Saber Forum

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk0QTtl5SKo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk0QTtl5SKo#ws)
After I made the teaser above, I have been mulling over the best way to go about this series. I started it off today with the first two parts.
The first is an introduction to Jar'Kai (Dual wield) Saber spinning. In it I cover blade length, weight and balance; practice habits, including feedback; basic theory; and other tips for learning.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8jbxoTiTI4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8jbxoTiTI4#ws)
The second deals with the directional building blocks of Jar'Kai (dual wield) moves, discussing the direction and timing of one saber relative to the other using simple single spins.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMnjo4tWV6c (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMnjo4tWV6c#ws)
As an added bit of content because it is relevant, here are a couple videos of some Jar'Kai freestyling I was doing at an event. Everything in them will be covered in the series.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDzvDXS6xSM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDzvDXS6xSM#ws)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R1E0Bde3Ic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R1E0Bde3Ic#ws)
Watch this thread for the other parts as I am able to put them together and feel free to comment or ask questions.

As awesome as your tutorials are. Which you're getting a point for. I feel like the sound is lacking and lets it down a bit. i have to turn everything up to max to hear you. it could just be my speakers or me going deaf. Anyways i'm looking forward to your next installment. hopefull this will help more people to be confident dual wielders, i think more people should try . Its the future, i've seen in.
If you're wanting any help with these videos Darth C? If your just after a small few second clip or demo of a specific move. I'd very much like to contribute :-D
keep up the good work.
MTFBWY

Unfortunately, the sound is something over which I do not have a lot of control. These are taken on an ipad and sound is subject to wind and distance. The best I can do is try to talk louder. Next video I will see what I can do. As to demos, sure. Since the same move looks different with different body types and saber lengths, it would be great to get a demo of them from someone else. If you were so inclined, you could put together a package of each move you want to demo, three times slow and one time fast with a pause between moves. If you were willing to let me, I could then cut them up and edit them into my movies, so I would walk people through it, you would demo it, then you would show it at full speed. Alternately, if you just had a reel of the demos with the move names on each on your channel, I could just link to it as a lazy option. I am also planning at some point to take a long exposure shot of each move to so that people can see the motion all at once.

I could send you some demo's either all in one film or if  space is an issue when sending i can do seperate vids for you to use. I'll try and use the longest blades i have. I'll try and cover all the bases, with the hip reels / transition move,  flower and advanced flowers, split flowers, aerials, alternating clock face, alternating and simultaneous obi ani's and plumb flowers, reverse obi ani's and hybrids. As well as most of these moves for reverse grip too. I have a free day tomorrow so i'll try and get some filming done.

Feel free to use any of my stuff as well if you think it would help.

Thanks. I will see what I can find. For the most part, I think you cover a lot of the same ground in a different way so a link might be more efficient.

I just got through the next three parts. They all deal with parallel blade work.

The second part deals with the parallel downward in action. It covers the parallel downward crossover and the parallel clockface transition between upward and downward wield. I linked it to venturous's video on double downward figure 8s. The double clockface is basically the poi transitions.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNl7vqujksE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNl7vqujksE#ws)

The third builds on the last and deals with the upward wield and associated crossover.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkmt03OwtCo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkmt03OwtCo#ws)

The fourth deals with getting parallel blades from one side of the body to both sides simultaneously. What appears as an upward wield on one side and a downward on the other is shown to still be parallel blades. I consider this to be the foundation for the next video which will cover the parallel obi/ani and plum flower, leading into the simultaneous 7 beat flower.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=agOj7eVyVEY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agOj7eVyVEY#ws)

Here are parts 5-8

Part 5:
This video deals with a variant of the simultaneous dual figure eight spins. In the description, I have linked it to CH3M15T's example of the same technique. I can explain it but he can do it faster and tighter than I.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4L_5LNWbUw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4L_5LNWbUw#ws)

Part 6:
This video deals with the parallel version of the Obi Ani spin and the parallel plum flower. It concludes with a seven beat parallel super plum. The moves at the end are pretty advanced but, as this is the last video to deal with parallel spinning, I wanted to show you where it could go. I linked this one to my video on the single inverse obi/ani as you will need to be able to do it to be able to pull off the moves in this part.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l62RwTT02Do (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l62RwTT02Do#ws)

