FW: Shield weights

["Jeffrey C. Sussman" <JSussman@erols.com>]

Poster: "Jeffrey C. Sussman" <JSussman@erols.com>

Greetings from Richard!

Gideon suggests learning to fight with a large shield and then cutting it
down.

I would strongly recommend the opposite.  I learned with a 18"x28" flat
heater that weighed as much as much larger shields.  When I went up to a
curved 24"x32" heater, the new shield felt as big as a football field.
Going to a smaller shield will screw up your defensive instincts if (and
only if) you have sharply programmed instincts that are tied to your shield
and set up to move as much and only just as much as necessary to make your
blocks.  This, of course, is the preferred method of learning how to use a
shield.

I strongly recommend that new fighters learn to fight with a 24"x32" inch
heater.  Really short fighters might use something a little shorter and
really tall fighters might use something a little longer.  Once you learn to
throw blows, you can try a larger shield if you really feel the need.

My .02 cents worth.

Yours in Service to Atlantia,
Duke Richard Fitzgilbert

"Poster: BlakHart66@aol.com
"
"One more thing about shield weights - I have no idea how this
"would work with
"other people, but it really worked for me - my first shield,
"which I still
"fight with (when I'm not stuck working during fighter
"practice/events) was
"huge - 1/2" thick, full 2'x4' heater, with minor curved cuts on the
"bottom...could barely fight with it 5 minutes at
"first...eventually, I could
"fight for a while, and move it around, too...not quickly, but
"alright...then,
"before Kingdom Crusades, I cut almost a foot off the bottom,
"so that it is
"just a hair too short - have to crouch a little to cover the
"knee - but, the
"shield is normal weight, heavy to an aluminum-oriented person,
"and I can block
"sooo many shots that I never could react to quick enough before.
"	What my rambling boils down to is this: by learning to
"fight with an
"oversized, overweight shield, I can use a more normal shield
"probably much
"better than if I had started with it. Just thought I'd share
"my experience, so
"that new fighters might gain some benefit. I'm still a newbie
"myself, but
"after 8 months of fighting, I think its time for me to try to
"share my still
"limited knowledge.
"
"Gideon of Black Diamond
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