Howwwwwdyyyyy Hooooooooo!!!

[Faith Caine]

Greetings and welcome to the saber forum nut house. As others have already stated, we love pics and vids of others sabers. As for practicing spinning, I've used both a broom handle and my softball bat. Start slow so the movements come more naturally to you and as you get better, the speed will follow. The wait for your first saber can seem like an eternity, I know because I'm waiting for my second saber to arrive.

[Vivectius]

The two saber combat forums have a lot of good information, both for learning spins and fancy stuff, as well as practical combat techniques.

Look up TPLA on Facebook and YouTube for a great place to start for combat.  They are NOT the only ones out there you can learn from, and I encourage you to learn from as much as you can, but they are my personal preferred starting place. Two others are Bendu and Ludosport.

For spins, go to the saber artistry forum and just search for Darth Cephalus.  He's got a lot of very, very good video tutorials.  He's in the process of redoing some of them, but what's there currently is exceptionally useful.  Again, he's not the only person to learn from, but he's my preferred place to start.

To answer your question regarding how long it took me to learn to wield a Lightsaber with some skill, I had an unfair head start with a background in Kenjutsu.  There are some very big differences between a Lightsaber and a sword, mostly that the entire surface of the Lightsaber blade can cut, so you can be much more sloppy with a Lightsaber than a sword in that regard.  In fact, that was something I had an issue with at one point, all of my Lightsaber practice had made my sword cuts sloppy.  I had to go back and practice with the sword exclusively for 6 months or so to get back into proper form.

So, I could already use a Lightsaber with some skill when I first got mine.  So, to answer your question, it depends on what you define as "some skill."  Are you looking more for combat, or for spinning?

For combat... my personal view would be at least a couple of years.

For spins... my personal view would be, depending on how complex you're looking to go, 6 months to a year.  

But I have high standards for what I consider skilled.  I know there have been people who have mastered spins in weeks or even days.  I don't know how much time they put into it, but it's certainly possible.

My best advice for whatever you choose to study is always start at the beginning, with the most basic, easiest techniques and gain a firm mastery of those before moving on.  Too many people want to jump ahead to the advanced "cool" stuff, and it tends to not work very well.

[Dizzy Darth Vizzy]

Wow, thanks again guys for your advice and welcoming me.  You guys are truly cool cats, and I appreciate all of the feedback.  For those of you who have offered me advice on handling a saber, I only want to spin (at this moment) and get a true feel for the saber itself.  I'd like to commit to a year of handling this blade - I've seen a lot of videos and so forth, and once I get my saber (and post pics of it or a vid on YT), I'll begin that stuff immediately.  I have considered that it is best to learn how to wield this thing of beauty on the grass instead of the street, so I don't drop my new baby and damage/scar/scratch it.

I'll jump into a different thread now, I hope to contribute as well as learn.

Thanks again for everything guys, this is an awesome community, and I cannot wait to get my saber!

DDV

[Darth Calon]

You guys are truly cool cats,

I'm not allergic to myself!!     

[Dizzy Darth Vizzy]

I'm not allergic to myself!!     

We'll find out!!!   

[James Casey]

Welcome, Dizzy! A Guardian is an excellent choice for your first 'sabre - I'm confident you'll love it.

One thing I'd suggest with practicing is not to get too hung up on any specific move. While in the ideal you'd want to be able to chain together moves and flourishes, in reality you may find your body objecting to certain things!

I do a little spinning, and while by no means very good, I can do the basic forward spin for ages, but with the backward spin I always end up whacking my own head after a few goes Being prepared to work hard at it is good, but remember you're there to have fun - if it stops being fun, you can end up with a $550 ornament really quickly, and no-one wants that!

[Dizzy Darth Vizzy]

Welcome, Dizzy! A Guardian is an excellent choice for your first 'sabre - I'm confident you'll love it.

One thing I'd suggest with practicing is not to get too hung up on any specific move. While in the ideal you'd want to be able to chain together moves and flourishes, in reality you may find your body objecting to certain things!

I do a little spinning, and while by no means very good, I can do the basic forward spin for ages, but with the backward spin I always end up whacking my own head after a few goes Being prepared to work hard at it is good, but remember you're there to have fun - if it stops being fun, you can end up with a $550 ornament really quickly, and no-one wants that!

Point VERY WELL TAKEN.  Yeah, I bought a bow a few years back, cost me over $1,000.  It has been an "ornament" for almost all of the time I have owned it.  Too bad, it's a damn good bow (Hoyt Carbon Spider Turbo).