Part 7:
This video is the first to deal with alternating or following blades. It explains the basic flower or following figure eight. I have linked it and part 8 to Venturous's video on flowers in which he covers the basics and advanced versions. His linked video only deals with downward though he has a video devoted to upward as well. I just went with the one link as the concept is the same.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VezuqTqJHQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VezuqTqJHQ#)

Part 8:
This video is an extension of the last and admittedly a bit rushed. It deals with the advanced version of the flowers consisting of  three beats on each side as opposed to two. This version switches which hand is on top and paves the way for the following clock face and plum flower.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPdMrIp5AcY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPdMrIp5AcY#)

Awesome set. Watched them all. Theres even a couple of thing in there that even I have to work on.  Keep up the good work

Parts 9 & 10. The first deals with the following or alternating clock face spin. It is composed of 4 flowers and transitions from one side of the body to the other and back. The second covers the addition of a following/flower version of the Obi/Ani spin. This is similar to the simultaneous version found in part 6 except that the timing is changed by 1/2 a beat.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWoe_rdFSHA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWoe_rdFSHA#ws)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FcW6yR2AQA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FcW6yR2AQA#ws)

Part 11 is the last video on following blades that incorporates all of the previous material into a following version of the full plum flower spin. This one is a bit longer and more involved than the others in the series. Next up, I will be looking at opposing blades as shown briefly at the end of the video. Enjoy.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYUS0gweVI4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYUS0gweVI4#ws)

Part 12
This one deals with opposing blades (blades moving in opposite directions). It covers having them on one side of the body and on both sides, and lays the groundwork for the following video.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu1PoxSbUhs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu1PoxSbUhs#ws)

Part 13
This video is my take on learning the ever popular double Obi/Ani spin. In it, I cover alternating and simultaneous forms of the downward version. In the description, I link to Venturous's video on the same.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=024vpgRRxOc (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=024vpgRRxOc#)

Part 14
This video deals with the 5 beat version or super Obi/Ani spin as it translates to dual wield saber. This one focuses on the downward wield as the upward wield will be dealt with separately in a future video.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUI49uLtHhc (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUI49uLtHhc#ws)

Part 15
Probably the longest and most involved in the series, this video deals with the dual wield full plum flower spin in 4 variations: a stalled version, an un-stalled version, a six beat version, and a forward version. I linked this in the description to Venturous's alternating plums video as it is the first variation I cover.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG2r83aO39k (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG2r83aO39k#)

Part 16
This video deals with the upward opposing wield and covers basic upwards dual figure eights and related timing.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1bJN42HyjE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1bJN42HyjE#ws)

Part 17
This video deals with the dual inverse Obi/Ani spin, which is an exact reversal of the spin from part 13. This is one of the more difficult dual wield spins in terms of timing so be patient.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGUB59jxx78 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGUB59jxx78#ws)

As detailed and broken down methodically all your tutorials are. I can't fault them wise teacher.
but i need to ask if your going to expand on these tutorials with reverse grip ones?

I plan to at some point but I have to say I am not nearly as comfortable in reverse grip. I certainly don't have the fluidity with it you do. When I do tackle it, it would be something like the one in my basic set where I do it in one video and mainly demonstrate the fundamental difference between the grips and how that applies to the spins in general.

The dual super obi-ani was a pain to learn, and I mean that literally. I ended up straining my left shoulder (on the inside) and put me out of practice for two weeks. It was actually because I was doing both that and working like a madman (Thanksgiving/Christmas in retail management). Anyone who tries it needs to be careful about going full speed until they are prepared. All better now, but still needed to be said.

Yes, these later steps are prone to that sort of thing. Take it slow and get the mechanics before trying it with speed. That is usually a good practice, but especially important as you get past the first several moves. Be especially careful with anything with an inverse obi/ani in it as I mention in the video on the dual inverse. Also worth saying is that the super obi/ani with a saberstaff (not currently in any of my tutorials) is a good way to beat yourself black and blue if you move too quick.

Part 18:
This video deals with the inverse version of the dual super obi/ani spins. Instead of a falling movement in the front of the body, it is generally easier to make the first spin large and tighten into the second and the then the backwards stab of the inverse obi/ani. The general effect is more of a spiral than a vine down.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B6YuGANIN4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B6YuGANIN4#)


Part 19:
This video deals with the full inverse dual plum flower. In a lot of ways, it is easier than the standard version. I present two slightly different versions of the spin.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEf8E_sXRDc (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEf8E_sXRDc#)