Pell injury?

[Olgierd Pado]

Hi all,

Recently I read somewhere that it is not good for your joints to hit empty air. In other words - you should hit something solid (a pell is usually better suited to this than your partner <img src="/forum/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" />), so as not to run the risk of injury .
On the other hand, striking a pell may also lead to problems and is advisable only for experienced practitioners.
(These information was related to WMA)

I wouldn't want to wake up in 20 years' time and find out that I have problems with wrists/elbows/whatever due to incorrect training method.

Does the above apply to hitting things with wasters as well?

What're your thoughts on this?
What precautions (if any) shall be taken while striking a wooden pell ?
Padding your pell is one thing that comes to my mind at the moment.
Have you sustained any injury due to pell practice?

Cheers
Olgierd Pado

[John_Clements]

Hi
I found that if you hold your weapon too tightly when hitting a solid pell strongly you will suffer joint pain, so naturally you have to hold the weapon supple and realize that since you aren't really cutting into a real target, to control the blow accordingly. After all, a pell is about practicing movements and learning distance and targeting, rather than cutting.
Make sense?

JC

[Ryan Ricks]

i also found that if you thrust into something hard, at least with a one hand sword, you have to keep your wrist tight. a loose wrist will cause the sword to turn your hand at a funny angle, which really hurts. also, you can smack your hand into the guard of your waster pretty well, which also isn't fun

[Jake_Norwood]

I think that cuts which you stop mid-swing, such as cutting from tag to wechsel, may cause some strain on the wrists, etc. Round-strikes, however--cutting from tag to wechsel and following the momentum back up to tag on either side--shouldn't cause any strain at all.

Jake

[Randall Pleasant]

Olgierd

Do follow the warnings about holding your sword too tight and hitting the pell too hard. In my first year of study a hard Unterhau from my right side against an old tire that I was using for a pell resulted in a very bad case of tennis elbow in my left arm that took many months to fully heal. I now use a much softer punching bag for a pell and a much looser grip. The bag is also nice in that it is body size and if you feel the need you can kick the crap out of it. <img src="/forum/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" />

[Olgierd Pado]

Thank you all for input
I've tried the things that have been suggested at my pell practice, and it was waaay batter.
Currently I am making a hanging pell (a block of wood covered with some padding), which IMHO is better than stationary one.

You can also improvise a hanging pell out of water bottles (I tie 3 of them together). Just don't hit too hard or you will kill your pell in no time (even with a waster) - but it's great for targeting, footwork &amp; speed (as JC suggested). Just make sure you pick up bottles made of thick plastic.
And it has a great advantage over wooden pells - you can always drink its contents after workout <img src="/forum/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" />.

Cheers
Olgierd