Saber Forum

As some of you know I'm now offering private training sessions, via Skype. This is a new training method that I'm testing out, and as such will likely have a lot of issues, and things to iron out. So I'm making a topic here for this, you can hit me up for sessions here, or provide feedback for training given.

Here's some questions to get you started possibly. These are just helpful guidelines, feel free to talk about whatever you felt was relevant to the training.

How fluid was the training session?

Was the instructor prepared?

Did the instructor seem knowledgeable?

Did the instructor promote free discussion, was it too rigid, or not rigid enough?

Do you feel that you learned something that will help your understanding and application with respect to lightsaber combat?

Is this something you will recommend to a friend who wants to learn how to use a lightsaber?

Was the instructor friendly, and helpful?

What needs improvement?

What did you like?

Any other comments about the training session are welcome.

Please, I'm looking for as much feedback on this as possible, all comments are welcome.

Still trying to work out using the programming studio here at work for training sessions, sunday nights seem to be the best night because not a lot of people book it for things on sundays.

itll give us a lot of space, and a large tv screen to watch you on

Definitely! I'm looking forward to it, though it depends on what time on Sunday nights. I'm a youth pastor so I teach service Sunday evenings at 1800 Pacific time.

saturday and sunday nights would be easiest, perhaps sunday morinings as well, just depends on when we can get hte studio

Definitely, I'm relatively flexible with my schedule right now. There's just those couple of unyielding engagements I do have.  ;D

Hey:) just got done with a training session earlier today here's meh feedback
 
-The training session was very fluid I enjoy Lucien's teaching style
-the instructor seemed to be well prepared
-the instructor was SUPER knowledgable
-the instructor in fact encouraged free discussion, and was at the perfect level of rigidness
-I do feel that I have learned alot in the 30-40 minute session, and my respect level for Lucien and saber play has gone up by alot
-I would DEFINATLEY recommend a friend to these training sessions
-the instructor was very friendly, patient, and super helpful
-I liked everything abou this training session
-Lucien needs to have a dojo. He is a wonderful teacher, I would probably even enjoy learning English Language arts from this guy.. He's that good.
-I loved that he understands everything that I explained to him in full, and responded with great wisdom.
-Lucien needs to teach monkeys how to use a lightsaber, it would work and then he would become rich and famous because the monkeys would be bosses at saber combat. Jus sayin.
-lastly And most inportantly, he found exactly what kind of swordsman I am, and made me a much better  and more wise swordsman in just 40 minutes. He seriously reminds me of Nic Gillard.
 Hope this helps :)
Xentai

Thank you so much for the kind feedback Xentai. I am posting from my phone right now. My computer got a gnarly virus. So I have to try and get that fixed quickly. So I won't be posting much until I get my computer fixed.

I will add to this that it wasn't all smooth. Modem was unplugged twice, interrupting our training. Other than that we had a blast Xentai was a sponge, he soaked up what I was saying, and seemed to already have applications in mind for my pointers. In short, he made my job easy. Thanks for the kind words I am both honored and humbled.

The modem getting unplugged was not a problem at all, almost 100% of my Skype/ooVoo/FaceTime calls get interrupted for connection reasons, so I'm used to it. And thank you, I tend to get the like a sponge complement alot:)

It's a learning curve for me however. I'm used to my training sessions being uninterrupted lol. It's hard to lose connection face to face. So including that modem problems or connectivity issues can be a problem does help everyone know the full story.

I am glad to know that you enjoyed it though! It is exciting and I really feel this will be a good thing to offer to the community.

It is quite a good thing to offer, thank you

I'm quite interested in lessons or pointers.  Feel free to message me whenever and good luck with your PC, if you don't already have it I would suggest Malwarebytes!

I'll contact you as soon as my computer is operational again!

Bit of an update, My wife's computer has skype... so I can do training sessions via that if anyone is interested... It will just be a little touch and go on time slots.

