BSL Lyrics: Twin Flying Dragons Straight Swords

[GeneChing]

TWIN FLYING DRAGONS STRAIGHT SWORDS
1. Wai Tay (God) offers the crutch.
2. Yellow sparrow lands on the beam.
3. Single leg stance, parallel shoulder.
4. Twin dragons emerge from the sea.
5. Reverse hanging golden hook.
6. Continuous rolling and stabbing.
7. Yeh Cha (the nocturnal ghost) tests the sea.
8. Old immortal swings the cane.
9. Black dragon whips its tail to the right.
10. Black dragon whips its tail to the left.
11. Carp flops to the left.
12. Carp flops to the right.
13. Purple sparrow spreads its wings.
14. Jade dragon coils around the post.
15. Sparrow sucks the water.
16. Butterfly flitters through.
17. Twin dragons emerge from the sea.
18. Slanting single leg, left-right stab.
19. Single leg, face the sky, bow to the sky.
20. Riding the tiger, low block.
21. Back step, double chop down.
22. Tangling flower, turn around.
23. Running step, uppercut.
24. Soft pdoture, rolling flower.
25. Female immortal sprinkles the flowers.
26. Phoenix circles its nest.
27. Tornado makes a wave.
28. Child kicks the shuttle**** right-left.
29. Iron cow plows the field.
30. Twin dragons play with the pearl.
31. Black dragon whips its tail.
32. Double left-right spreading wings.
33. Cartwheel spin, down-chop.
34. Spin and turn around.
35. Lion plays with the ball.
36. Earth dragon twists and squats.
37. Stand upright and move like the wind.
38. Yeh Cha (the nocturnal ghost) tests the sea.
39. Reverse hanging golden hook.
40. Phoenix spreads its wings.
41. Down-chop through Wah mountain.
41a. Twin dragons emerge form the sea.
41b. Green dragon stretches its spine.
42. Golden rooster's right single leg stance.
43. Golden rooster's left single leg stance.
44. Splits.
45. Pretty girl threads the needle right and left.
46. Spin the whip behind the head.
47. Hero's single leg stance.
48. Stand straight, left-right stab.
49. Running step, stabbing the tiger.
50. Reverse hanging golden hook.
51. Yeh Cha (the nocturnal ghost) tests the sea.
52. Twin dragons emerge form the sea.
53. Finish form.

[NorthernShaolin]

Gene,

There is a very interesting story about this set that I experienced first hand. Shortly after your sifu open his school on Green Street in SF in the early 1970's, his curriculum listed this set as Twin Flying Dragons Straight Swords while we had a set called Plum Blossom Double Dragon Swords. One of your upper classmate (who was a close friend with one of my classmate) came over to our school and demonstrated the set for us. We in turn demonstrated our twin swords and both sets were very different. End of story because they were two different sets until your sifu produced his tapes and the twin sword set was not the original one that I witnessed but was the one that we do. I cannot explain what happen here but anyway your lyrics posted here are for the most part similar to ours. We may have some older lyrics and I notice that a few lyrics we do not do.

In #5 (and #50) we call it Top star then we do your #7 then #6.
We do #8 again beteen your #9 and #10.
#13 Purple sparrow spreads its wings, we call it Pair dragons blowing its whisters,
#15, Sparrow sucks water, we call it Swallow touches the water
#16, Butterflys flitters thru, we call it Precious snake falls to the ground.
#17 Twin Dragons emerge from the sea, we call it Pair dragons sipping water.
#18 Slanting single leg, left-right stab, we call it Lui Hai teasing the toad.
In #20 your low block part, we call it Pair dragons sipping water.
#21 back step, doulbe chop down, we call it Piercing fish in clear stream water.
24 Soft ?, rolling flower, we call it Plum flowers falling to the ground.
27, tornado makes a wave, we call it swallow goes thru the forest.
#31, we do not do.
#32 double left-right spreading wings, we call it Giant Roc spreads its wings.
#33 and #34, I do not think we do this.
#37 Stand str, up and move like the wind, we call it Green Dragon comes out of the water.
#38 intead of Yeh Cha test sea, we do Green dragon test his claws.
#39 we do not do.
#40 Phoenix spreads its wings we call it Phoenix nobbing its head.
#41a and 41b we do not do.
# 42 and 43, Golden rooster's single leg stance, we call it Great duke hooks fish.
#45 Pretty girl threads needle, we call it Pair dragons blowing its whisters.
#46 and 47 we have a single lyric for both, Destructive sea carries off coins.
#48 Stand straight, left-right stab, we call it Purple swallow searching for food in mud.

