Aikidoka
Member
Monstrous monk in training...
Posts: 1,451
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Post by Aikidoka on Jul 23, 2017 19:56:54 GMT
Every year about this time, all the retailers of new tatami run out of mats. The place that I typically order from said he should have more in 5 weeks or so. If that is the case, then that is better than past years when we went for months without these mats until the new shipment arrived. I took this year's tatami shortage as a reason to try authentic Japanese tatami (flooring) for the first time. I ordered these mats from Nihonzashi.com and the box of 20 included both normal used Japanese tatami and the tougher "checker board" tatami. These mats were actual flooring in someone's home in Japan for a year or so. Here is a video in which Mike Femal from Nihonzashi explains the difference between the types of mats and then cuts each type: Here is this weekend's cutting session, where I cut the used tatami with both a Cold Steel Hand and a Half sword and an Albion Knight arming sword: I soaked these mats for two and a half days. The used tatami varied in color from tan to dark green. I didn't feel much difference between the tan and green mats. They were just a bit more difficult to cut than new Mugen Dachi tatami. The checkerboard tatami was much tougher. I was able to cut it cleanly with the longsword, but I felt the additional resistance. The arming sword cuts on the checkered mat was the only time that I struggled to cut these mats. Something to work on next week
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Post by William Swiger on Jul 24, 2017 9:45:22 GMT
Nice cutting. Always enjoy your videos.
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Post by Jussi Ekholm on Jul 24, 2017 13:31:41 GMT
Very nice cutting as usual from you.
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