You can watch the full video above where we demonstrate everything discussed below.
We’re big believers in single arm mace and club training.
A lot of our training revolves around unilateral strength, coordination, and control. It builds real world strength. It exposes imbalances. It forces you to own both sides.
But there’s another layer you can add to your steel mace training that introduces a completely different challenge:
Switching your hands mid swing.
It’s fun.
It’s humbling.
And it builds a level of dexterity and proprioception most people don’t train.
Why Practice Hand Switching?
When you switch grips during a swing, you’re introducing asymmetry and dynamic control under momentum.
You have to:
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Let go of the mace (briefly)
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Move your hands quickly and precisely
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Re-grip without disrupting the arc
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Maintain control so you don’t lose the implement
You can’t really see what your hands are doing behind your head.
It’s fast.
It’s reactive.
It demands awareness.
That challenge builds:
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Grip dexterity
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Hand speed
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Proprioception
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Timing and rhythm
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Confidence under load
And if you mess it up? The mace will let you know immediately.
(Or your window or wall will take a beating.)
A Simple Place to Start: The 10 to 2
One of the easiest ways to begin practicing hand switches is during a standard 10-to-2 swing.
As the mace travels over the shoulder and comes back through, you can bring it forward and switch your hands before casting into the next rep.
Start slow.
Control the arc.
Focus on clean transitions instead of speed.
Once that feels smooth, you can experiment with:
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Choking up and down the handle
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Switching which hand is dominant (top vs. bottom)
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Alternating direction each rep
Keep it controlled. The goal is precision, not chaos.
Curl Cast & Over-the-Shoulder Variations
Another great place to add switching is during curl casts.
As you slide your top hand up to guide the cast, you can switch positions before the next rep. It adds a coordination challenge that forces you to stay engaged.
You can also practice this during over the shoulder swings.
Because the mace is already traveling behind your head, it becomes a natural moment to release, reposition, and re-grip.
Again — slow it down.
This isn’t about flashy flow work.
It’s about control.
What Makes This Challenging?
Momentum.
With a steel mace, even a lighter load creates torque due to lever length. When you let go — even briefly — you’re responsible for reestablishing control before the arc collapses or speeds up unpredictably.
That’s why hand switching develops such strong neuromuscular awareness.
You have to:
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Respect the lever
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Stay tight through the trunk
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Maintain rotation
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React quickly
This is one of those skills where you’ll feel clumsy at first.
That’s normal.
It means you’re building something new.
Do We Always Train This?
No.
Like most skills, this is something we spend more time on during certain phases and less during others.
Right now, we don’t dedicate a ton of time to it.
But at different points in training, it’s a great way to:
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Add novelty
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Improve coordination
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Break up repetitive patterns
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Re-engage focus
Sometimes you don’t need more weight.
You just need a new constraint.
The Bigger Picture
Switching hands isn’t 100% required to get strong with a mace.
But it will make you better with it.
It forces awareness.
It builds control.
It sharpens your timing.
And it reminds you that swinging a mace isn’t just about moving weight.
It’s about mastering controlling momentum.
Try it out.