Wudang Blog

The difference in the traditional way is the quality of tailoring.

Experience is important when tailoring clothing for western people. Since there is a lot of difference in proportions and sizes when it comes to western people. The most common problems for beginner tailors with western people are: "long or too short pants or sleeves, wrong collar sizes or shirt lengths." With your measurements Wudang Store tailors real Taoist and Tai Chi clothing that truly fit you! We stand for affordable high quality and custom tailored Taoist and Tai Chi clothing. Every part of clothing has its problem parts. Some areas might last shorter than others. If considered correctly the clothing overall will last very long without breaking. It is important to understand this to get the best quality and the most function from every part of clothing. The traditional way of tailoring is not easy.

Wudang Store mostly uses natural Material with natural coloring. The fabrics are not heavy chemical colored, this maintains the durability of each fabric. But if you expose our natural fabric to a lot of sunlight the colors might weaken. To our natural fabrics we have: "Hemp, Bamboo, Linen, Cotton, Sheep Wool, Silk" Most of this materials are woven by hand. You can see the difference on each fabric line. The lines are not 100% the same like machine woven. Our natural materials are 100% non allergic, antibacterial and skin friendly. Doesn't smell and will not shrink when washed.

Introduction to Baguazhang

The Chinese word Baguazhang, when broken down by character, literally translates to 'Eight Trigram Palm'. The style derives its name and history from the Chinese book of divination, the Yi Jing, or 'The Book of Changes'. Baguazhang derives much of its practice from Taoist ritualistic circle walking and theory. Its practice and application is based on the principles and theories of the Yi Jing, Yin Yang Theory, and Five Element Theory. Baguazhang is one of the internal styles taught at the academy and can be characterized by its main foundation building training known as Bagua circle walking, major use of the palm and fingers for striking, and indirect circular attacks.

Health Benefits of Practicing Baguazhang

The basic practices of walking the Bagua circle and standing in the different still postures of Bagua can be greatly beneficial to one’s overall health.Walking the Bagua circle can help with strengthening the legs as well as promoting better joint mobility, flexibility and circulation in the lower body and establishing a greater sense of balance in the lower body. Because Bagua walking relies on constant movement for correct practice, this also engages the lungs for deeper respiration which can be greatly beneficial for strengthening the lungs as well as aerobic exercise for those looking to lose weight.

The Practice

As circle walking is the major foundation building component of Baguazhang training, students who train in Baguazhang must practice Bagua walking continuously. Once a student becomes comfortable with circle walking, they can then move on to learn the different palm changes that comprise the Bagua form. Baguazhang contains a variety of different techniques in application, utilizing the palm, fingers, elbows, quick, evasive footwork, kicks, joint locking, take downs, etc.An accomplished practitioner of Baguazhang can adapt their body to many different movements in striking postures and methods of attack as their body and intention has been trained to be stronger, adaptable, quick, sensitive, and fluid with improved coordination; developing a fluidity of motion that allows for adaptability much like water in a creak swimming around rocks. Fighting application of Baguazhang has been described as flying like a dragon, guarding like an ape, crouching like a tiger, and circling like an eagle. There also is a giant Saber called Bagua Dao which is used for exercising the Baguazhang movements.

Our store is selling only hand forged swords which are forged by Masters in the Wudang region. Before buying the most important thing to consider is the purpose of the sword you want to buy. Depending on the purpose the maintenance, which is needed for the sword, can vary a lot.

This Guide is focusing on easy understanding and helping you to decide which kind of sword is for you.

Should I use a stiff or flexible blade?

The balance of stiff blades is more on the head, while flexible blades tend to have the balance closer to the hilt. There are also semi flexible blades which still feel good in balance but wont bounce around as much as full flexible blades do. For Kung Fu performances you mostly want a flexible blade, since the power and stability of your movements can be measured and shown through your flexible blade. For Tai Chi you might want a semi flexible or stiff blade. With a stiff blade the fluid movements of Tai Chi feel very good and give you a stable sense of direction during your exercise.

