Chapter 7  Twirls and whirls

Here are some flourishes. These are not supposed to be of any practical purpose in a fight, but they can be practised just for fun. Also, it is something that you can practise at home on your own and which may at least improve your familiarisation with your sword.

In their current status, these descriptions are not supposed to be self-evident. They may just help you to remember an exercise that you have learnt in a lecture. You can seamlessly proceed from one exercise to the next as indicated in the descriptions.

1. To icepick grip and back, right. Start in right hand, normal grip.
   1. Twirl forward.
   2. With help of left hand, swap to right hand icepick grip.
   3. Forward figure 8. From here, can proceed to ex. 2.
   4. After strike #1, with help of left hand, swap to right hand normal grip. Repeat from (a).
2. Swap hands in forward figure 8. Start from right hand icepick grip, forward figure 8.
   1. After strike #1, swap to left hand icepick grip.
   2. Forward figure 8. From here, can proceed to ex. 3(d).
   3. After strike #2, swap to right hand icepick grip.
   4. Forward figure 8. Repeat from (a).
3. To icepick grip and back, left. Start in left hand, normal grip.
   1. Twirl forward.
   2. With help of right hand, swap to left hand icepick grip.
   3. Forward figure 8. From here, can proceed to ex. 4(h).
   4. After strike #2, with help of right hand, swap to left hand normal grip. Repeat from (a).
4. To icepick grip and back with hand swap. Start in right hand, normal grip.
   1. Twirl forward.
   2. With help of left hand, swap to right hand icepick grip.
   3. Forward figure 8. From here, can proceed to ex. 5.
   4. After strike #1, swap to left hand normal grip.
   5. Twirl forward.
   6. With help of right hand, swap to left hand icepick grip.
   7. Forward figure 8.
   8. After strike #2, swap to right hand normal grip. Repeat from (a).
5. Reverse direction, right. Start from right hand icepick grip, forward figure 8.
   1. After strike #1, with help of left hand, reverse direction to strike #4 and swap to right hand normal grip.
   2. Reverse figure 8. From here, can proceed to ex. 6.
   3. After strike #3, with help of left hand, reverse direction to strike #2 and swap to right hand icepick grip.
   4. Forward figure 8. Repeat from (a).
6. Swap hands in reverse figure 8. Start from right hand normal grip, reverse figure 8.
   1. After strike #4, twirl backward and then swap to left hand normal grip.
   2. Reverse figure 8. From here, can proceed to ex. 7(c).
   3. After strike #3, twirl backward and then swap to right hand normal grip.
   4. Reverse figure 8. Repeat from (a).
7. Reverse direction, left. Start from left hand icepick grip, forward figure 8.
   1. After strike #2, with help of right hand, reverse direction to strike #3 and swap to left hand normal grip.
   2. Reverse figure 8. From here, can proceed to ex. 8(c).
   3. After strike #4, with help of right hand, reverse direction to strike #1 and swap to left hand icepick grip.
   4. Forward figure 8. Repeat from (a). Can also proceed to ex. 3(d) and do the whole set in mirrored sequence, i. e., 3, 2, 1, 4, 7, 6, 5.
8. Jump swap hands in reverse figure 8. Start from right hand normal grip, reverse figure 8.
   1. After strike #3, continue into vertically upward strike and let go the sword. Catch it with the left hand and continue into backward twirl.
   2. Reverse figure 8.
   3. After strike #4, continue into vertically upward strike and let go the sword. Catch it with the right hand and continue into backward twirl. From here, can just stop the twirl and proceed to ex. 1.
   4. Reverse figure 8. Repeat from (a).