jducoeur

The term I read in a book once that I tend to use is "playing at the batons". It was meant to convey practicing with sticks instead of real weapons. I seem to recall this as being a period usage, but as I have no idea where I read it, I must downgrade that assertion to "weakly possible".

Perhaps you should consult with The Boftist. I'm sure he must have some cleverly correct phrase.