Swing Smarter, Not Harder

We all know the adage "work smarter, not harder." Essentially, when we adapt the way we put energy into something, we can achieve greater output for less effort. And if the same output costs less time and and energy, then you now have more of both resources available! You literally have the means to greater output, and even better, the opportunity for sustained output.

This concept is just as true in mace flow: More intelligent and efficient execution results in greater performance and stamina.

But before I give away the secret sauce of HOW to do this, we first need to ground this concept in practicality.

This week's video covers the Drop Shield, an incredible full body movement that improves our steel mace mills. I first teach the Drop Shield in stages (landmarks) to guide you through the correct path slowly. Once you've mastered each stage, I then invite you to move more smoothly and eliminate the pauses. As it becomes smoother, the momentum of the mace moves itself, and all we have to do is guide the mace.

Now, did you catch the transition between swinging harder and swinging smarter?

We went from using our own strength to move the heavy weight of the mace to using our strength to guide the mace. This is key because it points us towards one of the single most important aspects of steel mace training: The degree to which we allow the mace to move itself determines the effort we will expend while moving the mace.

So if you want a really hard workout, don't let the mace move itself. Control each movement, arrest the mace's momentum, and move more slowly.

And if you want to free flow for minutes at a time, you must learn to guide the mace and minimize your opposition to its momentum. 

And this leads us into the secret sauce I promised:

The key to free flowing for dozens of minutes at a time is found in how we manage our cardiovascular and muscular stamina. Think of both of these like batteries: the higher our heart rate is and the harder our muscles work, the faster we will exhaust our batteries. The slower we expend this energy, the longer the batteries will last. So to expend this energy more slowly, do these two things:

1. Guide the mace as it moves itself. Nurture the mace's momentum and only redirect it when doing so will not cost tremendous energy.
2. Adjust the pace of your movements to prevent your heart rate from climbing too high. Once you've found a pace of flow that can be maintained without undo challenge, keep that pace.  

Remember that the longer you can flow, the more reps you can perform and thus the greater opportunity you have to refine and improve your technique. This is how you can make great leaps in your mace flow abilities!

Carpe Diem,

Coach Lochlainn

P.S. 

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