Thirteenth in a series: Sifu Randy Choy is a well-respected martial arts teacher in Hawaii. Sifu Fong thanks him for graciously sharing his thoughts on training here.

Continuous Winding Sword

Lu Dong Bin, one of the eight immortals was known for his ability to slay demons with his demon-repelling sword. Born in the year 798 A.D., he was able to successfully spread Taoism and rid the earth of various evils. In Hong Kong, there is a temple dedicated to the Immortal Lu Dong Bin. It is called, "Green Pine Temple" (Qing Song), symbolically meaning, Long Life Temple.

In 1980, I relocated to Taiwan to increase my study of the Chinese martial arts. My martial arts teacher at Taipei's New Park was Mr. Cheng Bin Wen of the Southern Kuo Shu Boxing Association. Originally from Changsi Province, teacher Cheng taught qigong, Chinese boxing and weapon forms. He was knowledgeable in eighteen different sword styles. My favorite was the "Green Duckweed Swords" (Ching Ping Jian) consisted of three long routines. One of the shorter sword routines taught was the "Continuous Winding Sword" (Lian Huan Jian) which consisted of twenty-six movements and ten basic sword principles. They were, to chop (Pi), to stab (Ci), to draw back (Chou), to hang (Gua), to stir (Jiao), to sink (Beng), to drill (Zuan), to push (Tui), to cut into two (Zhan), and to sweep (Sao). This was a very regimental type form.

According to teacher Cheng, teaching the Chinese sword was not easy. Either you have it or you don't. This meant you had to be aggressive with quick reflexes and a lot of smarts upstairs. For example, when you attacked chopping from the top down, you held the sword blade vertical. He called it "Zheng Pi." When you chopped down diagonally, he called it "Xie Pi." "Zheng" refers to a vertical type chop while "Xie" refers to a diagontal type chop.

Stabbing was called, "Zheng Li Ci," which means to stab straight, holding the sword vertically. To pull back or to draw back was called, "Chou." There was the upper pull back (Shang Chou) and the lower pull back (Xia Chou).

To hang or to lift was called, "Gua," used in blocking long weapon attacks.

Learning to circle the sword tip was challenging. Practicing "Jiao," required you to have loose, flexible wrists. Trust me, I'll take some time for those with stiff wrists. This is what I had to practice. First, if you circled your opponent's wrist from the outside in a counter-clockwise motion, it was called, "Wai Jiao" to mean external stir. Secondly, you had to practice the other side, circling your opponent's wrist from the inside in a clockwise motion. It was called, "Nei Jiao" to mean internal stir. My teacher showed me various ways of how to cut and attacking around an opponent's wrists. It was good stuff.

Another technique I practiced was to sink. Whenever my teacher attacked me upwards towards the face, I was forced to sit back on my stance and "Beng," allowing the vertical part of the sword blade to parry and then thrust forward for an attack. This wasn't as easy as it looked.

Later, I practiced to drill, to push, to cut into two, and to sweep with the sword. I was told to cut the neck of the opponent when practicing (Zhan), using the horizontal part of the blade to cut and attack sideways, either from the left or from the right. There is always a mixed use such as practicing (Zhan) and then (Pi). If you want to cut your opponent's legs, you practiced (Sao). Again, I had to use the horizontal part of the blade attacking either left or right close to the ground.

In Taipei's New Park, every day was challenging. Every day was basically hot and humid, so going out to exercise in the park was done very early in the morning. My lessons started from 6:00 a.m. in the morning and concluded at noon. In the morning was qigong and later Chinese hand,swordmanship, and the Chinese staff. Learning martial arts in Taiwan was very traditional. You had to practice until you got it right.

Five years later, I was in Hong Kong learning Taiji Praying Mantis under teacher Kwong Kwun Wai. He taught me the "Praying Mantis Continuous Winding Sword" (Tang Lang Lian Huan Jian). This sword style had one hundred thirty-four movements, consisting of fourteen sword techniques. This sword style had very powerful movements. A lot of stomps, a lot of quick flicks here and there. A very aggressive sword style.

Later that year, I continued my training in Taiji Praying Mantis Boxing under teacher David Cheng in Hawaii. He emigrated from Vietnam and began teaching at Makiki Park. His version of the "Continuous Winding Sword" was different. His movements were smooth and very agile. He jumped a lot and he was very light on his feet. Extremely swift and aggressive, he taught me another aspect of Chinese swordsmanship.

Learning is never ending, so I began training in the following fourteen sword techniques. They were, to chop (Pi), to stir (Liao), to cloud (Yun), to sink (Beng), to embrace (Bao), to stab (Ci), to pluck (Tiao), to point (Dian), to support (Tok), to block (Jia), to smear (Mo), to clip (Jian), to lift (Gua), and to press (Ya).

