thoughts on trainers
I bought a 40tr expecting it to feel and weigh the same as my 42. Boy was I wrong. The 40tr seems to be a little heavier, the handles feel larger and more square and it's clunkier/awkward feeling to flip. I almost felt like my learning took a step back when I first flipped it at work. I was trying to show my coworkers what I could do but just wasn't nailing the tricks I could with my 42 at home . I had a hectic couple of weeks where I had no time at home and the only practice I was getting was with my trainer at work. I eventually was pulling off the same moves as I would've with the live blade. Finally things slowed down and I could flip my 42 again, and what a difference! That thing felt like it was flying through my fingers. My speed had picked up a little and I wasn't dropping it half as much as before. I think flipping a clunkier, more awkward feeling bali helped me perfect my finger movements a little more. The one big downside is I tended to get too relaxed and was gripping the wrong handle every so often. The last thing I want to do is develop bad habits and fuck up my fingers when I pick up the real thing. Now I make sure to put in more time with my 40 than the 42, and I only learn new stuff with the live blade. It's harder to break a bad habit than to not start one in the first place.
So I won't ever completely knock trainers, without one I'd get way less practice time than I do, but I think a live blade is necessary for learning to flip properly. If you're flipping and fuck up all day long without suffering the consequences, it takes away your best learning tool: pain. Nothing will make you want to figure out what you're doing wrong more than a bloody hand. A little cut now and again makes you stay more focused on what your doing , and it just looks way cooler with a live blade.
- "Fair is a word that some simpering loser made up. Things are never fair. Fair is for faggots and people on welfare"
-the flipping arena: Deflating egos is what we do.