Everyday Systems

If you've been following my progress thread, you've probably seen me mention my interest in the Persian meel/Indian club training that sometimes comes up as an early version of shovelglove. Well, after much thought and staring at bits in the hardware store I've finally gotten some cheap-o starter clubs put together!

Behold!



Okay, so they don't look like much, but they've got it where it counts. They're not going to rival Purpleheart Armory for quality, but your muscles won't know that, and these have the advantage of being adjustable, so I won't have to even think about investing in an upgrade for quite some time.

Here's a "naked" close-up of the head portion to give you a better idea of what's going on:



Here's the recipe:

1x 36" x 1" oak dowel rod (though 1-1/8" would be better if you can find one) - $4
2x 3/4" PVC Crosses - $1.50ea
2x 3/4" PVC Tees - $0.30ea
2x 3/4" PVC end caps - $0.80ea
2x 5# adjustable ankle weights - free (my parents bought them for my physical therapy after ACL surgery 12 years ago)
Whatever fastners you prefer (screws, nails, bolts)
Saw of some sort

Wrap one weight around the dowel so that it's flush with the end. Mark the length of the weight onto the dowel and cut that bit off. Stick a cross and a tee on each of the short section - MAKE SURE THE DOWEL GOES AS FAR INTO THE FITTING AS IT POSSIBLY CAN. You want a good secure fit and plenty of material for your fastners to dig into. If you're using a 1" dowel like I did, then you'll need to wrap some duct tape around the dowel to get a snug fit (be careful not to overwrap - a little bit goes a long way). I used some large finish nails to secure the fittings to the dowel, but screws would probably work better. You can try glue if you're able to get a decent fit without the tape, but I would be hesitant to trust most glues with the job.

Repeat on opposite end of the dowel. Find the center of this monstrosity that you've created and cut the beast in half (mine still wound up uneven, so I had to trim a little). Attach an end cap to each raw end just like the other fittings - this isn't really necessary, but I think it's a nice touch, and it smooths out any roughness from the raw edge of the wood. Plus it will make it a little harder for the club to slip out of your hand while you're swinging it.

To give a little extra stability to the fittings, and to prevent an stray bits of finish nail from poking up, wrap the fittings in a few layers of duct tape

Finally, adjust the weight in the ankle weights to whatever you're comfortable with and start swinging! I just got done with 14 minutes of rapier/dagger drills with 2# in each hand, and I'm feeling pretty friggin' good!

I'm still debating whether I should wrap the handles in tennis racket grips or if I should just leave them as bare wood. The grip material would make them a bit more comfortable, but then what's the fun of that?

[edited because I suck at proof-reading]

Cool dood!!!!!!
Nice work!!!
Debs

Cool idea!

--david

Thanks guys, glad you like 'em!

I'm planning on playing with these Tues and Thurs, and keeping with my usual SG cycle the rest of the week. For now I'm just free-styling with rapier/dagger drills, but after I get used to them I'll probably start blending in some traditional club techniques, and probably some choreographed bits of my own, just to keep things interesting.

Now all I need is a spudbar like Zak's to work on my quarterstaff.

Very cool.

Now that I've got the movements section of the website up, the natural next steps are a "routines" page and a "tools" or "hammers" page (not sure what I'll call it). Your creation (assuming the test drive goes ok) will definitely make it there.

Reinhard

Awesome! I'll be sure to keep y'all up to date on the trials.

Looks very cool indeed, phayze! Looking forward to hearing how they work out for you!

A while ago, I got a 4# framing hammer for my daughter to try shovelglove. I'm thinking about getting another one and doing club-like moves with the pair....

Pretty cool. I myself have several of the big toy orange baseball bats filled with sand or cat litter to vary the weights. Cut a hole in the end of the handle, fill em up and pack em down as much as possible, seal the end with duct tape, put on some tourna grip/athletic tape, voila.

JWL - I thought about hammers, but I had a hard time finding a combination of price, weight and length that I liked. I'm pretty picky, though.

Kroft - I hope by that you mean clean cat litter.

I like the toy bat idea, but I wasn't sure how much weight I'd be comfortable with to start. I'll probably try one of those when I outgrow my little "ghetto clubs" . . . who am I kidding? I'd be surprised if I don't have one by the end of the year! :lol

I've only used these things twice so far, and it's been pretty fun. I've come to the shocking realization that I'm not nearly as ambidextrous as I used to be! My point-work with my left hand really sucks, but I think these will go a long way toward helping build it back up. I forgot how long it had been since I'd done any serious fighting with my left . . .

I especially enjoy doing lunges with these, which I always found intimidating with my sledge for some reason. I'm hoping that my lunge-attack/recover-parry drills will help build my knee back up for hindu squats. (yes, it's still not up to them :hate).

Much like when I started shugging, I'm really feeling this in my wrists/forearms (aka: my nemeses), but I can tell that it's also giving a lot of attention to the back and shoulders as well (not to mention the legs, but I already talked about lunging)

Got another club day coming tomorrow, and I'm already looking forward to it!