If you’ve ever watched a rope dart video then you’ll likely still be impressed with this one, if not then sit back and enjoy and just know there are plenty of others out there that are just as impressive, with this same practitioner who will help you along the way no less as she is very, very good. The rope dart is what feels like a very underappreciated weapon since it does take a bit of time to master and it does deliver several painful lessons if one isn’t paying attention. The fire rope dart in the style of Kill Bill is definitely something that’s not for beginners since ANYTHING to do with fire is not for beginners largely because it’s not to be played with and injuries can happen. Even in this instance it’s likely that her clothing is not synthetic and is flame resistant, and that she’s probably put something on her exposed skin and prepared herself for any accidents that could happen. But in keeping with the idea of the rope dart it’s usually assumed that if one knows what they’re doing then there’s no reason to worry, and she knows what she’s doing. Dressing up like Gogo was a nice touch, but there is a difference between a rope dart and what Gogo was using in the movie.
Gogo was using what’s known as a meteor hammer, which is very much like a rope dart since they’re both attached to a rope and are manipulated by the user to great effect when it comes to swinging them around and using them not unlike a flail with a very long cord. However, Gogo’s was obviously modified as at the click of a button the razor-sharp blades that protruded from the middle of the ball would pop out and increase the danger factor. Unfortunately when being realistic this is where the weapons usefulness would both increase and the capability of the handler might decrease since as you can see with the fire dart she tends to come very close to her body and at times this might be close enough to feel the lick of the flames as the dart goes by. Doing this with Gogo’s weapon is entirely possibly, but it wouldn’t take much more than a glancing blow to open a person up and thereby ruin the flow just a bit. The whole thing about the rope dart, the meteor hammer, and any other weapon that a person might wield is that the flow that a person experiences when they’re fully into the movements and rhythm is important, and with a rope dart it’s doubly so since movement is key and it’s necessary to keep things smooth and effective. While the woman in this video is obviously quite the expert at this she’s also been doing it for a while and knows how to move and how to keep the dart rotating and moving around her body. It’s kind of doubtful that she’d ever take up Gogo’s type of weapon if only because one, it’s extremely dangerous, two, she’s more about performance than she is about martial prowess, and three, the weight of Gogo’s weapon has to be incredible since the ball alone would require a great deal of extra training in order to get used to the weight so that one could remain balance when using the weapon.
The fire dart does carry a minimal amount of danger since of course, fire and human flesh don’t really mix. But when you notice how quickly she keeps the dart moving and the fact that she maintains a pretty good distance between the dart and her body you can get the feeling that she’s balanced and therefore knows when and where to move so that she can avoid any unwanted harm. Likely as not she gets a bit warm at times and even singed if she’s not careful enough, but watching her other videos it’s easy to get the feeling that she’s worked up to this throughout the years and learned from some of the best practitioners she could find, so everything is well. But really, the rope dart is quite a bit of fun as I’ve started up on my own, using this woman’s tutorials and a few others no less, and so far some of the movements are a lot easier than one might think. Watching someone using a rope dart, traditional or modified, in the movies is mesmerizing since the movements are so quick, so fluid, and so fast that it’s easy to wonder how they do it. When you figure out the simple mechanics of it however it comes down to learning how to move your body, how to keep the rope moving, and then putting the two together in a way that makes sense and creates a sort of dance that, when understood, is actually rather cathartic as well as impressive to watch.
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