View Full Version : Big Wooden Cross In Front Yard...Yay Or Nay...?
One of the best things about the housing market having turned to shit is I no longer care about if something I do will make my house less marketable. So if I want to have a training pagoda in my backyard I build one.
As my next project, I'm thinking about building a sword cross (also known as a ken makiwara). Basically it is a 6 foot high wooden fence post bisected about 18" from the top by a 3 foot 2x4 which results in a wooden cross.
The purpose of such a device is as a training aid for wooden swords (Bokken in classical Japanese fencing). If anyone has seen the Spartacus series on Starz they use the same thing and it is a common training aid in many ancient cultures.
It is also a great way to develop strong sword technique and a great workout. As a bonus if the neighbors are being loud late at night I can go beat a wooden cross with a wooden sword and it tends to send a message of mild annoyance at their shenanigans. This is of course a very minor consideration.
But I'm not completely sure I want a 6 foot wooden cross in my front yard. There is obviously the KKK connotation and I don't want anyone thinking I'm in the Klan or being persecuted by the Klan. I normally could care less what people think but I try not to do things that might put my house on everyone's radar. Alternatively I don't want a bunch of people to assume I'm some born again deeply religious individual.
But I really do miss the kind of training where you can go pretty much all out with powerful strikes and full speed combinations of strikes against a target that offers resistance.
And before somebody asks, the backyard is not an option, I have too much going on back there already.
Could you perhaps make a moveable base for it, so you could set it up while training, and remove it afterwards? That way, the only time it would be visible is when you're smacking the hell out of it, and at that point, who's going to make snide comments?
Paint it red and inscribe it with gold kanji.
If you're really concerned, move something out of the backyard to the front to act as a distraction, like the nude sunbathing area
Could you perhaps make a moveable base for it, so you could set it up while training, and remove it afterwards? That way, the only time it would be visible is when you're smacking the hell out of it, and at that point, who's going to make snide comments?
Not really something that lends itself to a portable model. Will probably be in a one foot by one foot cement pad and 2 feet into the ground. Otherwise you are just gonna constantly knock it over.
Paint it red and inscribe it with gold kanji.
No sense in trying to make it pretty, it won't stay that way. Maybe I'll just hang a coiled hose on it when not in use.
GermanSynergy
08-15-11, 22:54
Would a Wicker Man type effigy work in lieu of a cross, for training purposes?
Would a Wicker Man type effigy work in lieu of a cross, for training purposes?
Wouldn't last 5 minutes and not enough resistance to develop powerful strikes. With a training cross the Bokken become disposable. I'm gonna knock out a dozen or so for use on the cross so I don't break my nice ones. While you don't go Babe Ruth with them, eventually after enough impacts they will crack and split.
Go the whole nine yards and buy a real pell instead. You would get much better sword technique from a moving base pell than with a fixed pell and you will save your elbow and shoulders into your late 50's and 60's with a moving pell. Also, proper technique of your sword swing and foot placement is very important for the power of your swing and the accuracy of your strike.
Yes I was in SCA and yes, I have done mostly dueling; never any big battles like Estrella or anything like that.
ETA: Here is a site that shows different kinds of pells.
http://www.woodenswords.com/Pell/ubiquitous_pell.htm
militarymoron
08-15-11, 23:18
hang a sign on it when you're not using it saying 'here lies chestnut, the bestest horse a man could have. 1994-2011'.
Not really something that lends itself to a portable model. Will probably be in a one foot by one foot cement pad and 2 feet into the ground. Otherwise you are just gonna constantly knock it over.
No sense in trying to make it pretty, it won't stay that way. Maybe I'll just hang a coiled hose on it when not in use.
Not to make it pretty, but so it doesn't look like it's a religious cross
Go the whole nine yards and buy a real pell instead. You would get much better sword technique from a moving base pell than with a fixed pell and you will save your elbow and shoulders into your late 50's and 60's with a moving pell. Also, proper technique of your sword swing and foot placement is very important for the power of your swing and the accuracy of your strike.
Yes I was in SCA and yes, I have done mostly dueling; never any big battles like Estrella or anything like that.
ETA: Here is a site that shows different kinds of pells.
http://www.woodenswords.com/Pell/ubiquitous_pell.htm
I understand the advantages of the moving base but I want a fixed. I know enough not to baseball bat a fixed post. I've done enough training on fixed post crosses in the past to not have any detrimental effects. I did dig the suspended tire target, not sure I want one in my front yard though.
hang a sign on it when you're not using it saying 'here lies chestnut, the bestest horse a man could have. 1994-2011'.
:lol:
Thomas M-4
08-16-11, 01:28
I understand the advantages of the moving base but I want a fixed. I know enough not to baseball bat a fixed post. I've done enough training on fixed post crosses in the past to not have any detrimental effects. I did dig the suspended tire target, not sure I want one in my front yard though.
:lol:
Could you not just have the post drop into the concrete pad say buy a foot or so as long as it fairly snug fit ?
