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n Great to Springint ummer HIGHFIVE PLEASEDON'T TAKE IT TOTHE EXTREME Gymand FitnessTips for Newbies NTERVIEW By Antoniodel Sexipantalones ELL The Modern CuttingEdge of AncientChinese Arts By RuebenMarley ISSN 1005-9644 HOTSPOT NEPAL- BAGKAGAIN! llilililJ[illlffiLil[il]nittn By TanSiew Yim SC(ITTR(IDELL TheModem Cutting Edge of AncientChinese Arts BY RUEBENMARLEY

've been luckyenough to sharea Thesedays everybodywants to be a teacher. coupleof hours,talking to a world- Nobodywants to be a studentany more.Scott classkung-fu master. He's also a pausesfor the briefestof moments,to convey globallyrecognized expert who specializesin the gravityof the situation,as he expresses the study of traditionalChinese swords. He's his frustrationat the lost art of craftingpracti- the Center Directorof the Great RiverTaoist cal, historicallyaccurate, Center(GRTC), which has been providingall and effective swords in 'He mannerof martialarts training to studentsliving china.when I asked explores other related in the greaterWashington D.C. areafor nearly whythis is thecase, he forms of martial artS, like terriblyuninformed 30 years.There are five other GRTC centers aroundthe world,from San Franciscoto Rus- ff#H:'ii#"il3n[: Man'chuarchery, in his spare ::,"'iffil"."*Xil: sia. He has spenta very impressiveproportion problems in the world time. He's also in search of who is seriousabout it,the sword of hislife traveling to countriesaround the world, today is that sometimes the best manUfaCtUrer Of the learning to teach,and to be taught,by martialartists from peoplejust becomeway all walksof life.He's also got about20 yearsof toosuccessfut in tisht of Chinese jian.' fi", H:t;"#:H:: Taijiquanexperience under legendarymasters their endeavors,robbing lightly,and Scott lays Wang Yen-nien,T.T. Liang, and WilliamC.C. the wholeexperience of any disciplineor pas- thegroundwork for me.People fail to understand Chen. sion that was the reasonfor the journeyin the the oneswho cameup withthis stuff didn't do it first place.Scott recalls a teacherhe once had becauseit wasfun. or therapeutic.lt was a mat- Andwhere music is concerned,he's a bigfan of who sharedinsight that remains with himto this ter of lifeor deathfor them.They were undera The Ramones,which for me, instantlybrought day.How can you callyourself a teacher,unless militarystructure, and they probablydidn't even everythingfull circle,and into perspective.Af- you'reat least50 yearsold? You haven'teven want to learnany of it, but it was the only way ter all, mostof us can'tsay that we are skilled lived half your life and you're trying to teach to preventland takeovers, invasions, and other swordsmen,but almost everyone can hum a few somethingbefore then? He laughs,and con- issuesthe peopleof that time had to contend barsfrom. "l WannaBe Sedated." tinuesmaking his pointby askingme if I would with. So they had to learn it, and it's easy for ratherlearn piano from a teacherwho spentsix us to forgetthat when we're practicingthe arts Contraryto what many people think, Scott weeksdoing intensivetraining, or from some- for our own personalpleasure. A lot of people Rodelldoesn't adhere to the imaginaryHolly- bodywho spentyears training at Juilliard.For believethat the ancientswere all equippedwith wood-moviekung-fu master's daily schedule of me, it'sa no-brainer:I want the best.Of course, swordsand otherweapons, which is ridiculous risingbefore daybreak, so that he can perform I'mnot dealing with something requiring the kind if you look at it from a realisticpoint of view. hisforms atop a craggycliff. He's way too busy offocusswords do, but as a devoteeof high-cal- Most Chinesevillagers could barelyafford to for thatstuff, given his lifelongpursuit of knowl- iber kitchencutlery | can appreciatewhat he's buyclothing during ancient times. Metals were edge. He's on a mission,and his life's goals tryingto say.When it comesdown to it: quality expensiveand amassinga cache of swords have not quitebeen realizedyet. As a father, counts. wasn'teconomically viable for a villageof fisher- he enthusiasticallysupports his son's martial men or farmers.lt's like an averageAmerican arts training,and attendsintense foil and epee There'sactually one majorproblem in the world barelymaking a living,earning minimum wage, fencingmatches to cheerhis youngprodigy on. of martialarts today,continues Scott, and be- andsuddenly buying a customizedmatch-grade He exploresother related forms of martialarts, causeof it, it'svery hardto stampout inconsis- targetpistol, just so thathe cansay he hasone. likeManchu archery, in hisspare time. He's also tencies.The phenomenonof Saturdaymorning Notgonna happen, quips Scott. in searchof the best manufacturerof the Chi- cartoonsas historylessons prevails, and has er- nesejian - the traditionalsword from the Tang roneouslyshaped our notion of whatlife was like So here'smy Big Questionfor Scott:Why Chi- and SongDynasties - and he'sstill not satisfied for theancients, which can be prettyfunny if you neseswords? Aren't Japanese swords the onlv with what he's found. Here'san excerptfrom thinkabout it. Swordsand swordfighting have gamein town? our conversation,about his quest for a Chinese- beena part of modern-dayentertainment ever madeblade that cuts the mustard. sincethe movingpicture became fashionable; Scottlaughs and sayshe couldalways just give and ever since then, there have been some the cannedresponse, saying it was simplyfate.