The first sword technique, to chop, is found in "Climbing the mountain, chopping downwards," in circling and chopping movements. Chopping movements could in an upright stance, or while retreating or rotating the body, or in a jade ring stance. Chopping is also found in movement 46, "King Chen whips the stone," and in movement 98, "Strange python turning its head."

The second technique is to stir. Stirring is very unique. There is the "Front upwards stir" (Qian Shang Liao), the "Downwards stir" (Xiao Liao) and the "Backwards stir" (Hou Liao). You can find the front upwards stir in the movements 26 and 39, "Ride the palace looking at the moon," and in movement 34, "Cold light going out to the sky." The downwards stir can be found in movement 24, "Climb the mountain, stirring downwards." Also, the backwards stir is found in movements 8, 20, 28, and 41, "Pointing at the star while looking at the moon," in movement 101, "Flying phoenix welcomes the spring breeze," and in movement 120, "Male and female phoenix flying away."

The third sword technique is the clouds, found in movements 9, 21, and 29, "Move the clouds, looking at the moon," in movement 56, "Fierce tiger glancing back," and in movement 114, "Circular step searching the sea."

The fourth and fifth techniques, to sink and to embrace are used together, which reflects the flare of the preying mantis sword. You can find it in movements 10, 22, 30, 52, 65, and 94, "Holding the moon next to your chest," and in movement 72, "Shelter ox looking at the moon."

The sixth technique is the stab. You can find this technique in movements 11, 23, and 31, "Golden needle searching the bottom of the sea," in movement 50, "Green dragon entering the sea," in movement 53, "Flood dragon cutting the moon," in movement 60, "Circular step, glance back at the sea," in movement 66, "Divide the gold searching the sea," in movement 73, "The red male phoenix gazing at the sky," in movement 78, "Turning the body, searching the sea," in movements 82, 90, and 105, "Circular step, searching the sea," in movement 95, "Divide the gold with straight stab," and in movement 126, "Entering step, searching the sea." There is also, the turnover standing stab (Fan Li Ci), found in movement 45, "Green dragon going out to sea," and in movements 48 and 97, "Ghost searching the sea again."

The seventh sword technique is to pluck, found in movement 18, "Bird's wings making a fan," and in movement 47, "Golden rooster stands on one leg."

The eighth technique is to point. Common used in this sword form is the "Downwards pointing sword" (Xia Dian Jian). It is found in movement 33, "Male and female phoenix nodding their heads," in movement 37, "Golden rooster peaks for rice," and in movement 70, "Turnover the body point to the head."

The ninth and tenth techniques of supporting and blocking are linked together, found in movement 44, "Block the sea with the golden beam," in movements 80, 87, 104, and 110, "White ape inquiring for directions," in movement 86, "Golden serpent hiding in the ground," and in the first part of movement 117, "Turning the body to chop right." The tenth technique called, "Standing block" (Li Jia), is found in movement 32, "Red male phoenix spreads its wings," in movements 51, 79, 102, and 121, "Young lad giving praise to Buddha," and in movement 96, "Golden rooster stands on one leg."

The eleventh sword technique is to smear, found in movement 55, "Horizontal rub one hundred times," in movement 75, "Bird swings and fans the river's waves," in movement 115, "Circular step searching the sea," and in movement 124, "Horizontal sweep cutting a thousand troops."

The twelfth technique is to clip, to attack downwards from the sides with the sword tip. This is found in movements 64 and 93, "Jade daughter throwing the kettle."

The thirteenth technique is to lift or to hang, found in movement 77, "Green dragon going out to sea."

The fourteenth and final sword technique is to press, found in movements 103 and 109, "Hiding golden needles downwards."

My teacher, David Cheng, enjoyed performing the ancient Chinese sword. In my opinion, he was top notch when it came to Chinese swordplay. He was fluid and agile, like the movements of a dragon. Very light on his feet, he loved to perform the Grand Ultimate Sword, the Lu Family Sword, the Continuous Winding Sword, the Bodhidarma Sword, the Midnight and Noon Sword, and the Green Phoenix Sword. Even though his swordplay was close to being flawless, he aways mentioned that his schoolmates back in Vietnam were better. He had so much humility, so much kindness, love, and skill in the martial arts. I still remember the last words of advice that he gave me, "I will first teach you to overcome me, then ... to overcome yourself."

Mahalo,
Professor Randy Choy
Founder of the Chinese Athletic Arts Academy
Advisor to the Hawaii Martial Arts International Society
Chuk Kai Tai Chi Praying Mantis Organization, Hawaii

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