Iaido cutting practice outdoors - Stan Mauro #1

An outdoor Iaido cutting practice session showing Renshi Stan Mauro.

www.chudokan.com

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• martial
• arts
• aikido
• iaido
• chudokan
• chudokai
• windsor
• ontario
• Kevin
• Blok

[bmoorcroft]

We've used them occasionally. They are very price "effective", but they are also very difficult to use because they are so flexible. As a sign of skill, being able to cut a pool noodle is pretty high up there. I would certainly not turn away from them as another tool in the cutting package, though I would not start a beginner with them.

[LotusDragon09]

Ah I see. What is your opinion on pool noodles? I was thinking of trying those as well since I can find some really cheap. Maybe stick a thin dowel rod in the ground and use that to hold the noodle up. I know the foam would have less resistance than plastic bottles, but its flexibility and lightness would offer a different challenge.

[bmoorcroft]

The water bottles are a bit different in cutting in that if you overcome the initial resistance, they cut quite cleanly. They are good for using with beginners so that people have practice using their blades and so they don't pay a boatload of cash doing so. Once you get some practice, then you can use tatami, which has a different resistance. If I could afford to, I'd use tatami exclusively, but it gets pricey very fast.

[LotusDragon09]

Actually, I take back my comment about stainless steel rusting easy.  It still does rust, but not nearly as easily as high carbon steel. Its still a very undisirable metal for a functional sword though.

[LotusDragon09]

So is it much easier to cut through water bottles compared to tatami?  Regardless, I suppose it would still test your skill as they arent anchored to the ground and you could analyse the cut afterwards.

[bmoorcroft]

Cutting normal uses tatami mats, but those are expensive and time consuming to use. For simplicity, and ease of use, water filled bottles provide enough similarity to the mats to allow for lots of practice without breaking the bank. As for water and metal, we simply schedule a cleaning session immediately afterwards.

[LotusDragon09]

Its still bad to mix metal with water anyway though :). I dont understand the point of all these sword vs water jug videos.

[cardon15kenny]

wow, I didn't know that.

Thanks for telling me. :D

[LotusDragon09]

Any sword will rust easily with use. Stainless steel is not only a bad type of metal for a sword in general, but actually rusts easier than others as well. As long as the user cleans the blade off shortly after use, it will be fine. Interestingly, blood (and ketchup) will start to rust a blade much faster than water will. I wouldnt cut a sand fill jug either. The sand might put little scratches in the blade, but ive never dont this so I dont know for sure.

[cardon15kenny]

I'm sorry, but you could rust that blade VERY easily, so please be careful. Katana is very sharp, but it can rust quickly, unless it is stain-less steal. If I were you, I would've filled those gallons with sand or dry dirt.