Releasing tension to gain speed and control

         I'm already working on a technique that I want to incorporate into my weapon form for next year's team.  It is a single-handed double articulation with the stick.  I had come across a video of someone performing this technique; they started off slow and then went at an insanely fast speed, all the while looking casual about it, hand in their pocket.  I thought what a cool technique this was, and immediately knew that I wanted to incorporate it into a form.

        So, I went to practice at it.  First I took it really slow, developing the movement, getting my hips and shoulders engaged in the movement.  What I was having difficulty with was the speed and the consistency.  I found I had a hiccup in my technique bring the stick from behind me, to in-front of me while keeping the rotation.  As I worked at it more, it came down to the tension in my hand, wrist, arm, all the way up the channel to my shoulder.  Lightbulb moment, I had discovered something similar with my karambits.  I loosened my grip, which did make me nervous at first, because my stick is heavy, and there is a lot of valuable and breakable things in my practice area.  However, what I discovered is that I had more control, and more speed by releasing the tension in my grip.

        Now I'm not as fast as the person in the video, but the technique is starting to come along much better, and I'm confident it will look really good in the form I create.