Well...the story goes like this.  Sensei Roy Kauffroath, known in the Northwest for his skills in handcrafting practice weapons, saw fit to present me with a Chinese Broadsword.  As he often does, he created the weapon from pieces of scrap, and odds and ends from thrift shops.  The blade, as is his custom, was ground from raw metal stock, until it took the shape he envisioned for its recipient.

The price for one of these treasures?

In Sensei Roy’s own words, “You owe me a Kata!”

Singing Crane was my payment in full.  It is based partly on Anyo Tres, an Arnis form created by David Bird.  It also takes inspiration from White Lotus Sword, as well as from the empty hand forms of Hap Ki Do.  So, as you might imagine, learning this form covers a lot of turf.

The broad sword has its own lexicon of movement.  The weight is at the end, so it hits much harder than a straight sword.  It’s a bit like swinging a baseball bat with one hand.  Because of the momentum generated, the quick starts and stops of knife and sword fighting are all but impossible.  Flow must be incorporated into every swing of the sword.  The end of each move flows into the possibility of another.

Check it out!  See what it can add to your art!

We apologize for the poor quality of the video below.  This has been extracted from dated archives which were degraded and of poor quality.  Currently, this is the best clip available.  We share it in that spirit, believing it better to show what we have than to use nothing.