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Is there anything wrong with the guard?
- Thread starter paua
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2000
- Messages
- 1,730
Just from looking at it I don't see anything wrong. The rear facing guards appear to be angled slightly out ward. If you hold the sword with your index finger through the gaurd hole your hand will be well to the rear of them I don't see it interfering at all with movement. The guards were put there to help protect the hand and wrist.
Last edited:
HolyRoller
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2007
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- 669
Certainly an odd piece. I've never seen a jian like it.
It's certainly not unheard of for Asian arms/armor to be made with a European inspiration, most notably Japanese Kabuto(helmet) made using a Spanish combed morion as the base.
I don't have any training in Chinese swordsmanship, though I suppose this could be an attempt at improving point control on the jian, being a cut-and-thrust sword.
I also don't see anything wrong with it. The reversed quillons are nothing to be suspicious of. They are still an effective guard, but not able to catch a blade like forward-facing quillons would be.
In fact, I'd venture to say that an upward curvature is just as common in traditional jian guards as a downward curve. Usually though, these guards are bulkier and wider as oppose to the thinner, more European-inspired quillons seen here.
It's certainly not unheard of for Asian arms/armor to be made with a European inspiration, most notably Japanese Kabuto(helmet) made using a Spanish combed morion as the base.
I don't have any training in Chinese swordsmanship, though I suppose this could be an attempt at improving point control on the jian, being a cut-and-thrust sword.
I also don't see anything wrong with it. The reversed quillons are nothing to be suspicious of. They are still an effective guard, but not able to catch a blade like forward-facing quillons would be.
In fact, I'd venture to say that an upward curvature is just as common in traditional jian guards as a downward curve. Usually though, these guards are bulkier and wider as oppose to the thinner, more European-inspired quillons seen here.
Cross-pollination of ideas and materials West-East weren't unheard of. The Parang Nabur of Indonesia was a native adaptation of the Dutch cutlass. India sometimes used European sword blades and Moros based their armor and helmets largely off Spanish armor. Just as the West used Indian cavalry sabers for their own use, perhaps a Chinese sword maker saw merit or exoticism in this European guard.
