II.
THE MEDIEVAL WEAPONS

2 - The Edged Arms

THE SWORD

(KIẾM)
劍

The Art of Sword

(Kiếm-Thuật)
劍術

       When we discuss about the Art of Sword from Đại-Việt, naturally we must tackle the Sword WIelding Art from China because we are in the same Martial Arts Culture. But as we don't share the same Martial Arts Concept, that why the Sword Wielding Art from Việt-Nam presents numerous different points as for the Sword wielding completely different. Martial Student of Vietnamese Traditional Martial Arts must know clearly this fact.

       I - The Art of Sword from Đại-Việt and from China

     The application in Cof various Sword holdings - let holdings be at right way called « Chánh-Thủ-Kiếm » as Chignon-shaped Holding (Loa-Bả 螺 把), Pincer-shaped Holding (Kiềm-Bả 鉗 把), Misleaded Holding - Ðiêu-Bả 刁 把, Leaned Holding (Áp-Bả 壓 把) or those at wrong way called « Phản-Thủ-Kiếm » as To Twirl (Luân 綸), To Wrap (Vân - 耘), To Pierce (Xuyên 穿), To Carve (Quái 劊), To Sweep (Tảo 掃) - is totally different from the one in Chinese Fencing.

       A - The Chinese Fencing go by the clear distinction between the both fields « Waiting Sword - Trạm-Kiếm - 站 劍 » and « Nonstop Sword - Hành-Kiếm - 行 劍 » ; that why it owns until 24 ways of Sword wielding :

       With the 24 ways of Sword wielding above, Chinese Fencing had a very high level and truthly rich in the pass.

        The sublimity of Chinese Fencing Art from bygonedays was having led Escrimeurs to own the Suprem Notion in the Metaphysical Philosophy concerning the Art of Sword from Transcendant Beings (劍 仙 Kiếm-Tiên). That's « Kiếm-Khí 劍 氣 - Sword becoming Vital Breath Khí », « Kiếm-Quang 劍 光 - Sword becoming Light », « Kiếm-Nhãn 劍 眼 - Sword becoming Look »...

       Quant à la richesse de l'Art de l'Epée de la Chine, elle fut due jadis au fait que toutes les Ecoles d'Escrime possédèrent la capacité de concevoir respectivement une Epée forgée pour l'Art de l'Epée spécifique de chacune de leur Ecole : les Epées des Ecoles réputées comme « l'Ecole d'Escrime Toàn-Chân 全 眞 », « l'Ecole d'Escrime Hoa-Sơn 花 山 », « l'Ecole d'Escrime Nga-Mi 峨 嵋 », « l'Ecole d'Escrime Không-Đông 崆 峒 », etc., furent toutes totalement différentes les unes des autres. Il suffit de les voir pour en distinguer le nom déclaré de chaque Ecole.

       In nowadays, with the development of China Wu-Shu Sportive Martial Arts, the most of commercial markets reserve in priority whole equipment for them, to find on these markets a precious Sword, forged in Welded Steel, allowing then to use efficiently the 24 ways of Sword wielding quoted above, isn't an easy thing.

       B - As for Đại-Việt Fencing, like Traditional Martial Arts of Bình-Định moreover, it's based on the « Elimination of Proxility principle in the name of Expurgation » (khứ vu tồn thanh) and on the « Deletion of the Complication principle in the name of Realization of SImplicity » (San Phồn Tựu Giản).
       It was forged by the Ancients on battle fields, in order for fighting the numerical superiority, acccording to the Martial Principle of « to use that is short for defeating that is long - to use that is is Soft for dominating that is Hard ».
       Therefore, the Traditional Fencing from Bình-Định (Việt-Nam) calls for only 12 ways of Sword wielding :

       With these 12 ways of Sword wielding quoted previously as well as their spécific application's way from Battlefields Martial Arts of Vietnameses, with a view to Defeating the Speed by the Slowness according to the Martial Principle of « to control the Disturbance by means of the Serenity », thus the Art of Sword from Đại-Việt cristallizes « Waiting Sword - Trạm-Kiếm - 站 劍 » and « Nonstop Sword - Hành-Kiếm - 行 劍 » in only one Art of Sword, that's the « Sword in Action - Tác-Dụng Kiếm - 作 用 劍 ».

