The Skills of Deadpool

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Deadpool, for all his madness, is an incredibly skilled individual.  Even if you completely removed his healing factor, he’s still be an incredibly formidable opponent due to his extensive training and abilities.  He’s mastered a number of hand-to-hand weapons, as well as all manner of guns and explosive.  He’s also very good at improvising when he needs to, utilizing almost anything around him as a weapon.  Additionally, he’s got acrobatic skills on par with some other Marvel greats, like Spider Man and Wolverine.  Let’s take a look at how we can develop all of these own skills ourselves!

Maximum Effort Combat

Deadpool’s got a lot of weapons in his arse…nal.  Let’s take a look for how to develop a proficiency with the most prominent ones…

Katanas

Deadpool favors the curved, Japanese longsword called the Katana.  He typically wields two at once, to great and startling efficacy.  If you’re interested in learning how to fight with a katana, your best bet is to look for a Kendo dojo.  Kendo is literally the Japanese sport of sword fighting, based upon a martial art known as Kenjutsu.  You could also look for a kenjutsu dojo, but they are a lot less common than Kendo dojos.

If you’re in the US, you can actually find a dojo in your state by  checking out the following link:

http://www.auskf.org/dojo/index.htm

Guns

Deadpool has a whole bunch of guns.  Like, a lot.  A whooooole lot.  Sometimes he carries them around in a duffel bag.  He’s well versed in basically anything that shoots or explodes.  For learning how to shoot, the best way is to head down to your local shooting range and see if they have any beginner classes you can sign up for.  Shooting is just like any other skill, you get better with practice and instruction, so find a qualified instructor, and spend a lot of time practicing at the range.

Kaboomy Stuff

Now, if you want to lean towards the explosive side of things, you have two options: Join the military, or get into fireworks.  Fireworks legality can vary from location to location, but even cooler than just setting fireworks off semi-legally is to actually get paid to do so!  Becoming a pyrotechnician/fireworks technician is an actual, real-life thing you can do, which is awesome!  The best way to do this is to apprentice under another professional pyrotechnician.  For this, Google is your friend.  Call up local fireworks show companies, and tell them about your desire to become a pyrotechnician, and ask if there’s anyone you can apprentice under.  This is necessary partially so you can learn how to become one, and partially because they can help you jump through various legal hoops to get your license (these vary from location to location.)

Jumpy, Flippy Stuff

This stuff is, unfortunately, really hard to communicate through text, or even just pictures.  Luckily, this is 2016, and we live in an era where videos exist on the internet!  Woo!

So anyway, Deadpool jumps and flips around a lot, pulling all kinds of crazy acrobatic maneuvers both in and out of combat.  The Deadpool Workout will help you develop the muscles you need to perform these maneuvers, but you need to practice the skills as well.  First off, I would look in your area for a local gymnastics place that has open hours, or drop-in sessions.  Speak with someone there and find out if there would be someone willing to give you instructions in some basic flips and trick, because working with an instructor in a safe environment is obviously the best way to go for this stuff.

Barring that, there’s also some great stuff on Youtube.  These are some playlists on the subject that I like, and you can either use them to learn alone, or show them to your instructor to show what you’re interested in learning:

Tricking Tutorial Playlist Number One

Tricking Tutorial Playlist Number Two

Tricking Tutorial Playlist Number Three

In all of this, remember to take things slow and stay safe.  Tricking can be hard on the body, especially when you’re first starting out.  A padded floor definitely helps!

The Healing Factor

Deadpool’s healing factor is obviously an iconic element of the character.  Now, as I said in the spotlight post, we’re obviously not going to be going about regrowing hands any time soon, but here’s a few things you can do to up your healing rate.

Get More Sleep

Most people don’t get enough sleep.  As an adult, you should be getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night, preferably on a steady, regular schedule.  Getting enough sleep is linked to a well-functioning immune system, and it’s also when you body performs repairs and catalogs what you’ve learned during the day.

Boost Your Testosterone

If you’re a guy, raising your testosterone levels can beef up your immune system, make your muscles recover and grow faster, and also increase the rate at which your body heals itself.  Luckily, I’ve written a handy-dandy eBook with some GREAT methods for this  Check out Testoster-Own here!

Exercise

In addition to increasing your strength and cardiovascular health, exercise is part of an over-arching category of medicine called preventative care.  By keeping your body in excellent shape, you’re helping prevent it from getting injured, by keeping your muscles well maintained and your cardiovascular system up.  You will also recover faster from illness, surgery, and injuries than an out-of-shape person would.

Nutrition

Making sure your body gets enough protein, fat, and micronutrients to repair your body is necessary to recover from injuries.  Getting carbohydrates and micronutrients powers the reactions and cells that drive your internal healing processes.  Check out my article Macros and You! for an overview on how to design a healthy eating lifestyle.

All of these methods help boost your healing rate, keep your immune system strong, and help power your body better.  You may not be regrowing a severed hand, but man it feels awesome to only have a week of bed rest instead of a month after surgery, or be able to work out more often and more effectively.  It’s the little things in life, y’know?  Like hand guns and hand grenades…but hey, we already covered those!

Anyway, that’s it for The Skills of Deadpool!  Come back on Thursday for The Minds of Deadpool (at truly ill-advised article that may be dangerous for all who encounter it.)  Live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome!

Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace