Main > The Armoury
Pells and physical training. WAS: Re: Armor stands
Aiden of Oreland:
--- Quote from: Baron de Magnan on 2014-04-15, 15:34:52 ---Roman accounts actually mention recruits attacking the pell with leaden core wooden swords that weighed twice as much as steel gladii
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I did read watch something, probably Mike Loades, that said people would train with a wooden sword that was heavier than a real one so when they got to use the real one it would feel light and easy to use.
Sir Edward:
--- Quote from: Sir Aiden on 2014-04-15, 15:44:04 ---I did read watch something, probably Mike Loades, that said people would train with a wooden sword that was heavier than a real one so when they got to use the real one it would feel light and easy to use.
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If I recall, there are several accounts of training with "double weight" swords. It makes a lot of sense. Switching to your real sword afterward would make it feel exceedingly light.
Don Jorge:
--- Quote from: Sir Edward on 2014-04-15, 17:03:15 ---
--- Quote from: Sir Aiden on 2014-04-15, 15:44:04 ---I did read watch something, probably Mike Loades, that said people would train with a wooden sword that was heavier than a real one so when they got to use the real one it would feel light and easy to use.
--- End quote ---
If I recall, there are several accounts of training with "double weight" swords. It makes a lot of sense. Switching to your real sword afterward would make it feel exceedingly light.
--- End quote ---
I can see it working in the long term just because your muscles will be stronger and will fatigue a lot slower...but I can also see it failing miserably.
There was an episode of sports science where they tested someone who put weights on their bat to warm up and see if it increased bat speed at all...it ended up slowing you down due to fatigue. Note this is warming up on the on deck circle rather than training with a weighted bat and then freshly using a lighter bat so it doesnt apply perfectly.
But in the end using a weapon is about accuracy as much as it is about strength. I imagine training with a heavy sword will mess with all of the mechanics and muscle memory. I actually am being told to train with a whiffle bat when doing pell work or air "kata" practice. It has is more likely to avoid repetitive stress injuries and easier to control while still giving you the muscle memory.
Sir Edward:
I don't think double-weight swords would be used exclusively. The context I'm familiar with is using them on the pell for building strength and endurance, but not against an opponent when practicing skill.
Ian:
Makes perfect sense. Virtually all professional athletes today incorporate heavy resistance training in to their routines. Gymnasts need to lift to manipulate their body weight, but they lift heavy when they're in the gym and routinely incorporate weight well beyond what they will encounter on the rings or pommel horse. A football player doesn't need to generate 405 lbs of force with with his chest on the field, but certainly does in the gym on the bench press. Swimmers do heavy rows to strengthen their lats, and real delts to improve performance in the pool.
The example of a baseball player warming up with a weighted bat is acute fatigue. I'm not suggesting repping out 5 sets of 225 on the bench 5 minutes before a duel, but it would certainly improve your performance if it was something you did as part of your training regimen. Lifting heavy does not make one slow either, that's a convenient myth for people who are afraid to do so. Go tell a crossfit athlete who raw deadlifts 515 that they're slow, or a pro running back who squats 405 that they're not nimble anymore...
One of the failures of HEMA in my opinion is the community's aversion and resistance to incorporating standard athletic strength building in to their training. They seem to be of the mind that just doing the activity more and more is the key to success, but every other sport on the planet seems to realize that you have to go well beyond the specific movements associated with the sport itself to improve overall athletic performance. I think you'd see much more powerful and skilled athletes if they stopped being squeamish about more traditional training incorporation in to their routines.
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