What's you're go to for Competitive Duelling?

[Eva_Fan]

Greetings Saber forum,

So recently myself and the folks have found ourselves in a disagreement with other Saber schools, that mid grade blades are find and that we don't need to use heavy's for intense competitive (albeit in a safe and controlled manor) duelling.  

Now i'm not saying there is a right or wrong answer, despite what i might appear from this video. More over, that it's our preference, and that we believe that Heavy grade blades better suit the way we train / duel.  

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCy8snU-UHY" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win"><b>!</b> No longer available</a>

But i'm curious. What have your duelling experiences been like?

What do you favour?

[Golden Fedora]

Personally, I prefer the heavy grade ones because they feel more sturdy than the mid grade ones. me and one of my friends dueled, me with heavy grade and him with mid-grade, his blade was bent in multiple places after about a minute of medium paced dueling. And I also think that the heavy grades just look better.

[imgumby001dammit]

I duel a lot with mid grades and have no problem with them at all. Furthermore, I train, full force, with mid grades against my cutting stand, which is a 4x4 post, and aside from surface blemishes, have never broke a blade. And I’m serious, I’m 245 lbs, and I strike full force, never even one crack.

[Lady Agana Kath]

I have seen a mid grade blade become severely dented during a choreographed duel that had medium to hard strikes. If you are crossing blades with any power behind the strikes I think heavy is the way to go. Even safer is heavy with shrink tubing (prevents broken tips from flying)

[MavRick]

I duel a lot with mid grades and have no problem with them at all. Furthermore, I train, full force, with mid grades against my cutting stand, which is a 4x4 post, and aside from surface blemishes, have never broke a blade. And I’m serious, I’m 245 lbs, and I strike full force, never even one crack.

 I agree with you. Most of the dueling I have done has been with the mid-grade blades also and never broken one yet.
 In fact the only blade that I have that has cracked is a heavy-grade blade. I think that there just wasn't enough give in the blade so it did not flex causing the crack.
 That being said this blade hit a tree at full force and NOT under normal dueling!  NOTE ;; I do not recomend hitting trees!!!!!

[Master Althalus]

Sturdiness is not the problem, mids and heavies are sturdy enough for dueling (though tips may come off) - weight is.
I've started out with heavy grades but by now, I'm using mid grades. Heavies shift the Point of Balance forward, and most sabers felt more like baseball bats than an elegant weapon.

It depends a lot on the fighting style one's aiming for. For me, it's a fast, agile style, with lots of blade manipulation, and heavies just don't really lend itself to this style.
If you're more into a kendo-like style, more static, relying on short bursts of power, heavy grades fit the bill better, IMHO.

[Master Seblaise]

Sturdiness is not the problem, mids and heavies are sturdy enough for dueling (though tips may come off) - weight is.
I've started out with heavy grades but by now, I'm using mid grades. Heavies shift the Point of Balance forward, and most sabers felt more like baseball bats than an elegant weapon.

It depends a lot on the fighting style one's aiming for. For me, it's a fast, agile style, with lots of blade manipulation, and heavies just don't really lend itself to this style.
If you're more into a kendo-like style, more static, relying on short bursts of power, heavy grades fit the bill better, IMHO.

The type of blade (and pommels) can also help you to position the point of balance to make a weapon that fits your own style.

I have a one handed style that uses big moves and that needs speed but i use heavy grade blades because i prefers to have a point of balance near the middle of the weapon ...

[Master Althalus]

I have a one handed style that uses big moves

That's the point here. 
Big moves benefit from more mass in the blade, using momentum to power movements.
The negative side is the force it requires to change that movement or stop it.

We start out with bigger movements and work on making them smaller, sometimes changing directions mid-swing. As I said, I've started with heavy grades but found them slowing me down too much in the long run.

And they seem to get people into hitting with unnecessary force, requiring more protective equipment. We're simulating a blade that cuts through all materials with little force, so bashing at each other is not really the way I want to go with this. 

[Master Seblaise]

That's the point here. 
Big moves benefit from more mass in the blade, using momentum to power movements.
The negative side is the force it requires to change that movement or stop it.

We start out with bigger movements and work on making them smaller, sometimes changing directions mid-swing. As I said, I've started with heavy grades but found them slowing me down too much in the long run.

And they seem to get people into hitting with unnecessary force, requiring more protective equipment. We're simulating a blade that cuts through all materials with little force, so bashing at each other is not really the way I want to go with this. 

I will buy mid grade blade to test the speed difference ... but you know my style and heavy grade is very cool when you "volte" 

[Master Resolute]

Our group uses both. Personally, I use mid grade...for a few specific reasons. Most of which Master Althalus has mentioned.

I also find it much easier to use yielding techniques against those in the club that prefer the heavy grade. Lots of hand, elbow  and shoulder shots. ( I avoid the face, even with our Fencing masks on but that would be my secondary target typically. 1st being the hand , elbow or knee. )

[Musashi Padawan]

I have to weigh in on heavy. We have had some students try mid grade blades when they begin one handed techniques in form II. We found the blades quickly became dented or bent when engaged in contact drills- particularly when working with a newer student still mastering two-handed skills (and honestly control). Also, the weight and balance are so different that it is difficult for one to go back and forth to the two-handed (big Kendo type techniques) they have previously learned with a heavy blade. So far our school, it’s go heavy or go home. Lots of adjectives have been used to describe my fighting style, but with the Kendo background, elegant is not typically among them.
That said, I totally agree with the opinions expressed here by the masters- if one is a specialist in a light, agile, blade manipulating one-handed style or wants one saber to meet that need, mid grade may be the right choice.

[Ander]

In LudoSport we use neither, as our blades are 2.0 mm thick (mids are 1/16 inch = 1.6, heavies are 1/8 inch = 3.2 mm) and have a slightly smaller diameter  (25 mm rather than 25.4 mm = 1 inch), but they certainly feel closer to mids than to heavies, and I could use a mid without significant adjusting.
On the other hand, personally, I would never duel with a heavy grade, as it completely changes the balance of the weapon; if I wanted to duel with a longsword I would do some kind of historical fencing, not lightsaber combat.

[firehand10k]

I dueling hard with a group focused on sport dueling. We have had a few midgrades tried at our meets and everyone has broken within minutes. We require heavy grade and have only broken a few of those, mostly just the end of the tube splitting when the tip is broken off. Eventually thought we break everything.

[obliviondoll]

I've done a lot of training in various martial arts, with and without weapons, before recently getting into lightsabers (not yet 2 years). My preference has always been for weapons with a somewhat blade-heavy balance point, so I specifically got a heavy grade blade to maintain the feel I'm comfortable with. The added durability is just a bonus. I've sparred with it against a friend who does kendo, with him using a traditional wooden bokken, and it didn't feel like anything was amiss. A friend with a midgrade blade has sparred against my heavy and it's felt fine too. That said, he's openly said he wouldn't feel safe - whether it's actually safe or not - dueling against someone with "a big stick" using his blade, and would much prefer a heavy blade or for the opponent to bring a shinai.