Review - Fusion Core Industries (FCI) Sparring Jian
The Specs
- Overall length: 102cm
- Blade Length: 82cm (From rear of guard)
- PoB: 12cm (From rear of guard)
- Weight: 930g
- Flex weight: 15kg, 1.15MPa
- Tipping: Spatulated
Tl;dr A fantastic sparring jian for people of intermediate and above experience in sparring.
Overall Rating: 4.75/5
Balance and Handling:
The FCI Sparring Jian is one of the heavier sparring jian on the market, but also one of the nicest feeling jian currently available. That said, due to the weight, it is definitely a sparring jian for people who have been training for a while, and have built up their wrist strength. It handles like an earlier Qing period jian, with a stout blade. FCI designed the jian’s handling based upon Ming era antiques, with specs provided by one of his friends, and this really shows in how it performs. The input of how the jian in history should handle compared to just going off vibes is greatly appreciated.
One of the quirks of having an aluminium guard (more detail in the Construction section), is that a lot of the balance is done via extra weight in the pommel, rather than the mass of a steel guard, and slightly lighter pommel. This gives handling similar to Ming and Early Qing jian, with a bit of extra drag in the pommel. And requires extra wrist strength to do sharp flicking cuts, like Beng, Tiao, and others. This isn’t unpleasant in the slightest, but definitely puts it in the range of making this jian what I am calling an “intermediate” sparring jian, in that to get the most out of it, you need to have trained for a while to build the strength and technique up to use it to its full capability.
However, it definitely feels right, very close to the middle of the bell curve on antique jian, with a lot of cutting presence, while not sacrificing tip control and speed. With the new 3d printed lozenge grip that we’ve designed (and provided the STL to FCI for), the feel in the hand is a great training weapon.
B&H: 4.6/5
Construction:
This jian is made in a standard sparring construction, blade, guard, grip, pommel, all secured via a nut on a threaded tang. The thread is thick and not likely to break or be stripped in normal use. All the components are machined and/or printed (3d printed grip) with close tolerances, making them stick together with virtually no movement even after heavy sparring. And allows for easier customisation if required. The tang is thick and consistent through its length, small shoulders from the blade down to the tang, with the threaded bolt cut from the same piece of steel rather than being welded on.
An interesting aspect of this jian is that the guard is made out of 70 series Aluminium alloy, which puts its tensile strength up much higher than you would expect from aluminium. Under testing, we put this guard through borderline abusive treatment of direct hits to the guard with full power strikes, much harder than any it will get in sparring to test it, and only came out with standard cosmetic surface damage. The only downside of the aluminium choice is that extra weight needs to be in the pommel to properly balance the sword, leading to the more pommel heavy handling. A steel guard would allow for a lighter pommel, but in turn, an overall heavier jian.
The blade is made with a wider and thicker blade with a noticable distal taper. And has a large fuller along the blade for weight reduction, giving a thick edge and a very solid blade for parries and deflections. The tip is spatulated, and very wide and flat, allowing for a relatively low impact pressure even with the stiffer flex rating. FCI also supplies a thermoplastic tip to go over the end of the blade, further adding to the safety of it. We’ve been using the tip in sparring and it slides smoothly off the mask, like leather, or the raw steel, while making the tip that little bit safer and more comfortable when a thrust lands against you. This tip is more durable than leather, and can easily be made with 3D printing, while being light enough to not affect the handling in a negative way.
One thing of note, is that while it has a borderline high flex rating, the actual pressure imparted onto the opponent during the thrust is actually quite low. At only 1.15MPa of pressure, it hurts less than the Yaoyao Invicta with its substantially lower flex. With such a low pressure, and wide area on the tip thanks to being a flat spatulated design, it has a lower risk of piercing protective gear and causing thrust-based injuries.
Construction: 4.75/5
Aesthetics:
This is a pretty attractive sparring jian in my opinion, especially for the price. The cloud style guard is protective and solid. And with the upgraded grip, is one of the more attractive sparring jian on the market. At this price point, it’s pretty hard to ignore. I’m a big fan of the aesthetic of this jian.
Sparring Performance:
This is the big one, the handling is right, the tip speed and control is good, and the weight isn’t really a negative. However, the heavier pommel does make sharp snap cuts and beats, like hand snipes and tiao/beats on the blade a bit slower if you don’t have sufficient wrist strength. It’s why I can’t recommend this as a beginner sparring jian, although as an intermediate and above jian player, it’s a fantastic choice for sparring. The blade presence however, as part of that is incredible, it allows for controlling and bullying other swords in the parry, bind, and in opposition.
For sparring, this jian is absolutely incredible, it’s quick, it allows for a number of different jian styles of play, and allows you to control things in the centre in a way lighter swords don’t. It is also agile enough that if you want to avoid blade contact, it is more than capable of doing so. But, people without much wrist strength will tire easily, and if you are used to lighter Wushu blades, will find this sword almost alien in nature.
With a cloud guard, the hand is well protected in sparring, with the guard projecting far enough down the blade so that decent protection is given, and large enough dips in the cloud shape to momentarily catch the opponent’s sword when thrusting in opposition.
Sparring Rating: 4.75/5
Price:
The FCI jian costs 890 RMB (~185AUD/130USD) at time of purchase. For the price, this is an incredible jian, even for a much higher price this jian is value for money. Order time is currently measured in around 3-4 months, but hopefully in the future, retailers will start stocking it so it can be purchased quicker.
Price: 4.75/5
Overall Thoughts:
This is one of the best sparring jian I’ve ever had the chance to use. The rigidity of the blade, being very close to the safe limit (although still under it) and the weight are going to be a negative for some people, but will be a positive for others. But even with that, this jian is an incredible option, capable, fast, safe, and cheap. Handling like a real jian, coming with a spatulated tip by default, and a thick profile to the blade will definitely be enjoyed by a lot of jian users out there.
Having a slightly more flexible blade option will definitely be desired by some groups, it’s a currently a bit stiffer than the F4 flex from Castille, so having an equivalent option will be good for the future.
Further, future development, with steel guard options to help with balancing out the weight, while maintaining the agile handling will be greatly appreciated. As mentioned in the Castille Sparring Jian Review, the cloud style guard is protective, and it would be nice in future releases (although likely in a more premium line) to have ferrules on both the guard and pommel ends for both aesthetics and keeping the grips in alignment.
I can’t recommend this jian enough, it’s a nice alternative to the Yaoyao Invicta Sparring Jian, without breaking the bank. It’s a bit more serious than Yaoyao’s entry level offering, with a slightly higher price tag, but not so much higher that it rules itself out from the competition. It’s staying in my regular personal rotation of jian to use, and right at the top of my recommended list.