I'm very intrigued by this.


I'm wondering, is there any way you could provide (or point me towards) video's with BASIC training points that I can watch? I know what kind of style I want to use, but I lack physical mentor to help me begin, I feel if I had a video series to watch (example: basic single handed offence, single handed defense, two handed offence/defense, reverse grip basics) I could create a foundation I could build on, both on my own and via skype like sessions.

If no, I wouldnt be offended but I would be suuuuper stoked if this happened.  :D

I am working on this, and our very own Master Nonymous has many basic videos out already. Any of his Shii Cho vids will set you up for success. Also I would be happy to cover basics via Skype.

The TerraPrime youtube channel with those Shii Cho videos.
https://www.youtube.com/user/TerraPrimeLightsaber/videos (https://www.youtube.com/user/TerraPrimeLightsaber/videos)

And certainly if you can Skype in with Master Kane real time, one-on-one lessons, even via video, is an excellent opportunity.

We have lots of basics up. Even discussions about them here on the forum:
Basic guards for Shii-Cho:
http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=7499.0 (http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=7499.0)
Basic Stirkes:
http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=6670.0 (http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=6670.0)
Footwork:
http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=6828.0 (http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=6828.0)

That should be enough to get you started.

Also, Master Vindyl has just posted  a basics video s well. http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=8335.0 (http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=8335.0)

And of course, if you have any questions please feel free to ask. Either in a thread or through PM. We are happy to help.

Good luck and happy sabering!

Also, if you are doing the Skype training with Master Kane, here is his basics video:
http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=7053.0 (http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=7053.0)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWyIxs2N9Ns#ws (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWyIxs2N9Ns#ws)

I'll be trying to get my Official basics for the Seven forms up, if I can get favorable video conditions lol

Yeah thats nice stuff! Loved the vid, very informative. I am practising alone, because of the lack of a dueling partner and thus trying to gather as much information i can get. Ive seen different vids about this. And i came across a difference which is kind of confusing for me.

First i do not intend to offend anyone, nor am i saying that something is wrong. But what i noticed is the following:

I have seen Master Nonymous vid on this, and there he explains that while doing a flourish a firm grip should be maintained. When i see your vid, i see you loosen the grip in such a way that at some point, only your thumb holds it. I am wondering if this is a sort of advanced technique and/or needed to build speed. I have asked Master Nonymous about this, and he asured me that a tight grip, with the whole hand, and the 4 fingers used for controll would be the way to go. This could also be personal prefference. But one does not get wiser if not asking questions =)

Again im not saying anyone here is wrong, but i would like to understand these differences. Im very eager to learn, thats all =)

Greetings,

CbrS*

Master Nonymous is correct... A tight grip is preferred for any types of flourishes.... I use a loose grip because it works for me, helps me stay relaxed, but the textbook way to do it is as Master Nonymous has said.

I'll try to address this as much as possible, there is the way I do things, and there is the way things should be done... I have what many trained sword combatants would consider "bad habits." It's because they work for me, and I've worked with the basics long enough to do my own thing and not get punished for it too much in a duel.

Thanks, keep up the vids, really love them.

Im still training basics, and the firm grip works really well for me. I hope that someday ill be able to construct my own style.

And i understand that things are text-book, and things are personal, but thats why i asked. Like siad before, very eager to learn what the differences are. Not meaning to offend anyone, and if things work for yourself, then why not indeed =)

Anyway, i thank you very much for clearing this up!

CbrS*

You won't ever offend me lol. It is by asking these questions we gain understanding. You will rarely hear me say "THIS IS HOW THIS IS DONE" I will usually phrase things "this can be done this way" or "This is one way to do it" There are few absolutes in martial arts, there are many different techniques out there. Now that being said the body mechanics and basic concepts Master Nonymous teaches is generally for your own good. Good stance keeps your knees safe, and gives you longevity.

