Twang! Thump!

[andygates]

Twang!  I've just remembered that the Kyrton Archers, our local archery club, shoot at the local school (public schools getting all the cool sports).  That used to be an annoying bind travel-wise, but now it's a fifty-yard stroll.  I'm going to have to amble over and see what they're like.  I've only ever done a little re-enactment archery and lots of LRP silliness: it would be nice to try for some consistency and a decent sniff of draw weight.  At least my venerable fibreglass flattie isn't as underpowered as BunnyBane...

Thump!  Eny fule kno that being hit with a hammer hurts.  From mjolnir through the fourteen-pound sledge I was oiling earlier and down, that whole weighted-lever thing is a bit ouchy before we even go near mauls.  And hefting around an asymmetric weight is a good workout and can be surprisingly elegant and wooshy.  So, imagine for a second that you're in the position of having watched Equilibrium and that gun kata idea is still dug into your skull like the comic-book wannabe ninja cool it is.  Imagining thus, you may find that you think the same thought as I:  Has anyone ever concocted sledgehammer kata?  Is there a t'ai chi hammer form?  Answers on a postcard please.

Comments

Re: *looks at floor* *shuffles feet*

[thudthwacker.livejournal.com]

Just in the privacy of your own yard, with nobody watching, you mean? Heh.

My yard is way too visible. I have to do most of this stuff in my office.

...they're a bit hard to snap off in time with the biggie.

Maybe you're a lot stronger than I am in the hands and wrists -- such a thing is not what you'd call rare, as I've got wee girly hands and narrow wrists -- but if I tried to do a full-speed, full-extension overhead swing with even my 6# sledge and snap it to a stop, I'd be in the market for a pair of new wrists.

The only things I'll do even close to full-speed-snap-to-a-stop are check-swings* and two-handed jabs**. Other things (one-hand overhead swings, side laterals, and similar) are done fairly slowly with a concentration on smooth motion. And they're quite hard enough that way, thanks.

* Like a full-overhead rock-bustin' kind of swing, but the right hand only comes about halfway down the handle. I try to swing hard, and stop the hammer when the handle is about parallel to the floor. Since you're only letting the right hand slide halfway down, the left hand travels back behind your hips a bit.

** Start with left hand at the bottom, right hand just under the head. Handle is parallel to the ground, perpendicular to the direction you're facing, along the left side of your body. Swing back slightly, and throw the head straight forward, until the left arm is straight and the right hand has slid down to meet it. The handle should be parallel to the ground at shoulder level. Make sure there's nothing delicate in front of you in case it slips out of your hands.

Re: *looks at floor* *shuffles feet*

[thudthwacker.livejournal.com]

Handle is parallel to the ground, perpendicular to the direction you're facing...

I proofread and everything. The handle is parallel to the direction you're facing. Jeez.

Re: *looks at floor* *shuffles feet*

[andygates.livejournal.com]

I'm liking the hammer moves. The check swing, in conjunction with a stance shift (weight on rear to wight on front foot, say) then peeling back or round, is sort of what I'm thinking about.

I wasn't thinking of trying to snap off anything sledgey with one hand; the t'ai chi staff move I was thinking of as a source is a two-handed slam that accelerates the business end sharply down, ending with the staff across the body at hip height, parallel to the ground. Analogous to your check-swing, I think.

Another angle that comes to mind is the whole aikido notion of dynamic spheres. I can't help but think that there's some naughty tricks that can be pulled with a hammerhead working around the surface of that sphere as the wielder moves - and at this point I point to a 3D spirograph inside my head and burble uselessly.

The closest real-world application I can think of is the dane-axe technique: a four to five foot axe is swung in a big vertical figure eight by an armoured man who then approaches a shield wall. It's sort of a milling machine, intensely intimidating, difficult to do (and that's with a four-pound max axe head) and the axeman usually has flankers.