Saber Forum

Hey guys!  I'm getting my next cosplay together!  Finally got some progress worth showing off I think.

So if you guys check out some of my posts, you might remember my buddy doing the Qui Gon Jinn cosplay

(http://i.imgur.com/P08KNUa.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/gWQilIp.jpg)

I've been helping him with learning to spin and we're working on some saber choreography for an event later in November.  It's a stage performance for DJ in front of a lot of people.  We're still working out the details.  Very exciting stuff.


So needless to say I'm planning to be the antagonist, the one and only Darth Maul.  I just dropped some serious cash on my most expensive US order I've ever made.

2 of : Menace SE with Obsidian Premium Sound
 [Blade LED Color:TRI Blazing Red]
[Flash on Clash:No Flash]
[Battery Configuration:Li-Ion Setup with BuckPuck (Batteries Included *ONLY*)
][Recharge Port:No Recharge Port]
[Blade Length:24" Initiate Size]
[Blade Option:UltraEdge Midgrade]
[Bottom Knurled Screw:Silver]
[Middle Knurled Screw:Red]
[Top Knurled Screw:Red]
[Emitter Type:Black Underlay - No Windows]
[Quick Disconnect:Nope.]
[Sound:Obsidian USB V4 Sound! [V4]]
[Switch Type:Silver Non-Illuminated AV Switch]
[Blade Tip:Round Tip]
[Include Retention Screw Wrench:No Thanks]
[Include Blade Plug:No Thanks]
[Include Saber Stand:No Thanks]
[Include MINI USB Cable:No Thanks]
[Include Covertec Clip:No Thanks]
1 of : Silver Finish Quick Release Coupler with Vents

I asked for the blades to be about 29 inches since 32s are a tad too long on the back pass (at least on my larger staff I practice with now).  Grabbed the quick release coupler for added cosplay shenanigans.  You guys will for sure hear from me in a review on this purchase!  I'm very excited!

So I'm not losing my hair and beard for this.  I'm not giving up my Jon Snow cosplay 😂
I had to come up with something, so I went with a mask!
(http://i.imgur.com/4ljK2Ye.jpg)

It's all still a WIP, as are my staff skills.  I'll be sure to post some updates as I get it ready.  I still need the contacts, teeth, and I've got a plan in place for the robes.

Looks good. Real good. So do all your cosplay projects. Be careful about the contacts. I've heard horror stories.

I know a few cosplayers who have pointed me to some quality products, so I'm going to check those out.

So I'm pretty handy with a single saber, and I'm using this as my opportunity to work on staff spinning.  I'm approaching it as a building process.  I've chosen a few moves I really like. Then I've repeated them until I can do them without much effort.  Then I worked on transitions to link them together.  Now I'm experimenting with contact rolls and hoping to open up some new transitions and level of control.

Here's a video of some practice I did today.  I'm not above leaving the bloopers in 😂😂😂. It's a learning process!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0iNJXISy5U
I've certainly have had cleaner practices, but I'm trying to add finger rolls and contact transitions to complicate it a bit from my base routine.  Plus you guys get to finally see my stick I made for practice 😆

Bonus I'll add in this video of me goofing in the mask.  Don't judge too harshly. It needs some telesis adhesive and a better makeup application.  This is just me getting a feel for it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVzBCeX4ym8

Good. I've heard of people going with cheap ones and ending up with very expensive medical bills, but I figured you'd know what you were doing.

Good looking out.  Do you know of anywhere in particular to avoid?

Unfortunately, no. I'd listen to those with far more expertise than I have. The only rules I've developed on this are to stay away from the cheap ones, and try them one at a time for a little bit, and then a little bit linger, and then a little bit longer. See how your eyes react to them for a short period before trying to go all day. Some people say they or someone they know just bought some cheap ones, popped them in and were at the hospital a couple hours later.

Looking great so far.  That has to be one of the best Maul masks I've seen.  Your costumes are always works of art, so I'm looking forward to seeing this one progress.  :)


I don't think I've ever seen better reasoning for going with a mask.  That Jon Snow costume is a work of art, you don't want to ruin the look by shaving.


Your staff skills look pretty dang good to me.  :)


Nice.  I look forward to seeing what you come up with.  The Maul costume is pretty cool, it's very subtle but not to be underestimated.  Layers and layers with the robes and tabards and obi, much like a Jedi costume.

Though I can't join with a mask, I intend for my costume to be compliant with the 501st CRL.  So I have some good reference points.