Either way I am sure there is something on the market that you could adapt to have a steady sturdy removable post that actually wouldn't cost much. i know they make removable Goal post stands. That might not be the answer but I am confident there is cost effective solution some were.
I'm starting to warm up to the free standing model. The benefits of moving it are starting to offset my desire to be lazy and just drop it in the ground with a couple bags of crete.
I'd be more apt to put a fully functional toilet in my lawn. There is nothing like an early morning poo out in open.
The_War_Wagon
08-16-11, 06:44
Unless you move so fast, there's a danger of the wood rubbing just right and setting it on fire, I wouldn't worry about any Klan connotations - it's gotta be burning, first. ;)
You might be perceived as a religious nut during the construction phase - that brings its OWN set of issues. But once you start smacking it around, you might be perceived as ANTI-Christian, which may well serve as an UN-intended INVITATION for the Klan to come over and SET IT on fire FOR you! :eek:
Maybe the backyard would be BEST for such a project... :o
Sink a piece of PVC pipe in the concrete and just drop the post in when you want to use it. That way it's there, unseen, and you can still mow over it, too.
VooDoo6Actual
08-16-11, 08:18
It might put you on the Terrorist watch list.
Unless you move so fast, there's a danger of the wood rubbing just right and setting it on fire, I wouldn't worry about any Klan connotations - it's gotta be burning, first. ;)
You might be perceived as a religious nut during the construction phase - that brings its OWN set of issues. But once you start smacking it around, you might be perceived as ANTI-Christian, which may well serve as an UN-intended INVITATION for the Klan to come over and SET IT on fire FOR you! :eek:
Maybe the backyard would be BEST for such a project... :o
In the backyard there would not be enough room to do all the ninja flips and rolls associated with classical fencing. It a front yard project.
Sink a piece of PVC pipe in the concrete and just drop the post in when you want to use it. That way it's there, unseen, and you can still mow over it, too.
That might be my solution. Thanks.
I understand the advantages of the moving base but I want a fixed. I know enough not to baseball bat a fixed post. I've done enough training on fixed post crosses in the past to not have any detrimental effects. I did dig the suspended tire target, not sure I want one in my front yard though.
Well i really like a 4x4 that is mounted in an old tire with a bag or two of concrete. Put a piece of plywood inside the tire, then the 4x4, then fill with concrete so you get the weight at the bottom so you can rock the pell, and then move it by rolling it out of the way when you are done. I would also suggest not putting wide arms on the pell, but little nubs for the shoulders (maybe a foot on each side at the most) and then wrap the entire thing in duct tape and closed cell foam. Iono, I hate making new ratan swords so I choose to make something that I can beat the shit out of but not destroy my swords at the same time. Just me though.
Well i really like a 4x4 that is mounted in an old tire with a bag or two of concrete. Put a piece of plywood inside the tire, then the 4x4, then fill with concrete so you get the weight at the bottom so you can rock the pell, and then move it by rolling it out of the way when you are done. I would also suggest not putting wide arms on the pell, but little nubs for the shoulders (maybe a foot on each side at the most) and then wrap the entire thing in duct tape and closed cell foam. Iono, I hate making new ratan swords so I choose to make something that I can beat the shit out of but not destroy my swords at the same time. Just me though.
I'm leaning towards that model actually. Arms will only be 3 feet across.
Probably not gonna pad it much or at all. Will also be using hardwood bokken, probably gonna knock out a dozen of them. They will be the expendable part.
Don't look like a weirdo in front of you neighbors.
Don't attach attention to yourself.
Don't look like a weirdo in front of you neighbors.
Don't attach attention to yourself.
Wise words.
I would not want the attention but heck it is your yard you should use it the way you want to. The pipe in the ground sounds like the best option. Some kind of cover would be necessary in my yard because someone would break a freaking ankle or leg in the hole.
So long as you don't set it on fire, I don't think you'll be viewed as a grand dragon or anything. Just my $.02.
Don't look like a weirdo in front of you neighbors.
Don't attach attention to yourself.
Probably too late. For the last 15 years, several nights a week I gather with like minded individuals in my driveway for training that some might find weird and sometimes gets noticed. Half a dozen guys in Kendo armor beating each other with bamboo training swords probably gets noticed (at least at first).
I also try not to live my life based upon what others may think. My only concern in this case is that somebody my misunderstand the purpose of a big wooden cross.
Probably too late. For the last 15 years, several nights a week I gather with like minded individuals in my driveway for training that some might find weird and sometimes gets noticed. Half a dozen guys in Kendo armor beating each other with bamboo training swords probably gets noticed (at least at first).
I also try not to live my life based upon what others may think. My only concern in this case is that somebody my misunderstand the purpose of a big wooden cross.
Wish you were my neighbor, that sounds like fun
I think you'd be good to go......unless you're BLACK! The way things are going, in this country, you may be charged with a hate crime against yourself!!! :fie:
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