Gloves- absolutely. When i first tried the spins at night, the grooves tore my palms all to Hell. That spin test was also the first test for the gloves. They worked fantastic! XD
Yeah, I felt they were pretty awkward. Transitions have always been my weak spot, so I've been trying to fix them but have had no idea how to at all. I've got the strength to spin it in spades, but without that finesse, strength means nothing, you know?
Gloves are a good call, I haven't use the Raven myself but the thing seems to have some serious heft to it, and like you guys said it digs in to your hands. I use them sometimes for grip, on some of my smoother sabers at least.
Nice video! Your spins aren't bad, it just seems like you're trying too hard. What I mean by that is I can see that, like you said, you have the strength for it - but the trick with something like spinning is deciding how much strength you actually want to use. You're using your arms when you should really only use your wrists and fingers, spinning being more of a finesse based thing. Reducing the arm muscles used will do a few things:
1. Improve finesse
2. Bring the blade closer to the body
3. Improve control
All these benefits may allow you to make your transitions better. Another tip for making your spins smoother is to start SLOW. There is absolutely nothing wrong with going slow, especially when you're getting the hang of a technique. You can move faster as you get the hang of it and really get into the flow. If I may post a video example:
| <![CDATA[<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbSp4EZohZQ&feature=player_embedded" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbSp4EZohZQ&feature=player_embedded</a>]]> |
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Notice how Artorius starts off simple, at a pace he's comfortable with to warm up. He then speeds up throughout the video until he's a whirlwind of saber blades as you can see.
Keep practicing and let us know how you do!