Very good advice.  Yes, I know that practice should be slow and develop both my rhythm and beat, so I will take it slowly, and not-so-seriously so as to have fun learning how to master these kinds of moves.  Thanks for the advice, much appreciated!

What kind of saber do you own?  

- Dizzy

[Darth Calon]

We'll find out!!!   

I'm not! Honest!     

What kind of saber do you own? 

Take a look at his signature. 

[Corwyn VonBeck]

Welcome Dizzy.. think you'll fit right in here!

[Lord Bladewraith]

Hey there, Dizzy - very cool forum name! I think it's fantastic you did all that research and settled on UltraSabers. Like has been said already, I love your enthusiasm, and you chose wisely indeed with the Guardian and will soon see for yourself.    I just received my Guardian in Dark Violet Amethyst, and without hesitation I can say it is one of UltraSabers' finest creations indeed. It's fantastic, and if you don't mind spending an extra $35, I highly recommend the Nickel Finish upgrade on it. Personally, I love it to death and opt for that finish on every UltraSabers hilt I buy, when it's available. A couple of my UltraSabers hilts have the Emerald Driver, and it truly is the Rolls Royce of lightsaber goodness. The color range is phenomenal.  Hope you'll share a review video and/or pictures when you get it, and especially hope you feel welcome here. It's a great community here.

[Dizzy Darth Vizzy]

I'm not! Honest!     

Take a look at his signature. 

Holy SMURFS!!!

[Dizzy Darth Vizzy]

Welcome Dizzy.. think you'll fit right in here!

Hey there, Dizzy - very cool forum name! I think it's fantastic you did all that research and settled on UltraSabers. Like has been said already, I love your enthusiasm, and you chose wisely indeed with the Guardian and will soon see for yourself.    I just received my Guardian in Dark Violet Amethyst, and without hesitation I can say it is one of UltraSabers' finest creations indeed. It's fantastic, and if you don't mind spending an extra $35, I highly recommend the Nickel Finish upgrade on it. Personally, I love it to death and opt for that finish on every UltraSabers hilt I buy, when it's available. A couple of my UltraSabers hilts have the Emerald Driver, and it truly is the Rolls Royce of lightsaber goodness. The color range is phenomenal.  Hope you'll share a review video and/or pictures when you get it, and especially hope you feel welcome here. It's a great community here.

WOW!!! So glad to be a member of this forum.

Question guys - I've found a PHENOMINAL lightsaber stand, it's the stand to end all stands.  Totally Star Wars, through and through.  Problem is it's very expensive.  Worth it?  Yes, but the question is, I have to buy it before I even get to purchase my Guardian.  I'd show a pic or name it, but I feel that if I did that, somebody would snap it up before me.  What better to compliment your saber than the perfect stand?

...  


SHOW US YOUR LIGHTSABER STANDS!!!  ( I think I'll start a thread for that...)

[Lord Bladewraith]

WOW!!! So glad to be a member of this forum.

Question guys - I've found a PHENOMINAL lightsaber stand, it's the stand to end all stands.  Totally Star Wars, through and through.  Problem is it's very expensive.  Worth it?  Yes, but the question is, I have to buy it before I even get to purchase my Guardian.  I'd show a pic or name it, but I feel that if I did that, somebody would snap it up before me.  What better to compliment your saber than the perfect stand?

...  


SHOW US YOUR LIGHTSABER STANDS!!!  ( I think I'll start a thread for that...)

I'd say it's worth it.  Looking for a good one myself right now.  UltraSabers should be proudly displayed in a stand befitting and worthy of them.  

[Darth Calon]

WOW!!! So glad to be a member of this forum.

Question guys - I've found a PHENOMINAL lightsaber stand, it's the stand to end all stands.  Totally Star Wars, through and through.  Problem is it's very expensive.  Worth it?  Yes, but the question is, I have to buy it before I even get to purchase my Guardian.  I'd show a pic or name it, but I feel that if I did that, somebody would snap it up before me.  What better to compliment your saber than the perfect stand?

...  


SHOW US YOUR LIGHTSABER STANDS!!!  ( I think I'll start a thread for that...)

Just an FYI in case you don't know, US does make stands. 

[Corwyn VonBeck]

Just an FYI in case you don't know, US does make stands. 

I always thought Siths made pretty good display stands.... have to change them out regularly though, as they do start to smell after a while...