What I like about it most is that it's very practical.  The vest, them a bloused sleeve robe where the forearms are fitted, and the tabards wrap behind the neck and hang in the front.  It doesn't hang too far off the belt like Kylo, it doesn't have oversized sleeves around my hands like Kenobi, and I won't have my vision hindered by a helmet.  This is a great cosplay for me to finally show what I can do.

I got the sound in both hilts so I can rig one up with Duel of the Fates as the idle hum 😆😆😆
When I cosplay Kenobi my lockup sound is DotF on my Guardian. I'm thinking I might make it the force push sound effect on the Menace because once again I don't have FoC.

Maul's costume seems like it's built around efficiency.  He's a saber master who doesn't use a lot of Force attacks as much as he takes care of business with his massive double blade, which is probably why his costume is designed to less encumber his movements.  I wonder if Ray Park had any input into the costume, since he was going to be the one doing the fancy blade work in it.  I'm sure he probably did.

I don't know about the robes, but I know the saber they gave him wasn't what he expected.  They gave him a normal sized hilt with two blades on it.  He said he thought he was going to be in trouble because he was saying he could do all these wushu techniques and crazy moves, but he needed the hilt to be at least the length of his waist to do it!

I've been really watching what Ray does at cons and stuff, the spins he'll do.  Those were my building blocks for a full routine.  I'm telling you. He must be strong as an ox because the spin he does with the finger roll/elbow really builds up velocity.  It's hard to step through without the momentum throwing you off balance.  He does it effortlessly.

Interesting.  I knew he had input into the weapon, but I didn't know they gave him a tiny hilt at first.

Yeah, he's a fantastic martial artist.  I know Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is far from anyone's favorite film, but it does feature some fantastic martial arts fights, and Ray is in many of them as various characters.  (he was the fight double for Raiden, for one)  Also, he was great as Snake Eyes in the live action G.I. Joe films.

I'm making some attempts with this one handed front spin throw.  I'll have to keep practicing until I can do multiple.  Right now I can do about 3 and it gets away from me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32NdfKneXUQ&feature=youtu.be

I'm ready to get my saber.  I suppose the 24 inch blades are an odd size option to some but do you guys see the size of the DSI I'm using here?  It's way taller than I am with 32 inch blades.

So in a couple weeks I'm going to uhh..have a lot more free time I should say.  I expect I will make some marginal improvements with the staff.

Looking great, dude.  I'm sure, with a bit more practice you'll have it down.  I like that shirt, by the way.

As for blade length, looks are definitely secondary to how it performs for you.  If 24s are what you need, then there's no way it  can be wrong.

I've got the hand rolls and the one handed front spin down I think.  It's looking pretty smooth.  My Menace staff just shipped so I'll do some video with it soon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyaV1r2eItA

Looking good. Can't wait to see the full costume.

Looking good, very nice mask, and your killing it on the spinning.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

That's some amazing spinning! Totally jealous. It must take tons of practice. I can do fairly decent with a single, but when I try a staff everything seems to fall apart.

I practice every other day or so for maybe 30 minutes.  I've been instructing someone and those lessons go for a couple hours and its maybe once a week.

Staff wasn't hard to pick up because it reminds me a lot of using reverse grip and I do a lot of grip changes with single saber.  Pm me if you have some questions, maybe I can help.

Dude, you're awesome.  That's some fantastic spinning.  It always amazes me how you (and others) seamlessly transition from hand to hand like that.  Just holding a saber in my left hand feels weird.  I can't wait to see that Menace staff, when you get it.  8)

All these moves I've been practicing for this cosplay are really starting to come together
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y23SwuwFPrc&feature=youtu.be

I'm really debating holding out on the actual costume parts and seeing if I can try to lose some weight before the event. 

Wow Sam your spinning looks effortless and awesome!  I can't wait to see you in full costume ^^  GREAT job  :)

Yeah, that's a pretty sick looking routine, dude.  Proof that practice pays off.  :)

Menace staff is out for delivery today!  So excited!

Having some fun on Instagram today.  I did a mock costume with some parts I had around the house.  Nowhere near the final version. 
(http://i.imgur.com/sdVooJO.jpg)

(http://i.imgur.com/0Dy3jC9.jpg)

(http://i.imgur.com/GMSLKaT.jpg)

That's some good stuff, especially that first pic.  :D

I don't know much about makeup, but you might want to look into something you can apply over that mask to get the shine off. Should help it look less plastic.

Neat ensemble anywho.

It's difficult to convey without seeing it in person.  It's shine seems to come from the front facing cameras I'm using or the light that was literally in my face for the video.  It's not as bad seeing it in person or in natural light.  It looks more organic.  I found it looked more rubbery when it was matte.

I'm going to try and get a matte finish on the mask.  The shine didn't really turn out how I wanted it to.