       We only have to compare Codified Sequences in Đại-Việt Fencing as « Trường-Kiếm » (長 劍), « Long-Môn-Kiếm » (龍 門 劍), « Độc-Long-Kiếm » (獨 龍 劍), or « Long-Vân Kiếm » (龍 雲 劍) with those in Chinese Fencing as « Đạt-Ma Kiếm » (达摩 劍), « Thái-Cực-Kiếm » (大 極 劍), « Ngũ-Hành-Kiếm » (五 行 劍), or « Long-Hành Kiếm » (龍 行 劍) to be clear in one's mind about it.

Martial Students from Bình-Định Sa-Long-Cương School System was training for duel with Fencing Art
in the Tradition of Battlefields Martial Arts.

      Throughout so much of vicissitudes of History, the Sword Art Wielding from Việt-Nam becomes a discipline too few interested by people.

      At the time of the Resistance War againts Frenchies, in Bình-Định, the Old Grand-Master PHẠM-Hiếu father of our Grand-Master PHẠM-Thi, had forged 12 techniques of Martial Arts Lineage from Commander PHẠM-Tường for teaching to North-Vietnameses Armies and that the last one having still learned was the late Master Hà-Trọng-Sơn. However this Master didn't specialize in the Sword Art Wielding but in the Kick Boxing on Ring.

       At the time of Việt-US War, the country was divided into two nations, in South Việt-Nam there were only 3 Old Masters who realy handed down the Art of Fencing. That were :
              1 - Old Master Phi-Sơn-Hải (vô-địch Kiếm-Thuật Việt-Nam at Hà-Nội on 1937), who teached the Sword Art Wielding in his Drill Hall at Yên-Đỗ Street. He was the unique man having proposed to President Ngô-Đình-Diệm and having formuled the request to teach the Sword Art to South-Vietnam armies in order to thwart the scimitar wielding of North-Vietnam combatants, but his suggestion was refused ;
              2 - Old Master Lê Văn Kiển (alias Tám Kiển) who teached the Sword Art Wielding at the Sports Club Sân Vận-Động at the Phan-Đình-Phùng street ;
                 3 - Old Master Trương-Thanh-Đăng (founder of Sa-Long-Cương Martial Arts System School) who teached the Sword Art Wielding in his Drill Hall at Nguyễn-Cư-Trinh street.

       These divergent aspects, between the Fencing Art from Đại-Việt and the one of China, have been founded by the war and for the war. If Martial Arts of Vietnamese Ancestors imitated by plagiarizing those of China, then how could them be able to fighting their invaders armies numerically well superior, in the times when Martial Arts were esential ?       

       Beyond of what is quoted above, the Art of Sword from Đại-Việt and the one from China own in spite of all, common points in the Litterary Culture in general and in Martial Culture in particuliar. And it exists two main points in the Art of Sword whom Codified Sequences from these two countries are the well obvious proof. Since the old times, Đại-Việt and China have always :
       1) - considered the Dragon as a Symbol for the Sword Edged Blade ;
       2) - conserved the « Sword Thrust and the Sword Cut » in the respective sword wielding.

       That's neither the case of the Fencing Art in Occident who has abandoned completly the « Sword Cut » in favor of the « Sword Thrust », nor the case of Japan who, in contrario, gives priority to the « Sword Cut » (Suburi) to the detriment of the « Sword Thrust » (Tsuki).

     So, we arrive the point where we need to talk about the Fencing Art from Italia and France in Occident and the one from Japan in Orient.

       II - The Art of Sword from Italia and France

          The Fencing Art from Italia and France in Occident, after having been developped untill supreme level, it became an International Sport very inside the Olympic Games.

          With Eight Ways to hold the Sword according to the anatomy of the wrist : « Prime, Seconde, Tierce, Quarte, Quinte, Sixte, Septime, and Octave », Italians and Frenchmen in Europe have perfected their Medieval Fencing into a very high level in 17th centurie throughout the using of a kind of Sword called « Rapière ».

          Later, the Fencing Art of Europe didn't cease to perfect oneself, and a category of new Sword was invented under the name of « Fleuret », shorter and lighter than the « Rapière », in order to training for and making research on the Xiphonomy or Fencing Art.

