Day 12: The Snake Charmer

From Sword Mastery Basics - Deluxe Edition

Welcome to Day 12 of the deluxe edition of our Sword Mastery series! Today, we introduce the Snake Charmer—a graceful, integrated movement that combines upper and lower body technique with precise control over the sword's balance. You will learn how to make the sword move in a very fluid manner.

This move can be practiced to create large, sweeping circles or kept very small and controlled.

Key Techniques and Breakdown

The way to execute the Snake Charmer is to stand with your posture really straight, bend your knees a little bit, and look forward. The stance is almost an "empty foot stance" but involves giving a little bit of weight to your front foot. The non-sword hand is brought behind the body. The core of the movement is weighing and balancing the sword perfectly on your index finger. To hold the sword correctly, position your index finger almost resting on the guard, and gently hold your thumb to counteract the balance of the sword. You will use a little bit of force to lift the sword up instead of letting it fall forward.

Practice Drills (Repeat on Both Sides)

Simple Lift (10 repetitions): Drop the sword, then use the force of your index finger to lift it up. Focus on making the movement controlled and fluid.
Side-to-Side Motion (10 repetitions): Use your thumb to bring the sword from side to side. Your upper body and shoulder should not move.
Thumb Circles (2 sets of 10): Use your thumb to "massage" the top of the sword, right underneath the guard, making circles. Practice 10 times forward, and 10 times reverse.
Front-to-Back with Shoulder (10 repetitions): Combine the "massaging of the thumb" and pushing up with the index finger. Add a small, "showoff shoulder rotation" to this back-and-forth movement.
Exaggerated Movement (10 repetitions): Exaggerate the front-to-back movements and make the circles big. Move the shoulder while keeping your back straight.

I hope you enjoyed our Snake Charmer tutorial! We'll see you in Day 13.

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