One of the biggest differences between someone learning mace swings and someone who's been practicing them for years isn't strength.
It's efficiency.
As you become more comfortable with a movement, the goal shifts from simply completing the rep to making every rep look and feel cleaner. Small technical adjustments begin to matter more because they remove unnecessary motion and improve consistency.
One cue we've been using recently has been surprisingly effective:
Pick a spot in front of you and keep your eyes locked on it.
Don't Chase the Head of the Mace
When you're first learning to swing, it's completely normal to watch the head of the mace.
It helps you understand where the weight is moving and builds confidence with the pattern.
The problem comes when that turns into excessive head movement.
We've seen people ducking underneath their elbows or turning their entire head dramatically as the mace travels around them. Besides being unnecessary, it can make the movement less efficient and even leave your neck feeling irritated after a lot of reps.
Instead, think about keeping your head relatively quiet while allowing the mace to move around you.
Why This Works
Lately we've been applying this cue during heavier single arm 10 to 2 swings.
By fixing our eyes on one point in the distance, several things naturally happen:
- The swing stays tighter.
- The mace drifts less.
- The body rotates only as much as necessary.
- The movement becomes smoother and easier to repeat.
Instead of allowing the swing to get bigger and bigger with every rep, you're giving your body a stable reference point to organize around.
Less Motion. More Control.
This isn't about eliminating torso rotation.
Trunk involvement is still a huge part of good mace mechanics.
Instead, the goal is to remove movement that doesn't contribute to the swing.
If you find yourself turning excessively, casting the mace farther away from your body than intended, or drifting around your training space, this simple visual cue can help tighten everything back up.
Sometimes improving technique isn't about adding another coaching cue.
It's about removing distractions.
Try locking onto a point in front of you during your next set of single arm 10 to 2s and see how your swings feel.
You may be surprised how much cleaner they become.