The most used types of steel for our swords

• Chrome steel, sometimes called stainless steel has a lot of chrome content which is protecting the sword against natural corrosion. Stainless steel is never 100% rust proof, but does have a higher rust resistance depending on the chrome content. More chrome means more resistance but also will make the steel softer and less durable. Stainless steel is NEVER made for cutting. The chrome steel shines with the small amount of maintenance time needed. To keep chrome steel healthy simply wipe it with a dry towel or cloth. Be sure to clean it from salty sweat or other acid containing substances after each practice. Chrome steel is fine for performances and daily training. You can identify chrome steel by its grey color and if the quality is high also mirror polishing is possible.
• Carbon Steel can vary a lot depending on tempering and quality. Sometimes it is the cheapest steel if the tempering is missing or the quality of the steel is not good. Our swords use normally the expensive high carbon steel. which is a more advanced version of the normal carbon steel and has slightly more carbon content. With more carbon content the steel will become harder, but at the same time the rust resistance is lower. To make up for this we always temper our high carbon steel blades and give them the proper polishing which is needed for a fine sword. With polishing the steel surface becomes small and so the area where rust can attack is smaller. This makes maintenance easier and more resistant to rust. If the maintenance comes to late and you find rust on your carbon blade, please go to a proper smith to let him polish it for you. If you try to polish the rust away yourself, you will ruin the tempering and polishing. Our traditional swords are polished in multiple layers and the tempering is the soul of every sword. We highly recommend to bring the sword to a proper smith if the blade is damaged or rusty. Our high carbon steel makes fine cutting swords. You can identify high carbon steel of its clear surface. Instead of grey color, the carbon steel looks white and shiny like a mirror. High carbon steel needs the most maintenance time, and should be maintained right after usage.
• Manganese Steel is the new technology and is mostly used in industry or heavy duty tools. Compared to high carbon steel, the manganese steel can be much cheaper with the same hardness properties. Manganese has more resistance to rust compared to carbon, but still needs proper maintenance. Manganese steel is hard enough to cut iron nails without being scratched. The properties of manganese steel are perfect for heavy duty cutting. Manganese steel is in most ways superior to carbon steel. Only the highest quality of high carbon steel and the finest forging could still be superior to a manganese blade.

What is the correct length for my sword?

If held in reverse grip at your side it should come to your ear. There is no must be when it comes to sword length. Usually if you like to leave a stronger impression in your performances, you might want a longer sword. But longer swords need more control and are usually slower in turning than shorter swords. Shorter swords are easier to balance. Longer swords need more attention in proper balancing. Wudang Store is making the job here for you, we check every sword before selling and the balance is always very good. Two handed swords have a proper length when they reach above your head. Single handed swords should not be longer than your head when held in reverse grip at your side.

What do i need for maintaining my blade?

If you have a chrome steel blade you dont have to worry much, only wipe once in a while after touching or training with a simple dry tissue or a piece of cloth.

These rules are important:

"Silk reeling" - the name refers to any of a large number of exercises in which the object is to move your hands in a repeating pattern very evenly, with no jerking or variation in speed.

The name comes from literally reeling silk off the cocoons of silkworms, a task traditionally done by young girls. If you pull too hard or unevenly, the silk thread breaks. Short silk threads were worth much less than long ones, so the movement must be done very smooth and evenly, same as in Tai Chi.

Silk Reeling is a distinct feature of Wudang Tai Chi and Chen Style Tai Chi, referring to continuous rounded and spiral movements utilising the whole body and limbs on top of the regular move from point A to point B.

Basically it means that power does not transfer in a linear fashion but it coils and spirals along the limbs. Thus there are two directions (clockwise & anti-clockwise).

