Wushu Swords of Shen Guang LongThe Wushu Swords of Shen Guang Long have a long and esteemed history. Started in Longquan in 1882 – over 100 years later their swords were established in China by the National Wushu Association to be their official competition sword. (see the chart below for more info on their history).
In this hands on review, I will be taking a close look at one of their very affordable Wushu training swords from a layman’s perspective – and demonstrating that you don’t necessarily have to be a Wushu practitioner to appreciate these very enjoyable, and extremely inexpensive, swords.
Shen Guang Long Wushu Sword
There is little doubt in my mind that to spend any time training with these Wushu swords will develop habits that will refine the technique of any would be swordsman... But visually, and on a first impression basis, it would be easy to underestimate this sword...
The whole construction is quite simple and practical, which makes sense considering it is a Wushu competition blade. Starting with the hilt, it has a nice brass plated pommel to which is attached two pieces of synthetic silk cloth – one red and one yellow. The wooden handle core is undecorated and simple, with a nice grainy pattern, and to it is attached a traditional brass plated Chinese hand guard.
Simple and functional – nothing more, and nothing less. The 31” blade is attractively shaped in the traditional Dao configuration. The finish is similarly utilitarian – satiny and a little rough in places, with the stand out feature being an engraving of a circle, crescent moon and Chinese martial characters.
Extremely thin in its cross section, and almost paper thin as you make your way down towards the rounded tip, it is reinforced by a T-shaped spine that begins at the hand guard and terminates around 2/3 of the length of the blade.
We will come to the reasoning behind such a thin and wobbly sword shortly. But as it is a training sword, and not designed for blade on blade contact or cutting practice – the most important feature is the integrity of the hilt. While it feels sturdy enough, I needed to have a good look under the hood to make sure everything was in order before I commenced any wild (untrained) practice with it. Fortunately, this is very easy – the pommel nut that holds on the twin tassel flags is hexagonal and easily unscrewed and I proceeded to dismantle it to get a look at the threaded tang.
After the pommel is removed, there is an assembly of two nuts on the tang holding the handle in place. I removed these and took everything apart to have a good look.
For its intended purpose, the tang was more than adequate. There are no welds or obvious weak points on it – and as it forms beyond the threaded portion, the tang is actually quite beefy. With three nuts holding it all together, and built on a solid platform, I felt quite confident to swing this sword around for as long as my heart was content. And as you will see, with such dynamic handling properties, that can be for quite some time indeed...
I think that the thing that strikes you the most about these Wushu swords is that it feels practically weightless... In actuality, I was surprised that it weighed in at 1.16lbs, however with a balance point barely 1” from the guard (which, so I hear, is the correct and ideal POB for Wushu swords), it feels like you are holding a feather. Yet loosely turning it in the hand, you can feel it is perfectly balanced for some of the fastest manoeuvres you would ever believe possible...
At first, the flip flopping of the tip is rather disconcerting. And aside from attacking an enemy around a corner, I know that when I first encountered these Wushu swords some 20 years ago, like most people I had no idea why they would be so – well, flimsy! However, there is a very good reason for this. From a competition point of view, the movements of a blade show the judges exactly how the movement is being executed, and indicate how clean the actions are executed when transitioning between cuts and stances. But from a training point of view, a blade like this tells you a lot about your techniques. For example, if you are overpowering your strikes – the blade will wobble wildly. But if you are using a pure technique, done at exactly the right angle and with an emphasis on speed and form – the blade will remain still... You can see how it all comes together in the following video featuring Yuan Wen Qing. When the techniques are done correctly, the flexible Wushu swords will register a certain sound. Some involve whipping the blade around, causing the blade to wobble, and others are done as smoothly and as straight as possible.
Obviously, as a layman, I’m never really going to be able to utilize this Wushu swords full potential. However, I do find it an interesting training tool – as I have a very bad habit of overpowering my cuts, and after a while just dry handling this sword, I decided to try an interesting experiment to see just how useful this sword may be to developing my own limited swordsmanship skills...
Now naturally, this sword is not designed as a cutter. The blade is simply too flimsy, but as I practiced with it and started to develop a straighter and more speed rather than brute force powered strike – a thought occurred to me. The hilt construction was strong enough. And if I could cut straight, the thin blade should be able to slice light targets right out of the box... So I put my little experiment to the test. I took one of the lightest targets around – a thin walled water filled plastic milk jug and prepared myself. The trick to using these Wushu swords as a cutter was to ensure that the strike was relaxed, fast and perfectly aligned. And with this in mind, I proceeded to cut a few jugs with ease!
Since then I have tried this sword on pool noodles with excellent results, and a cardboard box – with rather poor results... With persistence – I believe it would be possible. The blade certain seems strong enough – which was surprising... I will post more videos here as I attempt various other targets. It is proving to be very enjoyable!
As a training tool, I have found these Shen Guang Long Wushu swords to be invaluable. The feedback you get from the ultra thin spring steel blade is very revealing of any inconsistencies in your technique. And what is more, it is an incredibly fun sword to wield! Overall, I am very impressed by its value for money. Perfectly balanced to Wushu competition standards, for $59, it is hard to go wrong. A very interesting and enjoyable sword.
These particular Wushu swords are currently only available here from Trueswords.com
I hope this information on these Wushu swords has been helpful. To return to Fully Functional Yet Inexpensive Chinese Swords from Wushu Swords of Shen Guang Long, click here
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Made from high quality spring steel, the sword is – like all traditional Wushu swords – exceptionally flexible. Shake it from side to side and it wobbles something fierce! Take it in the hand, and it is easily bent to well past 90 degrees, yet flicks back to straight as soon as you let go.
