The
Iaido Journal Nov
2003
Comparison
Chopping:
A
non-scientific review of current offerings for the tameshigiri
crowd.
Continued...
After discussing our impressions, the results were in! These
are the conclusions that we came to…
The beach mats were OK if you can’t get hold of anything
else. The advantage is that they are easily available. We are
definitely spoiled for better target
material though!
The Bugei wara were lots of fun, but not much challenge.
We concluded that these would be good for the beginning students
as they cut easily and so won’t
bend your sword on a bad cut. They are stiff enough to show where the hasuji
was off, or the angle of attack was bad. They are quite a bit taller than the
others. This would potentially allow for a greater number of cuts per target,
but you have to stretch for those first ones.
The new tatami from Mugen Dachi make a good target. They are very consistent
in size and density, and smell like fresh tea when you soak them. They are
easier to cut than the used tatami, but give enough resistance that you have
to be correct in your technique and have good speed in order to cut cleanly.
The used tatami from Bob Elder, the Japanese standard, is used at the various
Tai Kai held in the U.S. They are tougher to cut than the Mugen Dachi mats,
and require good speed and technique or you stand a good chance of bending
your sword. These can be a challenge to consistently cut well. The down side
is the fact that they definitely can vary from target to target, and smell
like bare feet!
The Bugei goza, the toughest of the targets we tried, are
noticeably heavier and larger than the others. Use these
if you are feeling cocky and looking
for a challenge. I don’t think I would have the less experienced guys
cut these though, as they would easily bend your sword if you hit them badly.
The Bugei goza were the most expensive of the lot, but they were a lot of fun
for the challenge factor.
There it is. I warned you at the beginning that it was unscientific.
Despite that fact, I hope that you have come away with a
better understanding of the
target materials available for tameshigiri today. If you are looking for more
insight, do like I did and buy some from each of the companies listed. It’s
interesting, and gives you a good excuse to do a lot of cutting! Just remember,
don’t soak the Bugei wara in the bathtub!
Happy cutting!
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