practice, but that is not the purpose here. Many people relying on public transportation to get to and from training find that carrying a traditional Tai Chi sword is impractical. The collapsible sword gets you on and off the bus or train without trouble.
For beginners, the light weight is a welcome advantage. The slow movements of Tai Chi very quickly show up the weaknesses of modern arms and wrists. Few of us have the natural strength to steady a heavy sword in the air for long, let alone swing it accurately in a slow arc. The collapsible sword allows the user to acquire strength and control before moving on to a solid and practical blade.
The red tassles attached to the ornate hilt are not simply for show. If you move at a correct and steady speed those tassles will hang steady in the air--if they bounce and swing you just don't have it right yet. Some say they can be used in combat, as a distracting device. I used to wear a Tickle Me Elmo kungfu t-shirt for the same reason. I could wear the t-shirt without embarrassment, but red tassles are too much for me; I took them off my own practice sword after a couple of days.
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January 4th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
In Japan,car parts made from high strength steel was expensive few yeas ago.
Bucause high strength steel is rigid, cold stamping die was damaged by galling,seizure and scuffing for a short time.But engineers can keep die lifspan from becoming shorter by the durable specialty steel for die use.This specialty tool steel is called “SLD MAGIC”which was developed by Hitachi Metals. In deed,this company is only authentic raw steel maker for samurai sword.