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Sword forms

Sword forms are named forms in which swordsmen are trained to use the sword. Blademasters and Gaidin have a wider knowledge and mastery of the forms. Like real-world parallels, they are not always meant to be used exactly as choreographed in the middle of combat and instead convey a named concept or tactic for the swordsman.

Rand al'Thor and Lan Mandragoran doing sword forms with practice swords
SeebsterAdded by Seebster

While training, one may use a practice sword instead place of a real sword to move through these forms. A practice sword may be sword-shaped piece of wood, or a bundle of thin, loosely bound staves or lathes in place of a blade.[1]

Some, if not all, sword forms are taught in the Seanchan Empire. When Rand al'Thor battles Turak Aladon, Rand recognizes the forms that the High Lord used. They were different from what Rand was taught, but similar enough. It is possible the names might be different as well.[2]

Unless otherwise noted, the reference for the description and practice of the form is the same reference on the "First Mentioned" line.

Contents

ConceptsEdit

  • The Flame and the Void
Also named as Oneness[3] and ko'di,[4] a concentration technique that allows the blademaster to put aside emotions and distractions, perceiving reality as it is in the present moment.
  • Sheathing the Sword[5]
When victory must be won at all costs, the swordsman allows the opponent's weapon (usually a sword) to be sheathed in his own body. By luring the enemy into making a cut, the enemy comes close enough to be killed. Lan Mandragoran first taught this concept to Rand al'Thor as Rand was leaving Fal Dara.[6] Rand first sees this in use when Ingtar Shinowa defended a narrow alley to the death so that Rand and his companions can escape Falme.[7] Later, in the battle over Falme, Rand realizes he is fighting Ishamael to a stalemate, and he is running out of time. Rand used Heron Wading in the Rushes to allow the Betrayer of Hope to stab him. This lured Ishamael within Rand's cutting range, allowing Rand to finish off Ishamael.[8]

Known FormsEdit

Apple Blossoms in the WindEdit

  • First Mentioned: The Shadow Rising, Chapter 2
  • Description: An offensive form. Meant to be used against multiple opponents. Three quick strikes, used to push an opponent back.[9]

Arc of the MoonEdit

Black Lance's Last StrikeEdit

  • First Mentioned: The Gathering Storm, Chapter 41
  • Description: This form is simple, depending entirely upon speed to draw a sword from the scabbard and thrust into the enemy's neck. However, it is an all-or-nothing move: if it fails, the swordsman usually dies.
  • In Practice:
Black Pebbles on Snow being used against Lan.
JaymachAdded by Jaymach

Black Pebbles on SnowEdit

The Boar Rushed DownhillEdit

The Boar Rushes Down the MountainEdit

  • First Mentioned: The Great Hunt, Chapter 45
  • Description: A series of aggressive strikes raining down from overhead.
  • In Practice:
    • Rand al'Thor forced Turak Aladon into retreating with this form. "So far [Rand] only defended; now he attacked, all out. The Boar Rushes Down the Mountain. Every movement of his blade was an attempt to reach the High Lord; now all Turak can do was retreat and defend, down the length of the room, almost to the door." Rand kills Turak with The River Undercut the Bank, suggesting that the Boar engaged Turak's attention up at chest or head level.[2]
    • It was used in the duel between Rand and Be'lal.[11]
    • In Caemlyn, Rand uses this to break through his sparring partner's Parting the Silk and Lightning of Three Prongs[12]

Bundling StrawEdit

Cat Crosses the CourtyardEdit

  • First Mentioned: The Great Hunt, Chapter 8
  • Description: Not an actual sword form per se but a method of movement. It is a way of carrying oneself which maximizes alertness and reaction potential. The blademaster lets his body hang relaxed, spine straight, as though suspended by a line. It affects a self-assured manner and projects confidence, but could also be described as a relaxed, almost arrogant saunter.
  • In Practice:
    • Lan Mandragoran instructs Rand al'Thor to assume this walk during his first meeting with Siuan Sanche, the Amyrlin Seat.[13]
    • Rand dropped into this walk while talking with Lord Barthanes at his estate[14]
    • Eamon Valda sauntered into dueling ground with this after being challenged by Galadedrid Damodred[15]
    • The real-world parallel appears in many traditional martial arts where students are taught to move with the spine straight in order to maintain balance and body structure while staying fluid and relaxed. The Japanese kensei, Miyamoto Musashi wrote in The Book of Five Rings, "make your everyday walk your warrior's walk" as a sly reference to this kind of training.

