Meet Mr. Pointy!

I got my very own spear tonight! Here it is, newly dubbed “Mr. Pointy” (it’s a Buffy reference, for the non-Whedonites out there).

From 2009 Photobook

The spear is much heavier than my staff, and much longer. If you stand and raise your right hand straight up, the staff should be as high as the base of your palm. The spear, however, goes all the way to the tips of your fingers, and maybe just a little bit more.

Let me just say that this makes spinning the spear a wee bit more challenging. Especially when any mistake means a rip in the expensive mats covering the floor. (After tonight, I owe the school quite a bit of money…)

The basic spear form we’re learning is going well, though. I love the stabbing motions — probably because there are none in the staff form. The weapon is truly beautiful. I don’t know why I never saw that before.

Before I get all verklempt over a weapon, I thought I’d post a picture of our practice daggers we use since many folks have asked about them before. As you can see, they’re metal but not sharpened. The flattened edges themselves are a bit sharp, though. They easily nick flesh and rip clothes. (I have a great tear in my sash, embarrassingly enough.) If I were to drive one into my thigh, it would definitely penetrate a bit. I’m not going to test that one out… at least not on purpose.

From 2009 Photobook

Sadly, Mr. Pointy will not be able to stay in my condo for long. Cairo thinks he’s tasty.