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Post by Lancelot Chan on May 17, 2018 13:07:32 GMT
There was an old saying that to perform on the stage for a minute takes 10 years off-stage of practice. Usually I share videos of sparring and test cut. Those are "on stage" videos where I put the techniques to test. In this video, I showed my "off stage" practice, which actually takes up most of the training proportion. During the practice I would experiment with the techniques and try to improve them. I was practicing cutting with hip movement only, using Longship Armoury 1095 DS Dadao at 4.75lbs and Longship Armoury 5160H Giant Silvia at 56" sword. In addition, I was trying to cut at the camera so I can verify my blade alignment on screen. If my blade alignment is correct, the sword would become a slim straight line passing through the screen center. It seems I did ok.
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Post by Wes Cameron on May 20, 2018 10:38:33 GMT
I find it difficult to truly judge alignment via video. A pell works much better for me.
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Post by Lancelot Chan on May 21, 2018 5:35:51 GMT
I find it difficult to truly judge alignment via video. A pell works much better for me. If you know what to look for, a video will do. The key is you have to aim at the camera and achieve slim straight line through it. I teach full time so I'm very used to checking students' blade alignment just by looking at them from the victim's view.
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Post by Wes Cameron on May 21, 2018 16:56:56 GMT
I find it difficult to truly judge alignment via video. A pell works much better for me. If you know what to look for, a video will do. The key is you have to aim at the camera and achieve slim straight line through it. I teach full time so I'm very used to checking students' blade alignment just by looking at them from the victim's view. I know what to look for alright from both perspectives. I just don't find a video to be that good a tool to capture the correct angle. I have instructed Gung Fu for many years which as I'm sure you know has many weapons where alignment is critical as well, and I'm not talking about flowery Gung Fu. I find the pell gives better feedback as to alignment, especially for beginners who need to look at it from their perspective more than from the receiving end of the blade. Once one knows how the alignment looks from the delivery end, it easy to extrapolate to the receiving end. But, each to their own re: what to use for feedback. Just as important is correct body structure and alignment, and that is where a video is quite helpful, but as we all know, the most critical element is a good teacher, but they can be hard to find depending on where one lives.
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Post by elbrittania39 on May 21, 2018 17:07:46 GMT
What are some drills that you'd recommend to improve edge alignment? I can only test cut so often and I'd like to practice alignment with a waster in the mean time.
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Post by Wes Cameron on May 21, 2018 17:12:27 GMT
What are some drills that you'd recommend to improve edge alignment? I can only test cut so often and I'd like to practice alignment with a waster in the mean time. I would use a pell or similar object. To learn, do it slow to the pell which will allow you to see and feel the correct alignment of the blade to the pell and once on the pell. A pell can be any post, even the edge of a door frame. Later speed up gradually - for this use a padded pell. Use all the cutting angles and directions. For follow through, you will need to cut through objects.
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admin
Site Admin
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Post by admin on May 27, 2018 7:29:50 GMT
If you have a sharp enough and light enough blade, I have found cutting free hanging sheets of paper to work really well for this. You can see how clean and straight the line is, if it tore at any point and of course, if your edge alignment is slightly off, it won't even cut at all.
You do need a very sharp and fast sword for this so it can't be used for all sword types. But I think the more methods you combine, the better the results will be..
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Post by zabazagobo on May 28, 2018 1:59:51 GMT
I imagine cutting paper with that insanely awesome Longship dao would be an awesome testament to mastery of edge alignment.
I've never really tried to test edge alignment with video, I usually just carefully listen for the sound the blade makes as it moves through the air. It always seems to be pretty clear when it's on the right path, when it wavers or deviates there's changes in pitch, even if only for the most brief amounts of time.
I do like the perspective of 'observing the cut from the one being targeted', very intuitive (perhaps even visceral) way of assessing the situation.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2018 2:33:59 GMT
I think Wes hit the nail on the head in using video as a way to judge and correct posture and body alignment. Trying to emphasize blade angle alignment when you don't have your body structure under command seems like a faulty set of priorities to me - like working on the walls and roof when you don't have the foundation squared away. Now I'm a fan of isolating mechanics, emphasizing a particular skill is all well and good. It's just trouble when everything else goes to pot while focusing on a particular element. In that sense, the video footage is good because it gives you something to look at and evaluate.
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Post by maro on May 28, 2018 4:02:47 GMT
If you have a sharp enough and light enough blade, I have found cutting free hanging sheets of paper to work really well for this. You can see how clean and straight the line is, if it tore at any point and of course, if your edge alignment is slightly off, it won't even cut at all. You do need a very sharp and fast sword for this so it can't be used for all sword types. But I think the more methods you combine, the better the results will be.. Actually, you can do it with a blunt sword if your tip speed is correct.
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Post by koutlosh on Oct 13, 2018 22:25:30 GMT
What about some blunt sword swordplay? If blades meet in inappropriate angle, you will "feel" it in your hands....
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