Club and Mace Inward
This is a personal challenge to swing an Indian Club and a Mace (gada) together.
Inward Swing Movements
The nature of the Mace and Indian Club movements is very similar. I have been playing around with a lot over the years. Both swings are INWARD.
In this video, you will see me swing a 6kg/13.5lbs mace and a 24″ Indian Club which weighs 1.5lbs, not kilos as I say in the video.
The hardest thing here is to get the two swinging together. Bloopers included.
The Mace (gada) swing breakdown
The Mace swings inwards over the shoulder. The hand holding the Mace should not rise above your head. Your hand should pass over your shoulder no higher than the top of your ear.
Transverse and shoulder turn
Let’s say for example, that you are swinging the Mace with your right hand. Make sure that your right shoulder transverses to the back as you launch the Mace behind you. Then your shoulder should rotate to the front as the Mace comes up. Reverse everything when you use your left hand.
Low front rack position
Use the low front rack position to control the speed of the mace head as it comes up from the backswing.
The Indian Club swing breakdown
The Indian Club swings inwards at the front and the back of the body. The movement is a combination of two circles. Swing the front circle with a straight arm. The back circle uses the full movement of the shoulder girdle to enable a wrist circle.
Transverse and shoulder turn
For example’s sake, let’s assume that you are swinging the Indian Club with your left hand. The first circle is the front circle. To do this, you will need to turn your left shoulder forward, swing across the body and then out of the side. As the club swings out to the side, your left shoulder should rotate to the back to swing the back circle.
WARNING – Club and Mace INWARD combo
A word of caution, unless you are very confident in swinging a Mace (gada) one-handed, please do not try this.
Level of difficulty and skill – Inward 360’s
You have to be able to swing a Mace single-handed for at least five minutes on each arm. Before you even consider swinging an Indian Club and Mace (gada) at the same time.
The combination of Club and Mace is DANGEROUS, and you can lose balance fast. I don’t recommend trying this if you are a newcomer to single-handed Mace (gada) swinging.
To swing the Club and Mace together, you should prepare by swinging the Club and Mace each on their own first.
Practice coordination by using a pair of Indian Clubs first
When you are ready, think it through, start to swing the Mace first and then add the club.
As you swing the Mace (gada) to the back, you must swing the Indian Club to the front of the body at the same time.
Timing is crucial. You should be making the back circle with the Indian Club as you pull the Mace down into the front rank position. Remember to transverse and shoulder turn as described above.
