Rice Mats / cutting

[caiusbeerquitius]

Does anyone have a written, quotable reference about the physical resistance of watered rice Mats? The Japan-geeks perhaps? :-)
Cheers! Christian

[MARCvSVIBIvSMAvRINvS]

I dont know if the physical resistance has ever been scientifically measured and compared to human flesh and bones but here is a start :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tameshigiri

In modern times, the practice of tameshigiri has come to focus on testing the swordsman's abilities, rather than the sword's. Thus, swordsmen sometimes use the terms Shito (試刀, sword testing) and Shizan (試斬, test cutting, an alternate pronunciation of the characters for tameshigiri) to distinguish between the historical practice of testing swords and the contemporary practice of testing one's cutting ability. The target most often used at present is the goza or tatami "omote" rush mat. To be able to cut consecutive times on one target, or to cut multiple targets while moving, requires that one be a very skilled swordsman.

Targets today are typically made from wara or goza, either bundled or rolled into a tubular shape. They may be soaked in water to add density to the material. This density is to approximate that of flesh. Green bamboo is used to approximate bone.

Once the goza target is in this tubular shape, it has a vertical grain pattern when stood vertically on a target stand, or horizontally when placed on a horizontal target stand (dotton or dodan). This direction of the grain affects the difficulty of the cut.

The difficulty of cuts is a combination of the target material hardness, the direction of the grain of the target (if any), the quality of the sword, the angle of the blade (hasuji) on impact, and the angle of the swing of the sword (tachisuji).

When cutting a straw target that is standing vertically, the easiest cut is the downward diagonal. This is due to a combination of the angle of impact of the cut against the grain (approximately 30-50 degrees from the surface), the downward diagonal angle of the swing, and the ability to use many of the major muscle groups and rotation of the body to aid in the cut.

Next in difficulty is the upward diagonal cut which has the same angle, but works against gravity and uses slightly different muscles and rotation. The third in difficulty is the straight downward cut, not in terms of the grain but in terms of the group of muscles involved. The most difficult cut of these four basic cuts is the horizontal direction (against a vertical target) which is directly perpendicular to the grain of the target.

There are a number of swordsmen who have recently set records in this field of tameshigiri, such as Russell McCartney of Ishi Yama-ryū, Saruta Mitsuhiro of Battodo-ryū Sei Ken, and Toshishiro Obata. In 2000 Russell McCartney set a new world record when he broke the record for Senbongiri (千本斬り, Lit. "1,000 cuts") with 1,181 consecutive cuts on igusa goza mat in 1 hour and 25 minutes.[1] Toshishiro Obata holds the record for Kabuto Wari, or helmet cutting, for his cut on a steel Kabuto (helmet).[2] Toshishiro Obata also holds the Ioriken Battojutsu speed cutting record for 10 cuts on 10 targets over three rounds. His times are 6.4, 6.4, and 6.7 seconds respectively. Bruce Baldwin currently holds the world record for 25 tatami mats cut in a single cut. He set this record at the HOuston Japanese festival using a downward obilque cut and used a O No Daichi made by Angelsword.

Also, there are now specific cuts that can be performed on targets to test one's ability. An example is Mizu-Gaeshi, where one cuts a diagonal upward cut to the right and then cuts a horizontal cut on the cut piece before it has fallen.

Other interesting links:

http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/tameshigiri.html

http://www.japaneseswordsmanship.com.au/...iri_h.html



M.VIB.M.

[kazeryu]

I was about to try to respond with my meager knowledge, but it seems I have been rather overwhelmingly beaten to the punch...

[caiusbeerquitius]

Thanks a lot!
I hope that the literature, especially the first book in the WP article will be quotable...
:-)

[MARCvSVIBIvSMAvRINvS]

Here is some more info about the author:

http://www.shinkendo.com/bio.html

And here you can get the book itself:

http://www.amazon.com/Shinkendo-Tameshig...0966867750

M.VIB.M.