          Then about from the late 18th centurie to the early 19th centurie, the European Fencing Art reached a supreme level never still reached. that's there the period where appeared renamed Fencing Masters among whom we must quote :

          - Italian Masters Parise Masaniello - (1850 -1910), considered the "father of Italian fencing.", Nadi Aldo - (1899 - 1965) who was the undefeated European champion for 12 years in a row, one of the greatest Swordsman of all times, Santelli Italo – (1871 – 1945) considered one of the greatest of modern Fencing Masters ;

          - and French Fencing Masters as Louis Justin Lafaugère (1782-1856), the talentuous Master of the Royal Guard's Hussards, Jean Louis Michel (1785-1865), the invincible Master in Europe, settled in Montpellier, where he founded what became the most famous Fencing School, and A.J.J. Posselier, celebrious under the name of "Gomard", the renamed Master of the King's Grey Mousquetaires.
          Among these Three French Fencing Masters, it's truthly regrettable that Master Jean Louis Michel (1785-1865) didn't write a book on the Sword wielding in order to make know to the world about his exceptional Fencing Lunges, but only the Master Lafaugère has written a Treatise on Fencing (1825) for explaining and teaching the 12,500 Coups & Bottes from his School and the Master Gomard has written a Book on Fencing Theory (1845) for handing down to the posterity the 336 Coups & Bottes from his School, carefully studied, analyzed and defined.

          Italians and Frenchmen in Europe, after having developped their Fencing art untill suprem level, have transformed it to an International Sport in Olympic Games, and since then, their Fencing Art full of virtuosity and subtleties, was became a kind of Fencing which doesn't still deserve his name declaimed.

       III - The Art of Sword from Japan

          The Japanese Fencing Art associeted to the so edged Sabre-Gươm called « Katana », originating from marvellous smithing technology of welded steel swords from the TANG Dynasty (618~907 AD) period, is nowadays renamed in all five continents and four oceans. That's here a cultural phenomenon and not a sportive fact like the Occidental Fencing is.

         Throughout the Three particular Movements concerning : 1. Nukitsuke (Bạt-Kiếm 拔 劍 - To Draw the Sword), 2. Chuburi ( 血振 Huyết-Chấn - To Shake for taking the Blood away the Sword) and 3. Noto ( 納刀 Nạp-Đao - To Sheathe the Sword), The Japanese Fencing has intensified the epic, dynamic and esthetic lines of the precious Sword that the Ancients has beaquated the Art of forging it.

         And throughout the Movements Kamae with Five kinds of fondamental Guards (1. Seigan, 2. Hasso, 3. Jodan, 4. Gedan, 5. Waki) and the Movements Kiritsuke with Seven Lunges of Cut (1. Shomen Uchi, 2. Migi Kesagiri, 3. Jidari Kesa Giri, 4. Migi Yoko-Guruma, 5. Hidari Yoko-Guruma, 6. Migi Gyaku Kesagiri, 7. Kidai Gyaku kesagiri) and One Lunge of Thrust (Tsuki) the Japanese Fencing has offered to the world a source of concise pedagogy from the ancient Far-East Culture which has been already conserved, as it has divulged to the world the precious Esotéric Formula from the Far-East « The Vital Breath, the Sword and the Body Unified in the same One Spirit » (Kikentai no ichi 気剣体の一) as well as it has raised the Sword wielding to the rank of a Spiritual Way.

                Effectively, in the early 17th century, the Master Naganuma Shiro invented the Bamboo Sword "Shinai " and the Training Armour "Bogu " so that Fencing Students can to train for in whole security, instead of to use Wooden Swords "Bokken" and Steel Sword Katana". This equipment has aided Fencing Students to pass from Fencing's Study with the Killing Sabre (Setsuninto 殺人刀) into the Fencing's Study with Alive Man Sword (katsuninken 活人劍 剣).

         Then in 1912, the Japan has raised his Art of the Sword (劍 術 Kenjutsu Kiếm-Thuật) to the rank of a Spiritual Way and officially changed it in Way of the Sword (劍 術 Kendo Kiếm-Đạo) with the divulgation of Codified Sequences "Katas" for the Kendo (Nihon Kendo no Kata).

         The International Federation of Kendo (FIK), whom the head office is in Tokyo at the Japanese Federation ZNKR (Zen-Nihon-Kendo-Renmei or All-Japan-Kendo-Federation), has been created in 1970 by 17 countries and founders federations. In 2006, the FIK counted 47 members. It has for goal the international development of the kendo and associated disciplines « Iaidō » (居合道 Cư-Hiệp Đạo) and « Jōdō » (杖道 Trượng Đạo).         

• Discussion about the Sword

• Discussion about the Fencing Art

• Discussion about the Unique Sword Wielding

• Discussion about the Two Matched Swords

• Discussion about the Two Matched Swords Wielding