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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2009 12:24:04 GMT
I bought my first swords last November and haven't been able to cut with them yet, due to all the snow here.. So until bottle hunting season is opened, I've just been doing practice swings in our living room. Today, I did this with my Tenchi Ko kat. I like the feel of it very much, but I've had my doubts about its sharpness; it's not sharp to the touch and doesn't cut paper at all, for instance. Some of my doubts were removed today. I tried a diagonal rising cut (Kiri Age? Was my Google-Fu sufficient? ), turned around and- wait, what's that..? Oops. I was quite happy (although my mom wasn't..) that the blade I thought was dull sliced through such a thin, light target without me even noticing.. Now I cant wait to slaughter some plastic. Oh yeah, a question, too. After swinging for a while, the left side (where the little finger is) of my left wrist starts aching, I assume this is normal at first? Or maybe I'm doing something wrong?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2009 13:33:48 GMT
Just because it doesn't feel sharp to the touch doesn't mean it won't cut human skin. You always need to be aware of what and more importantly who is around you. If you didn't feel the cut then I would say both your sensory awareness and your spatial awareness require you to stop practicing in doors with a sharp blade. You should buy yourself a bokken about the right weight and balance as your ko kat and then cut it down to the length of your ko kat and practice with that. Until you get some measure of spatial awareness you should always have about 10-15 feet of clear space around you and check before every swing.
Diagonal rising cut? I don't know what you are talking about in this case maybe you can explain it better? Also can you get us a photo of how you were holding the weapon? Left hand on top or right hand on top when cutting? Last thing, when you have cut with your blade, unless you are displaying it, please put it back in the saya for safety reasons.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2009 15:09:56 GMT
Right you are. I've been doing this for a couple of weeks now without anything happening and propably got into a false sense of security. That plant was also only recently moved there, so that might have something to do with it as well.. I always make sure no one is nowhere near when I start swinging and until now thought I had done everything to prevent any "accidents". Just goes to show.. >_>
My right hand is on top when holding it. As for the cut, a video might be easiest.
It's kind of like the one Paul does 13 seconds in.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2009 15:25:47 GMT
I think that might be your issue with the soreness of the wrist, typically when trained to use a katana the left hand is always on top.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2009 15:31:05 GMT
I think that might be your issue with the soreness of the wrist, typically when trained to use a katana the left hand is always on top. Wha? I thought that the right hand should be in a shake hand grip towards the tsuba, with a tighter grip on the pinky and digit next to it... please tell me I haven't been doing it wrong.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2009 15:34:20 GMT
Gaah! Sorry, my brain is not working so well tonight. Of course the right hand is on top, don't mind me. Silly brain is overheated at the moment.
Are you torquing the wrists with you cut? Wringing the tsuka? Or are you cutting loose wristed? Are you gripping the tsuka too tight?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2009 15:41:13 GMT
Treat it like a firearm . Unsheathing it is like loading a gun .
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2009 16:50:55 GMT
Gaah! Sorry, my brain is not working so well tonight. Of course the right hand is on top, don't mind me. Silly brain is overheated at the moment. Are you torquing the wrists with you cut? Wringing the tsuka? Or are you cutting loose wristed? Are you gripping the tsuka too tight? Hmm.. It might be that I keep my wrists too loose. I'll try keeping them tighter next time, see if that helps. Thanks.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2009 7:38:22 GMT
Not that this is exactly your problem, but try this: listserv.uoguelph.ca/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind9404&L=iaido-l&P=22345It's from this thread: /index.cgi?board=jsa&action=display&thread=7883 Now I know... Also, have you read chopchop's tutorial? I'd put a link, but I seem to have misplaced it...There's a pretty good guide on the main site under "Sword training". Info about stuff like this is pretty spread out on the internet, since the biggest problems tend to be the grip and wrists, which change throughout the cut, so the grip for the beginning of the cut is not the same as for the middle is not the same as for the end. Anyway, yeah, I'd be SUPER careful indoors, and really should advise against it. I'm guilty myself, but rightfully regret it.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2009 18:02:08 GMT
That piece by Kim Taylor is a gem. I've been trying to find that again for years. I don't now how I missed it in that thread. I now have it bookmarked, in PDF and printed. I have to go and see him (Kim Taylor) again, he's only like 50 min away from me.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2009 1:03:19 GMT
Oh, glad to help. Lucky you. I don't know who he is, but he seems like a guy who can break things down and explain them really well. Invaluable skill.
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