Crescent Moon Knives (Chinese: 鸳鸯钺; pinyin: Yuānyāngyuè), are Chinese bladed weapons consisting of two steel crescents crossing. They are used in Chinese martial arts. This crossing produces four curved, claw-like points, one of which is extended as the “main” blade. The practitioner grips the wrapped middle of the lengthened crescent with the other acting as a hand guard. Relatively short weapons that were easily concealable in traditional Chinese clothing, they are usually trained in pairs, one for each hand.

The origin of the Monk Spade

A monk’s spade (Traditional Chinese: 月牙鏟; Simplified Chinese: 月牙铲; pinyin: yuèyáchǎn; literally “Crescent Moon Spade”; also, Traditional Chinese: 禪仗; Simplified Chinese: 禅仗; pinyin: chánzhàng; literally, “Zen Weapon”. Romanized Japanese: getsugasan, Hiragana: げつがさん), also called a Shaolin Spade, is a Chinese pole weapon consisting of a long pole with a flat spade-like blade on one end and a smaller crescent shaped blade on the other. In old China, Buddhist monks often carried spades (shovels) with them when travelling. This served two purposes: if they came upon a corpse on the road, they could properly bury it with Buddhist rites, and the large implement could serve as a weapon for defense against bandits. Over time, they were stylised into the monk’s spade weapon.

The Monk Spade as Taoist weapon

The Wudang Mountains are located right next to the small city Wudangshan, where our tailor is working with his wife in their own atelier, every piece of clothing he tailors is made accordingly to traditional ancient Chinese standards, the materials he is using are of natural fiber - a special combination of cotton and linen material, which was used by tai chi masters and students long time ago in Old China, so it is until now. Each taoist garment and tai chi uniform ordered from our store you can be sure is made by hand up to your exact body size using best materials possible. 

Wudang-Store is supported by local taoists in Wudangshan, since we opened our store in year 2012 we have happy customers only, because to find a better quality is simply not possible in whole China nor the internet.

On the picture below is the inner life of the working place of our tailor Lou He Hua

When I visited our tailor Lou He Hua I made few pictures of the view outside his atelier, those are rare pictures of Wudangshan, because since now it is forbidden by the Hubei province government selling vegetables from the ground and street food in the Wudang Mountains area.

Now everybody has the opportunity to buy a Tai Chi Uniform directly from Wudang online in our Online Shop.

The hook sword, twin hooks, fu tao or shuang gou also known as hu tou gou (tiger head hook) is a Chinese weapon traditionally associated with northern styles of Chinese martial arts and Wushu weapons routines, but now often practiced by southern styles as well.
Reliable information on hook swords is difficult to come by. While sometimes called an ancient weapon and described as dating from the Song dynasty to Warring States or even earlier, most antique examples and artistic depictions are from the late Qing era or later, suggesting that they are actually a comparatively recent design. They were also an exclusively civilian weapon, appearing in none of the official listings of Chinese armaments. Surviving sharpened examples point to actual use as weapons, but their rarity, and the training necessary to use them, strongly suggest that they were only rarely used as such.
Also known as "tiger hook swords" or qian kun ri yue dao (literally "Heaven and Earth, Sun and Moon sword"), these weapons have a blade similar to that of the jian, though possibly thicker or unsharpened, with a prong or hook (similar to a shepherd's crook) near the tip. Guards are substantial, in the style of butterfly swords. Often used in pairs, the hooks of the weapons may be used to trap or deflect other weapons.

There are five components to the Twin Hook Sword:

• The back, which is used as a regular sword.
• The hook, which is used to trip enemies, catch weapons and for slashing.
• The end of the hilt, which is sharpened.
• The crescent guard, which is used for blocking and slashing.
• The link, which is used when using a pair. The two hooks can loosely connect, and the wielder swings one hook sword, in a way that the second is extended further out, almost six feet. While the second is in the air, the dagger upon the hilt slashes the target. In this way, the wielder can extend their reach out from three feet to six.

