Fireman and Driving Fence Posts?

Here you'll find a discussion thread for each of the canonical and major non-canonical shovelglove moves. If you have questions or comments about any of these moves, just update the existing discussion for it. If you have a new move, add a new discussion (preferably with the name of your new move in the title). Ideally there will be just one discussion thread per move that everyone adds to, but it's no tragedy if a little bit of redundancy creeps in.
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Finnigan
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Fireman and Driving Fence Posts?

Post by Finnigan » Thu Jun 26, 2008 2:59 pm

I'm having a little trouble discerning the difference between these movements from the descriptions and the videos. The only obvious difference I see is that the Fireman doesn't bring the hammer head down as far as Fence Posts. Am I missing something?

I DO see the difference between fence posts and chop wood. One big difference I noticed that I don't think you mentioned is the stance. In Chop Wood you are in sort of a "same side" stance. That is, if your left hand is near the hammer head, your left foot is forward. In all the others (Fireman, Chop Tree {Fell the Tree?}, and Drive Fence Posts you are in more of a cross stance.

Also, since the video is gone, can anyone give a good description of Ring the Gong {Choke the Chicken?}? I couldn't find a written description.

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phayze
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Post by phayze » Fri Jun 27, 2008 1:12 am

Hey-o!

I'm not sure about the gong thing, but I think that a little imagination with go a long with the fence post/fireman issue. It's all really a matter of aim - with the fence posts, picture yourself driving the energy of the swing down into the ground (I like to think of steel spikes on a railroad track, which are a bit shorter, so my hammer usually stops around knee-level). Fireman is different because your exerting the force out rather than down, as if you were bashing in a door or a wall at head-level (or, if you like the more martial analogies, you would be cracking someone in the face).

For the record, another thing that helps me differentiate the Chop Wood and the fence posts is omit the circular "wind-up" while chopping wood (I imagine a bundle of smallish sticks rather than a big for splitting), so it's a more linear up-down-up-down motion. I can't remember now if that's "cannonical" or not . . .

Hope that helps! :D
1 Picture = 1,000 words
0:01s Video = 30 pictures
therefore, 0:01s Video = 30,000 words

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reinhard
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Post by reinhard » Fri Jul 11, 2008 2:39 pm

I think Phayze pretty much nailed the distinction. To me the "image" makes it very clear: chopping through a door in front of you versus hammering in a fencepost into the ground. As with all the shovelglove movements, I imagine the task I'm imitating, and the mechanics follow.

Reinhard

navi
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Post by navi » Fri Jul 11, 2008 6:32 pm

These three are my favorite shovelglove moves, perhaps because they are so "physical", what with the wind-up and all. I really hate to imagine chopping down a door (it bothers me to think of people in a burning house every morning), so I started to call it chop the tree, but realized that I hate that too, since I love trees and don't want to chop one down - even dead trees are homes to many creatures. I finally started calling it "ring the gong" and I love the imagery - I do this one last, & imagine I am ringing the gong as celebration for another SG session done! Here's to imagery!

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reinhard
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Post by reinhard » Tue Jul 22, 2008 2:19 pm

I think they might be my favorites too, which is funny because they're hard. I'm not sure whether the appeal is more physical or "dramatic."

I added "ring the gong" to the alternate names column for "chop tree" on the movements page. Thanks!

Reinhard

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