Second Contact

[Gar-Wi Musan]

I really didn't want to post this. But I'm forcing myself to put it all out there. This is my second time picking up a saber since April 19th due to an injury, and second time attempting some contact moves. I added weight to the bottom of the hilt and cut the blade down to 30" to help with the balance.
I know it's super sloppy. I would appreciate any and all tips or advice. Special thanks to Darth Cephalus, Samhain and Master Enso Marr for the inspiration.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKNWN7MGxHo" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKNWN7MGxHo</a>

[tx_tuff]

Don't think I can really give an advice, I better at putting a saber together then I am spinning them. Plus I have a shoulder injury right now myself (strong arm) and I'm lucky getting a t shirt on and off with grace right now LOL.

Looks like you are doing a great job after only picking it up twice in almost a month. You got the well so you will get it!

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[Taegin Roan]

Like tx_, I can't really give much advice, but I can give encouragement. That was great. It actually looked pretty good. I will say I'm a little jealous, because I've been trying to learn a neck roll like that myself recently, and it doesn't look nearly as good as yours. I guess my only advice is keep at it. Take it slow so you don't hurt yourself, but keep doing stuff (I should probably take my own advice here ).

[Darth Cephalus]

I can give you a couple of pointers in general, but is should be noted that you are off to a real good start. Weighting the pommel and shortening the blade was the right way to go. The Rubber O rings will give you some grip, but I would strongly advise a lot of grip tape, especially near the point of balance. It helps a lot to be able to have the saber roll rather than slide. It is also somewhat helpful to mark the point of balance somehow. Finally, I suggest practicing over soft grass in the open. The knowledge that you can just let the saber fall, helps you get more comfortable with it. I messed up a lot of moves by snapping to grab it when something felt off because I knew it would get damaged if it fell. To get some of these moves, it will fall a lot. Practicing somewhere you can let that happen helps.

[Rapine]

Hey awesome GW!  Looks excellent for not picking it up in a while. 

I'd be throwing it all over the place.

+1

[Master Elwood Graestar]

😯 damn, dude! Keep the contact adventure going🤙🏻  you’re getting this stuff pretty slick, and i can’t wait to see more😁. Thanks for the post, and showing the work- you don’t  get there any other way!


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[Matt Nihilus]

Very cool! It looks really nice like the other moves you've showed us  . Keep going, it seems to that you get the move down each time soon. (+1)

[Therion Jinn]

It'll come back is about all I can say.
You've been away from it for awhile

[Samhain138]

Looks good.  Like DC said, something with some grip or a heftier pommel will help. When it comes to this stuff it’s best to do it slowly and as correctly as you can, break the move into sections.  Practice the sections separately and then connect them.  The thing to remember is once you’ve got it, you’ve got it, it doesn’t go away.

[Gar-Wi Musan]

Thanks guys! Great advice and encouragement. I'm glad I decided to post this. You should have seen the first few minutes I cut from the video.
It was nothing but face slaps and saber drops.LOL. I don't know how to edit things together yet, so my videos will be short of full of mistakes for a while. All your comments give me inspiration to try even harder. If you guys ever see me doing things that look straight up bad though, please let me know. I need to keep tightening it up quite a bit and expanding on the moves, then start working these moves into a flow. Oh and tx, I hope your shoulder gets better soon.

[tx_tuff]

Thanks guys! Great advice and encouragement. I'm glad I decided to post this. You should have seen the first few minutes I cut from the video.
It was nothing but face slaps and saber drops.LOL. I don't know how to edit things together yet, so my videos will be short of full of mistakes for a while. All your comments give me inspiration to try even harder. If you guys ever see me doing things that look straight up bad though, please let me know. I need to keep tightening it up quite a bit and expanding on the moves, then start working these moves into a flow. Oh and tx, I hope your shoulder gets better soon.

Just a matter of time. Thanks.

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[Master Medwyn]

That "Triumvirate" you listed in the OP will take you the furthest possible with this, I can only encourage you and wish you all the fun while learning contact moves!
I tried this once and figured out that sabers can fly really far. Calling it "semi-contact moves" would still be an overstatement the way I did it while you effortlessly managed to stay in the same camera angle all along!
Good luck!

[Gar-Wi Musan]

That "Triumvirate" you listed in the OP will take you the furthest possible with this, I can only encourage you and wish you all the fun while learning contact moves!
I tried this once and figured out that sabers can fly really far. Calling it "semi-contact moves" would still be an overstatement the way I did it while you effortlessly managed to stay in the same camera angle all along!
Good luck!

Thank you Master Medwyn. I had to look up "Triumvirate". Word of the day and very appropriate.

[Enso Marr]

Looking good. Just a matter of practice now.

Breaking this down:
The saber in a contact technique has two modes of movement: rotation about the body, and rolling along the body. Learning the technique means teaching your body to maintain the correct roll to rotation ratio. Releasing the saber at the neck and the movement of the neck imparts a certain rotation. Movement of the receiving shoulder and the angle of the arm controls the rolling motion.

Issue: Saber blade contacts body as the hilt rolls down the arm. This is a rotation issue.
Solution 1: Turn the body in a spinning motion away from the blade. This reduces effective rotation.
Solution 2: Raise the arm as the saber rolls past mid bicep/elbow, catch saber above head.

Issue: Saber catch is awkward.
Solution 1: Raise the arm as the saber rolls down and use a wrist wrap into a catch. This means having your palm facing out instead of facing in. Admittedly, much more difficult with a saber.
Solution 2: Adjusting the angle of rotation off the horizontal plane opens more angles for catching, but this is a bit of an advanced application.

[Gar-Wi Musan]

Looking good. Just a matter of practice now.

Breaking this down:
The saber in a contact technique has two modes of movement: rotation about the body, and rolling along the body. Learning the technique means teaching your body to maintain the correct roll to rotation ratio. Releasing the saber at the neck and the movement of the neck imparts a certain rotation. Movement of the receiving shoulder and the angle of the arm controls the rolling motion.

Issue: Saber blade contacts body as the hilt rolls down the arm. This is a rotation issue.
Solution 1: Turn the body in a spinning motion away from the blade. This reduces effective rotation.
Solution 2: Raise the arm as the saber rolls past mid bicep/elbow, catch saber above head.

Issue: Saber catch is awkward.
Solution 1: Raise the arm as the saber rolls down and use a wrist wrap into a catch. This means having your palm facing out instead of facing in. Admittedly, much more difficult with a saber.
Solution 2: Adjusting the angle of rotation off the horizontal plane opens more angles for catching, but this is a bit of an advanced application.

Thank you Master Enso. These are great tips.