Cat Dances on the WallEdit

  • First Mentioned: The Great Hunt, Chapter 19
  • Description: This form knocks aside a strike and goes for the legs in one sweep.[9] It is probably a riposte. The imagery of someone jumping back to avoid the low cut looks like a surprised cat scrambling up a wall.
  • In Practice:
    • Rand al'Thor cut down a Trolloc with this while escaping with the Horn of Valere from Padan Fain. The Trolloc had leaped out at Rand and Loial from out of nowhere, its scythe already swinging down.[5]
    • It was performed during the duel between Rand and Be'lal. The other one performed Boar Rushes Downhill.[11]
    • Gawyn Trakand countered Sleete's The Viper Flicks Its Tongue during a sparring match. Gawyn parried and attacked Marlesh's legs in a single motion, with a defensive intent since he was sparring against two Warders.[9]

Cat on Hot SandEdit

The Courtier Taps His FanEdit

The Creeper Embraces the OakEdit

Lan performing Cutting the Clouds.
JaymachAdded by Jaymach

Cutting the CloudsEdit

Lan performing Dandelion in the Wind.
JaymachAdded by Jaymach

The Cyclone RagesEdit

  • First mentioned: Towers of Midnight
  • In practice:
  • Gawyn uses this forn to defend his vitals while fighting three Seanchan Bloodknives.

Dandelion in the WindEdit

  • First Mentioned: New Spring, Chapter 16
  • In Practice:
    • Lan Mandragoran to sliced open an assassin's throat as a followup to The Rose Unfolds, after kicking another enemy in the head.[18]
    • The form's name may allude to the spray of blood from a throat wound looking similarly to a dandelion spraying in the wind.

The Dove Takes FlightEdit

Eel Among the Lily PadsEdit

The Falcon StoopsEdit

The Falling LeafEdit

Folding the AirEdit

Folding the FanEdit

  • First Mentioned:The Dragon Reborn, Chapter 36
  • Description: A sword sheathing, typically used to close the end of a form. Not to be confused with Sheathing the Sword.
  • In Practice:
    • After killing an unnamed woman and her companions in the Murandian hills, Rand al'Thor started to sheathe his blade woven from saidin with Folding the Fan, forgetting he had neither scabbard nor steel[19]

The Grapevine TwinesEdit

The Heron Spreads Its WingsEdit

Heron Wading in the RushesEdit

  • First Mentioned: The Great Hunt, Chapter 1
  • Description: This is a form typically used to train balance. The swordsman stands on the ball of one foot, sword held reversed in both hands over their head shifting from foot to foot. Many consider it unworthy of practice, since it allows the enemy to strike with impunity.
  • In Practice:
    • While training Rand al'Thor, Lan Mandragoran admonished, "Remember that Heron is only for practicing balance. Anywhere but doing forms, it leaves you wide open; you can strike home from it, if you wait for the other man to move first, but you'll never avoid his blade."[1]
    • Rand practiced this for balance in the alternate dimension while chasing after Padan Fain and the Horn of Valere.[20]
    • While watching Rand practice this form, Ingtar Shinowa commented that it would allow a sure strike on the enemy yet leave the blademaster unable to defend. Ingtar also said that what is used in practice could inadvertently be used in battle[21]
    • In the battle above Falme, Rand uses Heron Wading in the Rushes to draw Ishamael into a strike, thus, it was also a form of Sheathing the Sword[8]
    • The real-world parallel to this form comes from Fujian White Crane and White Crane Spreads Its Wings from Tai Chi, though the allusion is more likely the crane kick from Karate Kid ("If crane kick set up well, no can defend.")

Hummingbird Kisses the HoneyroseEdit

  • First Mentioned: The Great Hunt, Chapter 6
  • In Practice:
    • Rand al'Thor tried this against Trollocs raiding Fal Dara. Caught by surprise, he performed it so badly that his teacher, Lan Mandragoran "would have stalked off in disgust."[22]
    • Rand practiced this form in an alternate dimension while chasing after Padan Fain and the Horn of Valere[20]
    • After stealing back the Horn of Valere from Padan Fain, in order to buy time for Loial, Rand flowed through this form to kill Trollocs chasing after them.[5]
    • Rand uses this in his initial rush against Ishamael during the battle in the sky over Falme[8]
    • It is used during the duel between Galadedrid Damodred and Eamon Valda[15]
    • Marlesh attempted this while sparring against Gawyn. "Hummingbird wasn't the right form to use in such an attack; it was rarely useful against someone on the defensive, but Marlesh was obviously tired of being parried." [9]
    • Gawyn uses this form to kill one of the Seanchan Bloodknives while defending Egwene.

