How To - Tipping your sword for Sparring

One of the requirements for making a sword safe for sparring at AWSA is ensuring there’s a safety tip over the steel tip of the jian (or other swords people may wish to use). It has the benefits of further widening the impact area on the thrust, and keeping burrs off the steel. Generally making thrusts and cuts with the tip a lot safer.

There’s some discussion online about tips making sparring less safe, which is only for rubber tips, where they catch on the mesh of a mask, and increasing the chances of a concussion. Leather (real or fake), and certain thermoplastics slide rather than catching on the mask, reducing the chances of concussion. Admittedly with the level of flex and lightness of the single handed jian (700g+, compared to the 1100g+ of two handed weapons or polearms), this risk is already substantially reduced.

Using leather and this wrapping style with a synthetic sinew allows for quick replacement when the leather breaks, and it breaks in a way that is very obvious during sparring so a halt can be called, to repace it, or use a spare sword.

Items Required

Sparring jian
Leather (Kangaroo, Cow, Synthetic, Vegan, etc)
Synthetic Sinew
Scissors
Lighter (optional)
Fabric Glue (optional)

The exact source of leather is up to you, and whatever you have available, a cheap option is leather belts from department stores, or other old leather goods that aren't able to be used for their original purpose. The type of string can be anything, but we've found that the synthetic sinew has good durability, where even if it snaps, there's enough string still wrapping it that the tip stays in place and frays rather than fails.

Step 1. Cut the leather to size

The easiest way to prepare the leather is to lay to tip on the leather and score the shape of the blade into the leather before cutting with scissors or a knife.

Scoring the leather in preparation for cutting

Once cut out, make sure that it folds over the tip cleanly. You may need leather moisturiser to make it fold neatly.

Cut out leather to be placed over the sword tip

Step 2. Make a loop with the cord/string

Make a large loop with the string/sinew, leaving a long tail to pull through at the end. If it’s too short, you won’t be able to secure the wrap.

Initial loop of the string on the leather

Step 3. Wrap the string tightly around the leather

Making sure that the sinew is wrapped tightly around the tip, and right up to the rolled/spatulated tip ensures that it won’t move around and slip in sparring.