[OT] Can a chineese dao sabre go against armor?

[zdanboy]

I plan on buying a dao sabre. It is a chineese type of sabre, often used in kung fu and other chineese martial arts. My kung fu sifu plans on teaching me how to wield it...

A question: I plan to spar against a armored person. How such a sabre is going to do against them? (the type of armor is breastplate)

2nd question: How good will do against a sword? Is it capable of blocking it?

And 3rd: Could ya post a image of such a sabre? My sifu explained it to me how it looks, but i would like to see it myself....

Thanks!

 

[Tsyr]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=724856180

As for going against a (steel I presume) breastplate... Ehh... That wasn't really what single-handed curved blades were intended for, no. Against other swords... Well... As good as any sword. It wouldn't be my first choice of weapon, but it would work.

 

[Synicism]

I plan on buying a dao sabre. It is a chineese type of sabre, often used in kung fu and other chineese martial arts. My kung fu sifu plans on teaching me how to wield it... A question: I plan to spar against a armored person. How such a sabre is going to do against them? (the type of armor is breastplate) 2nd question: How good will do against a sword? Is it capable of blocking it?

Are you planning on buying a combat-grade weapon here? If so, I don't recommend sparring against someone with it. They make practice weapons for that.

A real sword of any kind is usually pretty ineffective against steel plate armor. That's why the mace and the lance what knights used against each other. A heavy mace could buckle the plates and crush it. A good lance would go right through. A sword is liable to bounce right off.

As far as using it against a sword, if you know how to wield it, it'll be an effective weapon. If you don't, it won't. With enough practice, you'll learn to defend against other weapons and to attack points that aren't covered by steel plates.

 

[olethros]

If the type of armor is the breastplate you just cut their arms and legs. Upward slash to the groin, stab to the head. Smash the butt of the sword on their temple. This isn't kendo, so you can hit all the down and dirty bits. Against plate armor....go get a Kwan Do (Guan Do) or some big polearm or just run away. Take the broadsword and roll underneath the horse, slashing at the horses belly and/or legs. Then run away. A knight in plate armor shouldn't be able to run very fast.

How good will it do against a sword?

What kind of sword? And asian sword, a western sword? Are we talking a katana here, or european broadsword, or another dao? I'm pretty sure that in the old days, dao were a dime a dozen so it didn't matter if your sword got nicked up from blocking. you just picked up another one and kept on hacking.

 

[zdanboy]

Big correction!

The sabre I actually plan on buying/making (I want a custom made one) is a dadao. It looks like this:

Now, with that will a be able to go against heavier armors? Or should stick to the bastard sword?

to olethros: The sword it will be used against is a a european bastard sword/broadsword....

 

[MerakSpielman]

I can't help it, but I just have to ask...

Why do you need a weapon that can penetrate plate armor? Is it just in case somebody wearing plate happens to attack you? If it is a planned spar, are you really trying to hurt them?

 

[olethros]

Firstly, that "dadao" is not a traditional chinese weapon. It looks like a shorter version of the long handled braodsword (also know as horse-chopping sword). That picture looks like something someone made up to look vaguely oriental.

As for dao vs. European heavy swords....
I'd have to say that you'd want to get in close. There's alot of Dao offensive and efensive movements that are meant to be in nice and close to the body. Nice swirly slashing moves. I'd use my mobility to get in close where the larger sword would have a hard time moving about. Don't block head on, but try to angle the dao so that the larger sowrds glance off it to minimize damage to your sword. Also be ready to parry thrusts. I just got done reading a book on European sword play and it seems there was always a big emphasis placed on stabbing rather than slashing.

Oh yeah, punch and kick too. I'd be wailing out with my fists and feet as much as possible. Trip that guy in the heavy armor and then dance aorund his head, taunting all the way...

 

[zdanboy]

olethros: Ok, if that is not a dadao then what is? I know such a thing exists, maybe it's just called diffrently. If ya could post some links to pictures or pictures, that would be very helpful...

Also what is the Kwan Do you mentioned?

 

[Umbran]

MerakSpielman is correct. For sparring purposes, you don't care how the thing handles armor. Any strike strong enough to deal with the armor is going to maim if it misses the armor and hits the arm or leg. That's not sparring.

 

[olethros]

Well I did some research and I may have not been entirely correct. Dadao literally means "big sword", and can encompass everything from the Kwan Dao to the Pu Dao . The term Da Dao is kinda a catch all term for a large number of bladed polearms.

Of course that weapon that you show might have been an actual weapon, since there's all kinds of crazy shaped weapons that show up in Kung Fu.

As for the Kwan Dao, if you study any Chinese martial arts you should be familiar with that weapon. It's named after General Kwan ( also translated as General Guan Yu for those that play Dynasty Warriors). He's a famous fighter from the Three Kingdoms period who is pretty much the patron saint of martial arts in China.

I think what's really important here is that you take a picture of what you plan to buy and show it to your Sifu. His idea of the sabre may be different from what you see online. (Stuff on the internet misleading! Gasp!)