Kingfisher Circles the PondEdit

  • First Mentioned: Knife of Dreams, Prologue
  • In Practice: The name and usage of the forms is believed to be based on a contest of sorts from a previous Age[verify]

The Kingfisher Takes a SilverbackEdit

Lan performing Kissing the Adder.
JaymachAdded by Jaymach

Kissing the AdderEdit

  • First Mentioned: New Spring, Chapter 16
  • In Practice:
    • Lan Mandragoran thrusted his sword through an assassin's heart with this form. [18]
    • The imagery suggest getting up close and personal with the enemy.

Leopard's CaressEdit

Leopard in the TreeEdit

Leopard in High GrassEdit

  • Description: A walking stance assumed when there are enemies on all sides.
  • In Practice:

Leaf on the BreezeEdit

Lightning of Three ProngsEdit

Lion on the HillEdit

For the chapter in Lord of Chaos with the same name, see Lord of Chaos/Chapter 1.
  • In Practice:
    • In Caemlyn, Rand al'Thor flowed through Lion on the Hill while sparring against five men.[12]
    • This form is probably an allusion to the epigraph of Lord of Chaos, and to the chapter in which this form appears, also entitled "Lion on the Hill". The imagery suggests Rand is the Lion on the Hill. In a related imagery, the Daughter of the Nine Moons described Matrim Cauthon as a lion taking his "ease on a hilltop"[23][24]

Lion SpringsEdit

Lizard in the ThornbushEdit

  • First Mentioned: The Great Hunt, Chapter 19
  • Description: This form has been applied against single and multiple opponents. The movement ends on one knee.
  • In Practice:
    • Rand al'Thor cut through two Trollocs with this after stealing back the Horn of Valere from Padan Fain. "Two more Trollocs, wolf and ram, gleaming teeth and curling horns. Lizard in the Thornbush. He rose smoothly from one knee as the second toppled, horns almost brushing his shoulder."[5]
    • This was tried in the duel between Galadedrid Damodred and Eamon Valda. The opposing side tried Lightning of the Three Prongs.[15]

Lotus Closes Its BlossomEdit

  • First Mentioned: The Gathering Storm, Chapter 41
  • Description: Conventionally used against a single opponent. Wiping or shaking the blood off of the blade before sheathing it is part of the traditional finishing flourish of this form.
  • In Practice:
    • Gawyn Trakand cut through two Seanchan with this before sheathing his blade. Gareth Bryne almost did not recognize this unconventional application and he had "never seen it used so effectively against two men at once."[10]

Low Wind RisingEdit

Moon on the WaterEdit

The Moon Rises Over the LakesEdit

  • First Mentioned: The Great Hunt, Chapter 27
  • Description: An unsheathing technique
  • In Practice:
    • Ambushed by a Trolloc pretending to be a Trolloc puppet in Cairhien, Rand al'Thor cut down the Trolloc while unsheathing his sword. "There was no time to think. Instinct brought the sword out of its sheath in a flashing arc. The Moon Rises Over the Lakes."[25]

Moon Rises Over the WaterEdit

Oak Shakes Its BranchEdit

  • First Mentioned: The Gathering Storm, Chapter 24
  • Description: Described as "a form that wielded nonlethal blows, often used by masters for training students. The form was also very effective against a large group of opponents, all using different types of weapons."
  • In Practice:
    • Gawyn uses this when he was challenged by Gareth Bryne's soldiers during the seige of the White Tower.

Parting the SilkEdit

  • First Mentioned: The Great Hunt, Chapter 1
  • Description: The form is often used at the beginning of a battle.
  • In Practice:
    • Lan Mandragoran used this to train Rand al'Thor's balance, "Go through Parting the Silk, beginning from Heron Wading in the Rushes"[1]
    • Rand practices this form in the alternate dimension while chasing after Padan Fain and the Horn of Valere[20]
    • It was used during Rand's duel with High Lord Turak Aladon. The opposing side assumed The Swallow Takes Flight.[2]
    • In the battle over the sky of Falme, Rand initiates with Parting the Silk against Ba'alzamon, "but Ba'alzmon beat every cut aside."[8]
    • Rand al'Thor initiated his attack with this against Be'lal during the first battle for the Stone of Tear[11]
    • In Caemlyn, one of Rand's sparring partners failed his attempt at it against Rand.[12] Rand broke through with The Boar Rushes Down the Mountain.
    • After side-stepping and moving into Eamon Valda's initial attack, Galadedrid Damodred used this as his first strike in response. Eamon took a gash down his right forearm[15]
    • Right after unsheathing his sword, Gawyn Trakand used it non-lethally against Gareth Bryne's soldiers during the siege of the White Tower[27]

Plucking the Low-Hanging AppleEdit

  • First Mentioned: Knife of Dreams, Prologue
  • Description: A cut to the neck, the head being the "low hanging apple".
  • In Practice:
    • Eamon Valda initiated with Plucking the Low-Hanging Apple at the beginning of his duel with Galadedrid Damodred. "Valda wasted no time with maneuvering. The instant he was within range, Plucking the Low-Hanging Apple flashed toward Galad's neck like lightning, as though the man truly did intend to have his head in the first minute."[15]
    • Valda followed up with Leopard's Carass to take advantage of the traditional, trained responses to Plucking the Low-Hanging Apple.

