Hi Bro Rudy,

If you ask me how i train my FSes.. as for how well and how much Fighting Skills a Male will have, actually i will leave it all to him.. My belief is: No matter how Skilful a FS is, if he is not in a healthy state, be prepared to lose a match.. just like Human, without a Healthy and Strong Body, even how much wealth you can possess is also pointless..

My FS Motto is: I do my BEST, my FS will do the REST.
So..

My Main Emphasis:
1) A FS's Well-Being/Health Level
2) Get your FS from the Right Place
3) A FS's Confidence Level
So let's talk about the 1st Topic now..

It really matters alot what are the methods you rear your FSes at home.. i believe by now you should also know, all our experienced SG Kakis have been using the Netted Containers(ownself glued one, can use Epoxy), usually Tupperware containers which can obtained easily at any Supermarket. And also you will realise they have been folding a kind of dry leaf home(DLH) for the FS to live in.. some also used the Money Plant method, can be seen in Bro Randy and Bro Ricky's containers if you noticed.. actually i am the one who invented the Money Plant method, back in Oct2010.. then slowly Bro Randy also realised its usefulness and started using.. but mine is slightly different.. i will ensure the space inside/between the 2 leaves to be just nice.. for a FS to feel comfortable and safe staying inside, and this is how it looks like:

[attachmentid=2426863][attachmentid=2426864]

There's a Male in the 2nd Photo if you notice.
Money Plant is the Best choice for Fresh Leaves as it is known to last long. Nevertheless i will stuff the stems inside a wrapper filled with a wet cotton at the bottom to let it last even longer and secure it with a cable tie. Every 3 day i will remove the old cable tie, refill the water inside and tie it again with a new cable tie.. but that doesnt mean the 2 leaves will last forever.. somehow after 2-3 weeks time the leaves will still turn yellow, i will then find and cut new leaves to make this cosy home for the FSes again.

[attachmentid=2426866][attachmentid=2426867]
Ok now comes the question, why not just use the DLH as a permanent home for the FSes..?

Before i answer it.. this is a Clip on how to fold the Traditional DLH:

How to Fold the Fighting Spider Cage (Singapore version)
When i just joined this SG FS Circle, i was really amazed by this Brilliant Invention of the DLH.. FSes just run inside when they landed onto it.. It is just an Natural Instinct for them. as FSes always dun like to be exposed.. be it T.Sub or T.Bha.. they will find any corner to hide whenever possible.. and furthermore it is so convenient, you dun have to change the leaf at all! ..the leaf wont really rot, it will just dry out from green to grey or brown color and forever remained that way! ..haha so convenient right.. but then.. as the saying goes No Pain No Gain.. i noticed something weird with FSes staying in this setup for long terms.. the fair fighters will also turn into chopsters without fighting chopsters! ..getting weaker at premature stages and even having shorter lifespans.. why..? i think simply becos dry leaves were never their habitat home in the wild.. yes you will find FSes under dry leaves while hunting.. but it will always be a fresh leaf surface below covered by a dry leaf on top.. plus FSes who stayed under such setup are mostly the females.. females, be it any kind of spider, will always be tougher than the males.. they will grow to be bigger and live to be longer than the males too.. so unfair right..? haha..
Oftentimes at the evening you will see males all around finding the females under the dry leaves and start performing their routine ritual dance in front of the females.. ok abit diverted.. now back to main topic..

Our Bro Krauser once told me the reason FSes staying in the DLH always turned chopsters easily becos they are stressed up.. i also agreed on that.. i can feel they arent really comfortable staying in it.. but it is very good for a reason.. when feeding them.. thats why i have been using both homes in my container setup.. cos when they are inside the DLH, just drop a knockout-ed cricket and they will pounce onto it as soon as they sense it.. but i will put them back to their fresh leaves home after they have finished the food.. or sometimes even before i have the chance to do it manually, they are already inside the fresh leaves themselves when i shone torch inside to look for them..! So Cute right..? But never did i see the other way round.. to sum up, the only time they will be in the DLH is only during their meal time, i will ensure they spend most of the time in the fresh leaves home especially sleeping time.. i have also observed that a FS who turned chop as a result of living long terms in the DLH are almost never a good chop.. they just seemed to be stressed up and always launch their chop unskilfully and often get themselves to be bitten hard on their arms by their opponents, resulting in even loss of arm or got eaten up.. at that period when i only used DLH for their only homes plus i been on-ing my aircon every night, my FSes never fought well and never get to live past 2 mths healthily.. it was then i decided to change my method and explore something different..

i began to use a Mini Fan for them.. this is a video on it:
Mini Fan in Action for my FS-es 

since then i have never on my aircon too..

