Test Cutting

As some of you know, test cutting is a regular part of our curriculum. Now that we're firmly in our outdoor training season, we are going to start cutting again. The first batch of mats has been ordered.

Cutting works like this:

You can buy your own mats, roll and soak them, and bring them to class on days when we do cutting. This is the cheapest option. Alternatively, you can pay me $10 per mat. This includes me rolling and soaking it. This is more expensive (mats cost about 7 bucks each), but more convenient for you.

Every NYHFA student is encouraged to own a sharp longsword made by Albion or Arms and Armor. There are other alternatives. The Tinker sharp longsword for CAS Hanwei is a good inexpensive cutting tool (at around $200 it's the best deal out there).

We use two kinds of mats. The first kind is Bugei Wara, the second is Mugen Dachi tatami. Wara are not easier to cut than tatami in terms of technique, but they do require less force and they are less likely to bend your sword. New students will always start learning on wara, and then proceed to tatami. Although many cuts in the system, such as zwerchhau, krumphau and schielhau will usually be done on wara regardless of skill.

Cutting is important for several reasons. Nakamura Taizaburo, founder of Nakamura Ryu battodo, said, "unless you experience cutting with a real sword, you will never begin to taste true sword technique." Truer words have never been spoken. You can't learn to shoot without firing a gun, and you can't learn to drive a car without getting behind the wheel. When you swing a sword, what are you actually doing? How do you know if you're doing it right, if your cut will actually have its desired effect? There are many kinds of cutting besides severing a mat, and we will practice many of them, but severing a target is the most fundamental, and the easiest to both learn and teach correct cutting technique.

Happy cutting.