Rat Gnawing the GrainEdit

Red Hawk Takes a DoveEdit

Reaping the BarleyEdit

Ribbon in the AirEdit

River of LightEdit

The River Undercuts the BankEdit

  • First Mentioned: The Great Hunt, Chapter 45
  • Description: A movement involving dropping to one knee in order to make a horizontal cut at the enemy's belly or legs. It is a dangerous tactic without the proper setup[11]
  • In Practice:
    • While Turak Aladon was still retreating from Boar Rushes Down the Mountain, Rand al'Thor uses this to kill Turak.[2]
    • Rand nearly lost his head because of it during his duel with Be'lal. The text was ambiguous as to who was performing it. However, seeing as it targets the midriff, putting the upper torso at risk, it is likely Rand was using it.[11]
Lan performing The Rose Unfolds.
JaymachAdded by Jaymach

The Rose UnfoldsEdit

Shake Dew from the BranchEdit

Lan performing Soft Rain at Sunset.
JaymachAdded by Jaymach

Soft Rain at SunsetEdit

Stones Falling Down the MountainEdit

Stones Falling from the CliffEdit

Stone Falls From the MountainEdit

Striking the SparkEdit

The Swallow Rides the AirEdit

The Swallow Takes FlightEdit

Thistledown Floats on the WhirlwindEdit

  • First Mentioned: The Dragon Reborn, Chapter 36
  • Description: This form involves leaping and spinning, such that the blade cuts horizontally.
  • In Practice:
    • Rand al'Thor used this to decapitate an unnamed, unarmed female Darkfriend in the Murandian hills. She was still mounted on her horse, so Rand would have had to leap fairly high to cut her neck.

Threading the NeedleEdit

Tower of MorningEdit

Twisting the WindEdit

Unfolding the FanEdit

The Viper Flicks Its TongueEdit

  • First Mentioned: The Gathering Storm, Chapter 13
  • Description: An offensive form. Described as a bold strike. Can be used alone, but is more effective when fighting in tandem with an ally.

Watered SilkEdit

Water Flows DownhillEdit

Whirlwind on the MountainEdit

Wind and RainEdit

The Wind Blows Over the WallEdit

  • First Mentioned: The Shadow Rising, Chapter 9
  • Description: An offensive form.
  • In Practice:
    • Rand al'Thor used this form to cut off a Gray Man's hand and then finished by driving his saidin-wrought sword through the heart.

The Wood Grouse DancesEdit

NotesEdit

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Great Hunt, Chapter 1
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 The Great Hunt, Chapter 45
  3. ↑ The Great Hunt, Chapter 16
  4. ↑ New Spring, Chapter 1
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 The Great Hunt, Chapter 19
  6. ↑ The Great Hunt, Chapter 9
  7. ↑ The Great Hunt, Chapter 46
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 The Great Hunt, Chapter 47
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 The Gathering Storm, Chapter 13
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 The Gathering Storm, Chapter 41
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 The Dragon Reborn, Chapter 55
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Lord of Chaos, Chapter 1
  13. ↑ The Great Hunt, Chapter 8
  14. ↑ The Great Hunt, Chapter 32
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 Knife of Dreams, Prologue
  16. ↑ A Crown of Swords, Prologue
  17. ↑ The Shadow Rising, Chapter 14
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 New Spring, Chapter 16
  19. ↑ The Dragon Reborn, Chapter 36
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 The Great Hunt, Chapter 15
  21. ↑ The Great Hunt, Chapter 44
  22. ↑ The Great Hunt, Chapter 6
  23. ↑ Knife of Dreams, Chapter 26
  24. ↑ Knife of Dreams, Chapter 27
  25. ↑ The Great Hunt, Chapter 27
  26. ↑ The Shadow Rising, Chapter 2
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 The Gathering Storm, Chapter 24
  28. ↑ The Gathering Storm, Chapter 28
  29. ↑ A Crown of Swords, Chapter 41
  30. ↑ A Crown of Swords, Prologue
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