Generally I practice my stick skills everyday. I prefer to set a conscious session aside that includes warm up, twirling and a drill or kata.
While practice, in my makes, doesn't make perfect -- I am getting better and attaining 'moves' I never imagined I'd perform.
I know this, because I also practice when out walking and there is a certain joy to be had throwing a stick around while barrelling from A to B.
Mr Cool.
As we speak, aside from 2 primary spins -- double hand twirl and single hand wrist role -- I'm still working ion my #13 Jo Kata. In that, I may know the moves but my execution isn't necessarily martial.
I may be happy with my training agenda but I am also considering my direction hereon.
Exposing myself to a few stick forms is very stimulating to the impetus. That way I have options I can hone in on.
I like to plan ahead.
Given what I seek to master, I think my next challenge is to master a Jangbong drill:
With a lot of practice and dropping of the stick I reckon I'm up to it. If I can handle that Hapkido -- which is Korean stick work -- I'll be top of my spinning game.
En route, I'm much taken with the drills on offer from the Filipino martial art using a long stick -- which, among the many names, I'll call Kali. As a form, Kali is far too brutal for my tastes -- but the training regime is awesome and I'm only interested in the long stick.
Unexpectably, I've complicated my stick waving lifestyle by being exposed to the Tamil Martial Art of Silambam. Seriously, Silambam stick work has blown me away.
So much so that I have ordered a traditional TamilNadu staff from here. I doubt that Silambam is an easy martial art to learn-- despite YouTube -- but, fortunately, there is a local teacher --although teaching at some distance from me.
Silambam staff work ticks so many boxes that I just gotta get me a piece of it. It helps that a lot of old guys and gals are doing Silambam as well as the youths. Plenty of aged martial artistes doing Silambam on Youtube. In one example, the elder is 92 (but this vid is not that guy):
Silambam is a core feature of Tamil culture and tradition and is vaguely integrated with dance and meditation.
And besides I likes my Tamil food...and any excuse to watch Bollywood epics.