Yes somewhere i do know that ppl do not get offended here, and its a bad habbit to keep apoligising, but i have never been on such a peaceful forum as this. On other forum's one gets offended with about anything. Thus the bad habbit.

I really like the way everyone here is teaching others (the ones with exp ofc) and i feel priviliged to learn from all of you. You made something possible for me to do and thats rare seeing my condition.

In the vid it is really clear you are a master of flourishes. I too do those, and practise those. So i have a little question. Coming week il get my second Prophecy, and i would love to try and dual wield flourish. Ive seen that alot in movies and stuff, but i cannot figure out myself how exactly to do it. Same goes for a staff.

I know you do "live" training on skype but due to time difference i dont think thats gonna work here sadly. So maybe if you have the time and feel like it you can post a brief tutorial about it in a vid?

Greetings,

CbrS*

I'll get something together when I can!

How fluid was the training session?

Was the instructor prepared?

Did the instructor seem knowledgeable? Yes, he knew exactly what he was saying

Did the instructor promote free discussion, was it too rigid, or not rigid enough? It felt smooth and rigid, and I was able to reply when needed

Do you feel that you learned something that will help your understanding and application with respect to lightsaber combat? Yes, I learned a better grip and better foot work.

Is this something you will recommend to a friend who wants to learn how to use a lightsaber? Yes, this was very informative and fun, so I would.

Was the instructor friendly, and helpful? Are you kidding? Of course he was, he is Lucien After all.

What needs improvement? connection issues. At some points the video got de-synced and other times the sound cut out as well, but I could hear him for the most part

What did you like? I liked the personal feeling with it. With a video, it isn't very personal, but with video chat, they can see where your messing up and can help you.

I got done with my session today and I can't wait for the next one.

Thanks for the kind review Darth Rifter! I am looking forward to it, I hope you will share more about honing your footwork in the future!

Yes the audio was a bit of a pain at times. I could always hear Darth Rifter, but he had trouble hearing me at times... Of course I'm blathering on, and he hasn't heard a word of it... So I repeated myself a couple of times, it was good practice for me though.

This is shaping up to be a really fun personalized way to do training. I'm looking forward to doing more training sessions with you guys!

Shameless bump... lol  ;D

We discovered that one of our members has a MASSIVE basement, and she was nice enough to let us use it for a session last night. Veldryn, Jamie (our gracious host) and I were in attendance. It was good for all of us! We did a Makashi based training session, as the groups 2 primary one handers and a new saber user that is an Epee sport fencer it seemed like a great starting point.

How fluid was the training session? I enjoyed the live feedback and critique on my form and to be able to see the visual clues to the form that I was missing.

Was the instructor prepared? I think that it would be hard to Find Master Kane unprepared :P

Did the instructor seem knowledgeable? Extremely, used both verbal and visual clues to describe his lesson and allowed us time to work it as well.

Did the instructor promote free discussion, was it too rigid, or not rigid enough? As a first session with the group it was good, teachers need to get to know the audience.

Do you feel that you learned something that will help your understanding and application with respect to lightsaber combat? Master Kane taught a method of fighting multiple opponents that I had actually never considered before, and that was great. We also now have a Makashi based Velocity and sparring concept to master, which will be helpful in mastering the form.

Is this something you will recommend to a friend who wants to learn how to use a lightsaber? I think a session like this would be great for anyone that wants to use a saber, whether they are just starting out or are someone that has been using blades or sabers for awhile. having someone to instruct you or even give you a new perspective is always helpful.

Was the instructor friendly, and helpful? fully and completely.

What needs improvement? I think that as things progress, finding a video chatting software that allows full screen viewing (not super familiar with g-hangouts) would be good.

What did you like?  Having someone be able to actually teach me something live was an immense help.

I'm just going to go ahead and agree with thonolan. It really was a great session last night.

Thanks guys for the kind words! I look forward to doing more of these. Thonolan I agree with you I think that a wider camera angle would be beneficial.