[GeneChing]

Well, that's odd. Before my time I'm afraid. The only SF school I visited was the Filbert one and that was only a visit - I trained at the Sunnyvale one. As far back as I can remember, we have only had one twin straight sword set as part of the curriculam and it has always been this.

[BruceSteveRoy]

Gene, what is the chinese name of this form? thanks.
~Steve

[GeneChing]

...the cantonese name is Fei Lung Cern Gim....or something like that.

[Ravenshaw]

This set was probably my worst (besides my xing yi ) from the WL school. I've forgotten much of it by now and I can't quite piece it together from the poem. I remember when I learned it that WL wanted to teach us Tiger Crane from Hung Gar, but our group wanted to learn double straight swords. We were all guys and we were also the ones who were pushing for more and more sparring. Lam Sifu made fun of us because all us tough guys wanted to learn a girl's set.

[NorthernShaolin]

RS,

That's funny LOL

But it is true. I really did not want to learn this set either. Everyone kept on saying, "Yeah, this is a girl set. They really look good when they perform it." And they were right, they do look good when they did this set.

But I learned the set anyway and I'm glad I did. It turns out that this particular set is one of the few double sword sets with history that are still in existance.

Double sword sets are rare sets and most of the ones that we see today are relatively newer sets or recently created like the ones in Wu Shu. Nothing wrong with that but I just like sets with a little history behind it.

[GeneChing]

...I just say that because I could never make it work for me. And I was fairly competant with a single jian. The double was just too feminine, or I was just too clumsy. I have the same trouble with fan sets.

[Ravenshaw]

NS, you don't happen to have any info to go with the set, do you? I'm always interested in the history.

At my best, I could do the pop up out of splits without hands... I was the youngest and the only one who was able. That's the only athletic move I can think of, though. The rest is just really hard. I think I'll dedicate some more time to intimately work single sword before I even try to pick this set up again. For now I leave it for Carol.

...I just say that because I could never make it work for me.

Shhhhhhh...

[GeneChing]

I was really into double broadswords and double tiger hooks. I used to compete with both forms. Of course, that was well over a decade ago. I enjoyed the single straight sword well enough too. But there was just something about double straight swords that never worked for me. I'm blaming it on being a girly set.

[NorthernShaolin]

RS,

Actually I really do not have any good history on this particular Double Sword set. When I inquired about it to my sihings and Sisuks, they just said that this is one of the better double sword sets. When going over the old Chinese referneces of TCMA sets, these texts would only mention this set by name within our style and that it was very famous.

So I asked my sifu why is this particular set so well known. Speciifically, what makes this set so special from the other double sword sets that once existed within BSL. His reply was that people liked what they saw and just wanted to learn this particular set. The way it flows and how it is composed and linked together, made it a likeable set over the others.

Guess this would hold true for any weapon set for that matter. Popularity of one particular set would cause more exposure to that set. More exposure would cause a wider spread of 'wanting to learn it''from other sets who observe it. More one wants to learn it, the more one will focus harder into its detail. So when the choice is made between similar sets, one set will always be taught over the other until the other set is forgotten.

GG,

Yes I too was really deep into the BSL's Double sabers and BSL's Double Tiger Hooks. Many times I would demo and also competed with these forms. But that was over 35 years ago. These were my favority sets.

[Sow Choy]

Gene & NS...

I was speaking with Master Chow Keung (Tai Shing Pek Kwar) about a double geem form his teacher learned from a wudang master... I think its called, double green snake lady or something crazy like that... I vaguely remember the name of the form... Maybe Flying Monkey can help...

Was based on an old legend... another form that looked very femine to me...


Ever hear of this?

[GeneChing]

...but Lady Green Snake is a classic Chinese folk tale. Actually it's usually known as Lady White Snake; it's about these two sister magical snakes, white and green. I think it's a popular opera too. You'd probably know it best from the film Tsui Hark film, Green Snake, starring Joey Wang, Maggie Cheung and Zhou Wenzhou. That's a guilty pleasure of mine, a great example of Tsui Hark filmmaking, replete with cheesy effects and way overdone color schemes. Plus Joey and Maggie slithering about seductively - what's not to like?

Forms often take there names from Chinese myth. The Mnkey King staff is the most obvious example, but there are plenty more. That's why I feel it's really important to study Chinese culture too, because otherwise you'll think that something mythical is the factual origin.

[Gene's First]

I just had to drop in to say that another real girl's weapon is the kwan do. It requires finesse to do it well, in contrast to being "over muscled" by macho guys who claim it to be a guy's weapon.

Time for me to go to shine my swords before baking cookies and hemming dresses.

[Ravenshaw]

Time for me to go to shine my swords before baking cookies and hemming dresses.

I can only approve of this. Especially the cookies part.