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He was alwaysinterested in Japanese swords,but while in college,he found an inspirationalTaiji teacher who gave him somethingnew to thinkabout as he was introducedto the weaponsof Taiji.This andthat he shouldjust give it up.Scott listened sparkeda very deep interestin Scott,back in numberof swordenthusiasts and expertswho to theirfeedback. In the end, he developeda the early1980's. He was reallyexcited to find are reallypracticing and learningwith the real techniquethat cuts as cleanlyas anyJapanese out he waslearning something not very widely thingsis growingrapidly around the world. This sword,even while using a one-handedmethod, known.lt wasenough to makehim want to be- is good,because better products in the market andall while wielding a Chineseclassical sword! come moreproficient with the mysteriesof the willbe the ultimate result. The ensuingeruption in the worldof swordand Chinesesword. His hardwork eventually paid martialarts practitioners made him something of off, becauseone of his favoriteteachers gave To understandthe future,it's importantto know a localhero for the Chinesewho were manufac- himsome advanced training, teaching him dan- the past.Japanese sword making is a process turingblades at the time.lt was recognizedas gerouscutting moves with the Chinesesword. thatcame from China, and during the Tang Dy- a breakthroughin modernswordsmanship, be- It wassomething he nevertaught anyone else. nastythere were lots of refinementsmade to this causethere weren't any other people doing it at I interruptScott to ask if his intensityas a stu- processoutside the mainlandto adaptto thesoil all.However, while Scott's discovery was lauded dentwas to creditfor the secretshe wastaught, conditionsin Japan.There is a moresandy and as a directchallenge to tried-andtrueJapanese butScott sums up hislifetime of trainingbluntly, lower-oresubstrate in Japan,which requiresa techniques,he refusesto sayone is betterthan sayinghe wouldhave gotten far with any other specialmethod to producesteel which can sat- the other.A cut is eithera bad one or a oood form of martialarts, becauseit was something isfactorilymanufacture swords that are combat- one;life or death. he wasjust going to do with his life,irrespective worthy.In China,the materials are far superiorin of the style. termsof orecontent in thesoil, and the resulting What'sthe future of China'ssword industry? metalsmade, even during ancient times, was Scott eventuallywent straightto the source- far more resilientand tougherthan Japanese Thereare reallyonly two kindsof swordsin the China- as he wanteda moreintimate look into swords.Jaoanese swords tend to be knownfor world.In the industry,they're what people in the what makesChinese culture so unique,and to breakingunder extreme stress, while Chinese know call SLO's, or Sword-likeObjects. The take his practiceeven further than he couldfrom swordsare knownfor bending.Scott chimes in, Chineseare gettinga lot betterabout this, be- home.lt wasn'talways easy, but for Scott,giv- "l don'tknow about you, but I wouldrather have causefor the longesttime it wasjust shiny and ing up wasn'tan option.His personality quickly a swordbend than break during a fight!" prettydesigns that resembledswords, but you madehim a sortof lonesomestranger who was weresupposed tojust hang on a walland show talkinga lotof nonsenseabout cutting with Chi- You can learn more about Scott and the GRTC bv visit- off.Those decorative swords are madeby look- neseswords. At thetime, the world's consensus ing : http ://www. grtc. org ingat a picture,and copying the image, without seemedto be that onlyJapanese swords were anypractical experience in handlingthem. All of Look some of Scoft'sbooks, to discover more: effectiveas cuttingweapons, but he continued for thatis finallychanging now, but very slowly. Of (2008) A Practical Guide to TestCutting Historical honingand promoting his skills, until they gained for course,the customersare reallythe motivating Swordsmanship the attentionof his peers.He even drew a lot factorbehind what the expected levels of quality (2003) Chinese Swordsmanship: The YangFamily Taiji of pointedcriticism from Japaneseswordsmen willbe" lf peopledon't expect good swords, then Jian Tradition who felt his cuttingtechniques were not worthy, bad swordswill be the result.Fortunatelv. the (1991) Taiji Notebook for Martial Artists