[William Goodwin]

While doing sword presentation/cutting demo this past week-end, I managed to royaly screw-up muscles and tendions in my shoulder. i usually do warm-up strikes with a waster on a pell a home before test-cutting, but was unable to transport it to the site. I've been eating Advil like Skittles all week just to make it through work (i'm a warehouse supervisor)

So, I felt a need, to emphasize the importance of doing warm-up swings before any test cutting. I'm not as young as I use to be and should have known better than to do this demo cold. So please heed my advise and just some warm-up exercises first. Safety is another issue that is stressed here many times as well. I had lots of youngsters watching, wanting desperately to touch and hold sharp blades. I stretched Caution tape all around the area to keep the little rascals a bay, but still had to keep a close watch on where people where at all times, especially during the cutting demo..

A few minor details, but very important to always keep in mind whether at home or in the public eye.

SAFETY FIRST!

Bill

[Gary Grzybek]

I agree William...

The importance of warming up or stretching should not be overlooked in any sport or martial art. I've put a hurtin on myself more than once by starting out cold. I'm going to focus more on this with my study group since we sometimes skip warm ups when time is short. Safety is definately first priority.

[William Goodwin]

Still hurtin' like a big dog.

Proper technique and form are key factors as well. I"m not much of a practitioner, so that's part of the problem i guess.
Here's a pic from the demo, don't know if this is the one that did in my shoulder or not.

Bill