And 1 more very important thing is the feeding of water to FSes.. i dun really agree that by merely sucking the juice from their food sources and go without drinking water is a good idea for a FS.. in my Slings rearing experience.. the Slings are even more thirsty after food than before food.. it also applies to Adult FSes.. like the saying goes a FS can go without food for 3days but not without water for 3days.. the food we are feeding them like crickets and lc worms are all actually juicy food too.. yet they still need to drink after that.. it was after that, to my understanding after some small research i found this info..
"Like people, spiders move by contracting muscles attached to a skeleton. But instead of an internal skeleton covered in flesh, spiders have an exoskeleton -- a stiff support structure on the outside of the body. Exoskeleton segments are connected together with joints so the spider can move them back and forth. This is why you sometimes see spiders on their backs with their legs curled up.

Muscles attached on the inside of the exoskeleton contract to move the legs inward, but spiders don't have any muscles to extend the legs back out again. Instead, they have to force bodily fluids (mainly blood) into the legs to push them outward. If a spider loses too much body water, it can't generate the necessary hydraulic pressure to push its legs out. This is why you sometimes see spiders on their backs with their legs curled up."

Quoted from: http://animals.howstuffworks.com/arachnids/spider2.htm
Yes.. water is needed in the FS body to generate the necessary hydraulic pressure to push its legs out.. meaning that for each and every leg movement outwards the FS is actually using up the bodily fluids within.. which is why everytime after a tough fight.. a FS will always becomes more thirsty and drink more.. apparently is to replenish the bodily fluids within.. or worse still if during the fight the FS was being bitten and bleed, you will often see him sucking the blood back, spider's blood.. becos that blood is even more important! ..water is drank mainly to regenerate this spider's blood i suppose.. you will also notice a chopster often needs to drink more than a fair fighter.. and actually the least a FS needs to drink often indicate the healthier he is.. totally contrary to food.. a FS who cant eat well is also = waiting for death.. and now comes another question.. what is the type of water are you using to feed your FS..?

For me, i dun use Boiled water or Tap Water.. i dun even use Distilled water.. i am really fortunate to have a RO Water System at home.. this is a very Fine Technology of Water System invented in US.. if free, can try to surf online for its details.. but i dun buy this just for my FSes.. it is already in my home since years back when my Family members bought it for our health purposes thats why lucky.. i cant be totally sure if RO water really helps but definitely i have heard from various kakis that using Tap Water is a bad idea as it contain Chlorine.. so apparently for FS it is still the Purer the water the better it is.

Ideally, everyday a FS have to be fed with water twice.. day once evening once.. i will also monitor closely to not overfeed my FSes.. if i caught one who is really newly-moulted.. i will not hesitate to pump him with lots of crickets a day.. but until the end of 2nd week or so when i see that his abdomen has really reached a certain size i will then slow down on the feeding.. it is very important a day or two before a fight, let ur FS be empty stomached.. it is perfectly fine.. if he is still eating in the morning and going to fight in the afternoon.. having a bloated abdomen often results in clumsiness of the FS, like putting on weigh on ur foot when running a marathon..

Now with all these new methods introduced in my rearing system.. my FSes.. many of them get to live pass 2 or 3 mths.. at a more Healthy, Jumpy, Active state even at the 2.5nd mth point.. without turning Chop.. in fact to be precise those who turned chop halfway can never live past 2mths healthy in my experience.. but one thing i have proven in my rearing.. those normal-converted-chop FSes i have..  a good numbers of them actually turned out to be Fierce and Powerful Chops.. like a Win-Win Situation.. My Examples include Aso, Cloud, Greem, Rondo and etc.. they are able to engaged in long fights and even beat their Fair Fighters opponent.. the latest example which is Cloud, is even a better example.. he dun drink much after converting to a chop, not even need to drink twice a day, cos you will realise some chops that we keep will be able to drink at every 2hrs interval as long as we let them to.. and that makes everything in place.. a Chop supposedly is a FS with a weaker stamina but has now become otherwise.. nevertheless no matter how well my method can get, a FS's prime never get to pass the 3rd mth point.. there are some whose prime can last till the 2nd mth point is already considered very fortunate and good..

As to how to judge how healthy a FS is.. can see thru his movement when take him out.. he must have the jerkiness when moving.. and the alertness like when you make a snap on ur fingers he will turn to you immediately.. eating well, abdomen must be able to expand after food and contract shortly after.. the least he needs to drink the better.. test him on his jump, let him jump a far distance from your hand to hand, when he land you must be able to feel the impact, the heavier the better.. not having eyesight problem, some FSes tend to go blind after sometime..
..(to be continued)..