Sword Study – Flying Rainbow

I have learned a lot of great sword forms from my Teacher since he knows so many and appreciates that I really like the straight sword (jian). In fact, I have conveyed to him that I would like to learn every sword form that he knows, which I believe is about a dozen (probably more, in fact). So far, I have studied eight different straight sword forms with him. So I have a ways to go, and even farther to go in terms of executing them well.

It’s funny – at least to me – how I develop a kind of relationship with different sword forms, and also how that relationship can change over time. Take, for example, the Flying Rainbow sword form. If I recall correctly, this was the second sword form that my Sifu taught me (after the Tai Chi 38, which is pretty basic). This form is very complex and demanding. There is almost no repetition. You are constantly moving between high and low stances. And the pace is fairly quick. In fact, it is the experience of getting winded doing this form which lead me to seek out conditioning through Crossfit.

But the joke is really on me, since although I don’t get quite as gassed now as when I first learned this form (note: I recently relearned it), I still get my ass kicked by it because I can now execute faster and more fully. And so it goes, improvement never equals comfort, however much you might long for it to be otherwise.

Sadly, however, although I was very enamored with this form when I first learned it several years ago since it contains so many cool moves, currently it just feels like a pain, especially since it is a fairly long for a sword form (although my Master has explained how to divide it into two). So the question becomes, how much to invest in this form since it demands so much? Even typing that question out seems to invite the obvious answer: well, if it is kicking your ass, you obviously need to do more of it. And, most importantly, how could you ever stop practicing a form with the coolest name of all time – Flying Rainbow sword?