Routines for hook swords are taught in such northern schools as Northern Shaolin and Seven-Star Mantis, and in some schools of southern arts such as Choy Lay Fut. Modern routines for hook swords are often very flashy, and may involve techniques such as linking paired weapons and wielding them as a single long, flexible weapon. Most routines are single person. Some schools of Baguazhang also teach a similar weapon, often called "deer horn knives" or "Mandarin duck knives." These weapons typically feature a much shorter or entirely missing main hook, and instead focus on the various cutting and stabbing blades arranged around the guard. Because of the various protrusions and the high possibility for accidental hooking or stabbing, they are almost never used in sparring, and are used sparingly in two person routines. Check out our Double Hook Swords Selection at the Wudang Store.

Fu Chen is a soft weapon originally used by Taoists for their travels designed to whisk away flies and mosquitos. Later generations have created the Fuchen form performed with a Horsehair Whisk.

The use of the Fuchen as a martial arts weapon was popularized by the Wudang Daoist Monks. They brought the whisk to its current level of notoriety especially given that many lay people believed it to be the only thing the Wandering Monks had available to protect themselves while out on their pilgrimage for acceptance by their masters. In actual fact, one of the other things the Wandering Monks were given when leaving the temple was a sword, so it can safely be assumed they would have used both weapons for self-defense if required. Wudang Fuchen is a weapon that truly combines the Yin and the Yang, with a hard handle and a soft tail. A weapon that on its shaft has one end rounded and the other end mounted with a conical metal tip hidden under its tail.

The movements of this form are made up of dusting, sweeping and picking. This weapon looks very soft and gentle but is extremely hard and strong for the opponent. The Horsehair Whisk or Fuchen is a special Taoist weapon. There is a saying: “The person who holds the Fuchen is not an ordinary person.” In Taoism, the Fuchen is for those who want to study seriously.

The Fuchen is essentially a whisk made by binding the hair from a horse’s tail to a long wooden handle. Throughout Chinese history the Fuchen has come in many guises from being as simple as palm fibers bound to Smilax root, through to the use of a variety of animal hairs including Yak, being bound with hemp onto a wooden shaft. The most luxurious and expensive were of course the whisks combining unusually colored horse hair with handles made from things such as Cinnabar, Ivory, Mahogany, Sandalwood and Ebony.

A long time ago, the Taoist temple was very serious in finding students. Usually, the Taoist master takes a long period of time to test and observe a disciple, after which the master will especially choose him for deeper teachings. Usually, a disciple will do simple work in the first three years, and learn some basic skills about Tao and kung fu, during which time, the master is still testing and observing the disciple’s patience. After 3 years of testing is complete, the master throws a ceremony to show his acceptance of a real disciple. Then the master allows the disciple leave to travel and study more, but he is worried the disciple will be tempted by many things and will not return. Therefore, before the disciple leaves, the master gives him a few things to remind him. One of these things: 1. a red belt (3.3 feet means to tame the mind) for this time period, he has to be serious and keep his mind at peace. 2. the Fu Chen, during his travels, befriend good people and help others. If he is enamored with something and is tempted to return to society, he must whisk away these ideas, like the Fu Chen. 3. the sword. If he has lost his way and has lost himself, the disciple remembers that his master has given him the sword to cut away these ideas, so that he may continue on his path. After 3 years of traveling and studying, he returns and the master sees that he has enough patience and steadfastness to live a lifetime at the temple, to learn the Dao, and finally for the master to teach him how to be immortal.

The Fuchen style is one of the soft weapon styles. wrapping and pulling, snapping, whisking, poking, sweeping, etc. It can be used like the broadsword, straight sword, scourge, and dart weapons. When you practice the Fuchen, your movements must be in tune with your intention, your intention must be in tune with your Qi, and your Qi must be in tune with your Shen. Its movements are smooth like the wind and flowing like water.