Hey Scott, I am thinking of getting one of the montante/spadone trainers you have. Tell me about them. I need some spares when I've got more folk than just one. You know, you need something like one of these things to really work the plays, and if you don't do steel.....
Steve

Hi Steve,

Slightly OT but Peter is doing a steel trainer Montante for Matt right now, it will be ready this Dijon. mybe it will be worth a look for Montante fans.

SZAB

Good for Matt, hopefully I'll see it when I get there, I will be bringing my two steels (and maybe a plastic).
Imshallah.
Steve

O yes I just noticed you will be coming. I am really happy about that. You still remember the Hungarian curses?

SZAB

Just that one, but you can refresh me on the others. After all an ex's mom used to use it around me.......

I need to know Hungarian toasts, and we do need to tip a few.

Steve

Steve,

Here's another montante trainer I came across, but it is in steel!

http://www.swordcrafts.com/?page_id=71

David

Interesting for folks, I already have Craig's these are somewhat more simply made, perhaps cheaper, something in between the former one and what PH might charge for theirs.
Steve

I now have the other prototype trainer from Purpleheart. Steve Reich and I are working on a combined big swords class from Italian and Iberian sources and have 4 steel swords from Craig but needed more trainers.

The Purpleheart trainer is very nice, very practical, the quillions dismount for easy shipping. The balance is good, and it flexes no more than do the steel swords. It is not as lively as steel, but much preferable to wood. I found no problems being able to use the weapon, the thicker quillions did not hamper thumbing the blade at all. The ricasso is well defined and useful -- however, we've not evaluated the use of the ears for some of Marozzo's tactics. The weight seems realistic, although I have not weighed it - it is heavy enough to preclude using the weapon without engaging the core muscles for most folk.

And best of all -- it is black.

Steve is now working with Christian on some other trainers for big swords.

All and all, this is a good intermediate step for someone wanting to explore the larger two handed swords. It is better and more realistic than using smaller simulators, you do get feedback into the body when you are forcing the action. (We are now refering to our drills as sword-palates, 2 hours classes are an effective workout).

Steve

I got to handle Steve's Montante trainer and I definitely like it. While it does flex side-to-side somewhat, it really doesn't do so more than some of the steel ones did. It does not flex on the plane of the blade, so if you have good edge-alignment, it shouldn't be a problem at all. Plus, it looks good, has a realistic weight and a good balance.

I am also working with Purpleheart to produce a wooden trainer.

Steve's and my aim is to ensure that there are relatively cheap options (around $100) for new students to get reasonably accurate training weapons. While we all love steel, most beginning students will balk at immediately dropping $600-700 for a training weapon (in addition to all the protective gear). However, it is important to have a training weapon with enough mass to encourage correct mechanics (i.e. too heavy to just muscle around) and with enough length to learn to manage 5' of sword (and also to learn not to hit yourself with your quillons).

Neither the plastic nor the wooden model is intended for freeplay, but that's something to worry about in the future. I think that perhaps, with the right person (i.e. someone who has the right temperament and enough training) and with proper protective equipment (i.e. a lot more than just a cup and a fencing mask), it might be possible to do some very controlled freeplay with the A&A Steel Trainers--they will flex quite a bit with a thrust and don't have as much mass in the blade as a "real sword". However, that isn't something that I'd feel comfortable doing any time in the immediate future even with all of the necessary protective gear...

Steve