And it was easy to weed out those who were only there for the "cool’ factor. True training starts with vigorous workout for about a year. Weapons in general needed muscle growth in areas that were not commonly used. Let alone the stamina needed to continuously swing said weapon around. I had prior training before my weapon training in Hogwarts, so the first year course was incredibly boring for me. The scenarios they put the kids through were the same ones I had when I was younger. It did allow me to stay in shape though.