Based on a scene from Chapter 3 of my story "Furtasian Tails", we have Jaysen, the main character, getting in some late night practice with dear ol' Dad's longsword. At some point, he goes shirtless to ensure full freedom of moment as he adjusts to the weapon's weight (since he's only swung around wooden swords at this point in his life). As you can see, as harsh as his teacher Master Bruin aka Sir Bernard Thornton can be, you can't say his methods haven't been beneficial.