Taiji Saber is also called Thirteen Dynamics Saber [Shisan Shi Dao], having thirteen techniques: cleaving, hacking, scratching, pushing, shaving, raising, stabbing, rolling, chopping, coiling, fanning, blocking, and sliding. It is one of the earlier weapon sets to become a famous part of the Yang family’s Taiji boxing art. There are not many postures for the saber, but they are all practical, and in neutralizing and counterattacking an opponent it is especially ingenious, causing him to be unable to figure out what you are doing. Tradition has it that Yang Jianhou had a bout with a famous man called Magic Saber Zhang in which Yang used only a horsetail duster in place of a saber. Zhang advanced not even one step before his saber had been adhered to, and so he had no chance to carry out even a single saber technique. From this it can be seen how profound the Yang family’s Taiji Saber is. Alas, those who nowadays have obtained the true transmission are so rare, it resembles the way the Guangling Melody is considered a masterpiece [because it is hard to find someone who can perform it well]. I am unwilling to hold anything back, and so I present this saber’s training method and methods of application through thorough explanations, with which to supply aficionados so they may learn by the experience of others. When either practicing or applying the Taiji Saber, always use your hips as the central pivot directing movement. The saber’s advancing and retreating is coordinated with your hips. Using a saber is just like using your hand. Whether going up or down, forward or back, your whole body is to work as a single unit, and during the exercise there must not be the slightest break in the flow. You especially should use no effort to wield the saber (such as your arm using clumsy strength to make the saber move), and so you should dread using clumsy strength (also known as “stupid strength”), which will seal your internal power into your bones, unable to express outwardly, and then you will have the error of moving awkwardly. You must use the saber to draw forth your own internal power, causing the power within your whole body, as well as your essence, energy, and spirit, to move into the saber. It is like quicksilver is filling it, reaching to the tip [when advancing] and gathering in the pommel [when withdrawing]. For this reason, when the previous generations of the Yang family practiced the Taiji Saber, they had weapons that were all heavier than five pounds. When they wanted to move such heavy sabers, it drew forth the internal power in their bodies. If they wielded them using only their hands and not their hips, how could they have done so with any speed? Therefore when practicing the Taiji Saber, if you are not driven by your hips, you will not be able to move [i.e. If you do not move your hips, you cannot move the saber.]. As for sticking and the rest of the energies, they are the same here as in the bare-handed exercises, otherwise you will not be able to get your Taiji Saber to be authentic.