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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2021 17:50:00 GMT
Lately I been training with my Axe, and I find that when using a sword training guide, such as Meyers square, I been finding that an Axe movements work incredibly well, mechanically, with the foot work and cutting around the guard angles in Meyers square.
It's almost as if Axe works even better for it
Discuss!
Also, discuss any Axe training you do, including its methods and tactics
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Post by markus313 on Jul 13, 2021 19:13:03 GMT
Meyer’s body mechanics lend themselves well to axe use, because it lets you put the hips in and make use of the axe’s power potential. So I look at Meyer’s dussack section for one-handed axe use and longsword and/or halberd for two handed axes, depending on the axe’s length.
As far as tactics are concerned... An axe in full motion is most terrific. It needs some room to be used to full potential, while at the same time the reach usually is somewhat limited. One may be able to get in a stop-hit on the axe man or block it with a decently sized shield or similar object, preferably moving a bit into the arc of the strike.
In sparring axe vs. axe it sometimes happens that the axes get hung up on each other. The axe is definitely a power weapon first and foremost. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2021 19:50:40 GMT
Yea i agree entirely. The way I swing my Axe is somewhat similar to a wood chopping Axe, where my dominant hand holds near the head and slides when I strike and I find I can use an Axe with limited space, and sneak around a (stationary) guard very well with an Axe
My Axe is two handed I should have mentioned.
I love the body mechanics as the way I move my Axe is somewhat mechanical looking, so it gets a nice emphasis when the hips powers is added in. I extend the Axe fully as I'm striking, stopping mid swing, pulling back ans gripping near the head again, and swinging under.
At the moment this feels a little slow, but I have been doing a lot of repetition. I can see this kind of weapon having a swort of utility when combined with armour.
The Axe I use is a cold steel two handed viking Axe, it's the size of a regular wood splitting Axe, tho a third of the weight
Another purpose this serves is training foot work, and shoulders, while at the same time practicing form and muscle memory
Over all this makes me want to try with. Real full sized halberd or something. I can see these sorts of movements working with a hewing spear, and all sorts of two handed pole weapons
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Zen_Hydra
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Jul 14, 2021 13:30:14 GMT
Obviously, all martial arts are constrained by the mechanics of human anatomy and are therefore going to necessarily be more alike than they are different.
Over my (many) years of practicing a variety of armed and unarmed martial arts, I've tended to more readily adopt the recurrent bits into my personal fighting style, and largely view the outliers as stuff to either "make the instructor happy" or "interesting gimmicks to toss out once in a while."
My personal martial arts philosophy is that movement should be naturalistic. For example, the footwork practiced in pakua chang is very precise and specialized for its application within the framework of its system, but it is also awkward to internalize/actualize for effective use against an uncooperative opponent because it is so different from the manner humans typically perambulate. There are certainly times and places for specialized movements, but the bedrock of combat should be to learn and constantly reinforce movements which are mechanically optimized for the human musculoskeletal system.
Soooo...it is no great surprise that the Meyer's Square drill should be broadly applicable, because at its core the movements are naturalistic.
@ardhanari, can you give us more about the details of the axe(s) you are using?
I practice with a variety of axes which range from francisca/tomahawk to Dane/Pole axe in length and function. I alternate training scenarios between armored and unarmored (self and/or opponent), and single-handed use, paired weapons use, paired axe and shield, and two-handed. I am happy to share any specifics if you are interested.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2021 18:18:17 GMT
Obviously, all martial arts are constrained by the mechanics of human anatomy and are therefore going to necessarily be more alike than they are different. Over my (many) years of practicing a variety of armed and unarmed martial arts, I've tended to more readily adopt the recurrent bits into my personal fighting style, and largely view the outliers as stuff to either "make the instructor happy" or "interesting gimmicks to toss out once in a while." My personal martial arts philosophy is that movement should be naturalistic. For example, the footwork practiced in pakua chang is very precise and specialized for its application within the framework of its system, but it is also awkward to internalize/actualize for effective use against an uncooperative opponent because it is so different from the manner humans typically perambulate. There are certainly times and places for specialized movements, but the bedrock of combat should be to learn and constantly reinforce movements which are mechanically optimized for the human musculoskeletal system. Soooo...it is no great surprise that the Meyer's Square drill should be broadly applicable, because at its core the movements are naturalistic. @ardhanari, can you give us more about the details of the axe(s) you are using? I practice with a variety of axes which range from francisca/tomahawk to Dane/Pole axe in length and function. I alternate training scenarios between armored and unarmored (self and/or opponent), and single-handed use, paired weapons use, paired axe and shield, and two-handed. I am happy to share any specifics if you are interested. I never heard of pakua Chang. I am gonna check some drills on YouTube I agree tho, when I find things that just work between styles, I tend to keep those too. My first "martial art" was me and friends practicing stick fighting, full contact (two handed use). I found that the only block that worked for us, without the stick sliding and hitting our hands, is the kind of block I see in kenjutsu. It's one of those techniques I discovered on my own before finding it was an existing technique. There is actually a couple of such things that ended up working out that way. Such as the way I throw my cut off my shoulder (right up to down left) also mirrors what I see I kenjutsu. If I could find a place I would just take kenjutsu tbh As for my Axe, I use a cold steel viking hand Axe, it's about the length of a wood splitting Axe. I find it's too sluggish to use in one hand (I have my tomahawk for that anyway) so I don't use it with a shield. It provides a wonderful shoulder exercise when combining it with Meyers square What sort of Axe drills do you use? I considered getting a Norse Hawk in the future, as my tomahawk is quite heavy, and my elbow doesn't like it (one reason its beihg phased out of shield practice). I also practice sword and shield, spear and shield, katana, and I try practice longsword drills as much as I can, plus a little bit of small sword too. I generally try cover as much as I can, just to keep my exercise routine fresh and fun, so I keep doing it I also do a lot of unarmed, mostly kick boxing and karate, as that's what I'm familiar with |
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Post by jasm299 on Sept 5, 2022 7:53:01 GMT
I'm thinking about trying out one of the Hammer & Axe summer training plans for this summer. I'm graduating from college next week (was a DII runner) and don't want to get fat just yet. Plus, I might run a 5K or 8K this fall. Has anyone here used any of the Hammer & Axe training plans? Also, are these types of axes suitable for training? I know TME gets a lot of hate on here, but I'm not going to dismiss their training plans just because of that. They claim that a lot of the stuff in the plans was based on training they used in college--some of them were all-americans, so I think it's fair to say it could be legit. |
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JakeH
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Post by JakeH on Sept 5, 2022 12:03:27 GMT
[/quote]
I never heard of pakua Chang. I am gonna check some drills on YouTube
[/quote]
You might also try looking for it under Bagua Zhang. That's the pinyin spelling and has been more common for a couple decades - like Peking became Beijing. I still find myself defaulting to 'pakua' because that's how it was said when I first learned it, but it wouldn't hurt to try both search terms.
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