Fifty-six sword is the standardized version of Yang sword taught in China today. I am confused by the number of Yang sword forms I see, not only in videos but in practice. However, this is one version that I can pin down. Last year, I worked my way roughly through the sequence, using an excellent demonstration video by Fan Xue Ping, but although I got to where I could follow my practice group, I am not at all satisfied. I’d like to get to the next level.

One good reason for learning the Chinese names of the forms is that you can Google them and come up with all sorts of videos and information that you can’t find by searching on the English. The name for this form is 杨式五十六式太极剑 (Yáng Shì 56 Shì tàijí jiàn). I’ve found not only a list of the names, but also an entire series of instructional videos by Li Deyin AND music with oral commands! I’ll be working my way through all of this material over the summer.

As for the list of names, there are two. What I am posting here is a PDF of the traditional (or poetic) names. As with 32-sword, there are also instructional names. In most cases, those names consist of the stance and the sword technique. So, for example, Dà Kuíxīng shi is the traditional name for the movement we call the Major Literary Star (or the Big Dipper). The instructional name is Dúlì fǎn cì—stand on one leg and reverse-stab [overhead].

PDF: 56-sword Poetic Names of Movements

The links to the instructional videos are below in order. They are in Chinese, of course. But even though I understand only a bit of what he says, I learn from his gestures and demonstrations of particular moves, and from watching the repeated demonstrations by his student. It helps to know bùyāo (don’t want)—which is what he says when demonstrating what you should NOT do.

The first video is mainly lecture, so much of the content is lost on me. There are Chinese subtitles; I would love to know what they say! I tried capturing and deciphering a few, but that proved much too difficult. Sometimes these videos take a long time to load.

1. About sword
2. Moves 1-3
3. Moves 4-7
4. Moves 8-13
5. Moves 14-20
6. Moves 21-25
7. Moves 26-31
8. Moves 32-38
9. Moves 39-47
10. Moves 48-56

The word for music is Yīnyuè. My Chinese friends love to practice with music and have music for all the forms they know. When learning, trying to get the movements and the form right, of course it’s best to work mainly without music. But music makes group practice fun.

I especially like music that includes the names of the movements. Hearing the names helps me learn the Chinese, and the oral commands are good for pacing and repetition. The music is often a bit too fast (太快! Tài kuài! Too fast!), especially for the sword forms. But even that is good for getting the sequence thoroughly ingrained. If you know the form well enough you can keep up.

I added 音乐口令  Yīnyuè Kǒulìng (music with oral commands) to the end of the name of the form to get this: 杨式五十六式太极剑音乐口令, Googled,  and lo and behold I found nice music for 56-sword with the traditional names for all the moves! Here it is:

Yīnyuè Kǒulìng for 56-sword (for download)

I have edited the list of names to agree with the oral commands in the music, and they also agree with the names in the instructional videos (with one or two minor deviations). So between the videos, the music, and the list of names, I have all I need to learn 56-sword as well as I can without an instructor. And of course I am also fortunate to have a practice group with at least one member  who has learned the form from a master and can lead pretty reliably. So this is my summer project for 2017.