Practice Practice Practice

[RoryLyndze]

Well i say dual him more that will help the best and wach what you do and what he does and take mental notes because even if you loss you learn more every time

[ShadowKatt]

OKAY!!!

I got another practice session in the other day with the same guys I've been dueling with. The first time was good, the second time was bad, and this time was better than the first by far.

First off, I learned to set some ground rules so that no one gets hurt this time. I took a bit of a lesson from watching fencing as both duelists are scoring on touches, not how many bones they break. So I likened saber dueling to touch football with more emphasis on precision and less on force. This did a whole world of good.

Secondly, this session went GREAT. Wait, not enough emphasis, let me bold and underline, it went GREAT. Starting off, it was much of the same, but when one of the two guys went home, I was able to duel with the last one more focused and to be honest, I walked all over him. So I gave him a bit of a lesson(Note: I am NOT an instructor by any means. I don't even play one on the internet). I showed him the basics of form I, Shii-cho, the marks of contact, and the principles of the form. Simplicity above all else, focus, and resolve. Once I got him to understand the basics of the form, we tried again, both using Form I. What a difference! Most matches were about three strikes in duration with both of us capable of blocking or parrying the first two strikes easily and faltering on the third and forth. For the most part, we both maintained focus on the marks of contact, weapon -> hand -> arm and rarely scored what would be a lethal hit.

After he had the basics of form I down, I introduced him to Form II, which I found to be a lot of fun but he didn't. He was absolutely not suited to Form II(And it can't be the saber since we were both using Standard Issues). I showed him the proper grip style for Makashi and explained how the form moves from the wrist with as little arm motion as possible as well as emphising footwork to control the distance in a match. Again, he didn't do all that well but even in the dozen or so matches that we had we both improved significantly.

The lesson learned here(For me) was refinement. I've been practicing for a while now, he hadn't been, but with a couple of ground rules and a little basic focus it turned from the last practice session where we all walked away hurt to something really constructive where at least two of us learned something.

Also, dueling with sabers at night is AWESOME. Losing the end cap for a blade at night is SIGNIFICALY LESS AWESOME!!! Now I need a new blade or just a handful of tips...

[RoryLyndze]

If you have the cap supper glue it back on thats what i do

[ThreadJack]

Rory, I think he lost the tip. Which really sucks.

[ShadowKatt]

Yeah, the tip is gone. It came off mid-strike and none of us heard it hit the ground. It's gone.

I actually lost TWO tips that night, and BOTH of them from Heavy Grade blades which are made for dueling. But, I still have one heavy grade blades, and I was able to cannibalize one to make the other workable.

Still, extra supplies are going to be necessary.

[Novastar]

I can attest to the fact that... no matter WHAT you do with tips... they WILL eventually come off.  It's not a question of "if", only "when".

A lot of the "elitist" saber folks have disagreed with me for years and years... but the proof is in the pudding.  The amount of sheer usage that most of my sabers have gone through is enough for me to say this with impunity and certainty, lol.

The reason they fly off isn't how "much" or "little' glue that was used--nor what type.  It's a PHYSICS thing.  I won't go into the details, but as you guys probably know, the poly-tubes actually FLEX / bend / give during a strike.  Sure, you can't SEE that without some super slow-mo + 2000fps cam or whatever... but these things DO bend/flex.  It is actually why they are so "strong".  Supple like bamboo, strong like steel.

So it's a pressure thing.  The tip wants to fly off simply because the warping of the blade causes the blade to loosen around the tip.  There is very little that can be done about this, short of having some REALLY crazily designed tips made--which is not cost-worthy... it's far too expensive for such a minor concern.  Believe me, I tried some stuff back in 2007...

My only suggestions:

* Buy a handful of extra tips.  Not a big deal.
* In addition to whatever glue was used for a blade (whether you made it, or you bought from Ultra)... add a thin layer of a "gummy" type of glue all around the seam on the outside
* Wrap a thin layer of packing tape (clear) around the tip and blade.  Try to keep it as clean as possible, and you know... make it look nice.

These things have helped me greatly.  By the way, in a pinch--if a tip DOES fly off, you can quickly "short term repair" it with the packing tape if you have extra tips (or found the lost tip).

Some people have chosen NOT to use tips, and "plug" the blade with some kind of rubber thingy or 2-part epoxy or whatever (and then sand/round off the edges)... but I personally think that is pretty silly, as...

BLADE TIPS *DO* LAST A VERY LONG TIME!!    So don't worry too much, unless you thwack & whack your sabers around 6 days a week for hours each day...

Good luck with them, and although we de-railed the thread a bit here... it's a good concern to bring up.  Those tips CAN be a pain.  But I'm just telling you guys... there is NO blade out there where the tip will stay on "forever", or... there's no way to say blade X's tip is really "better" than another's, for the most part.

[ThreadJack]

Good point Nova.

Now, I have a few things I want to check on here and then I'm going to practice my guitar, but I have some words of wisdom to offer. After each practice and/or lesson(whether it's music, sports, or whatever), just remember:

Today, you're better than you were yesterday.

[ShadowKatt]

I dunno, might not be a sure fix but I've been using that Gorilla glue that I've heard mentioned on here a few times, not a problem since. I'm sure that it'll probably come off again eventually, but for now it's good.

Only problem now is the blade that lost its tip was the other heavy grade for my SI staff, so I can't staff for a while until I get it rebalanced. So, back to practicing standard forms. I never was worth a damn with a staff anyway.

[Master BStone]

speaking of practices, i'm looking to organize one here in cleveland pretty soon. i'd love to gedt a bunch of us under one roof or sky and commence with the saberness.

[ShadowKatt]

speaking of practices, i'm looking to organize one here in cleveland pretty soon. i'd love to gedt a bunch of us under one roof or sky and commence with the saberness.

Well, unless you mean Cleveland, Texas, I don't think I can make it.

[ThreadJack]

speaking of practices, i'm looking to organize one here in cleveland pretty soon. i'd love to gedt a bunch of us under one roof or sky and commence with the saberness.

I would love to be a part of it, however I'm pretty sure I won't be able to make it there anytime soon.