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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2009 4:39:26 GMT
Hey, guys! Well, it was nice outside today... and it was my first day of spring break... so I decided to go outside and do some cutting. I took a video uploaded it for anyone who wants to see. Nothing special really. Oh, and the mask thing I'm wearing.. it was windy out, and my mom got it for me for Christmas, so I decided to use it. Enjoy! Oh, and what should I do to try and speed up my cuts? Or should I? I feel comfortable with how I do now, but I always see other people's videos and they swing like twice as fast. Maybe once I try some more difficult targets I'll just get use to swinging faster? I'm not sure. Oh well, I had fun. If I cut again during the break I'll post it in here! Thanks for watching. Oh, and watch it in HD. 1280x720 resolution and it's not even 100 MB, woot. ;D
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2009 4:44:52 GMT
That's some pretty smooth cutting for how slow you're cutting! I think you're fine the way you're doing it, you will need faster tip speed for tatami and tough targets like that.
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Post by shadowhowler on Apr 10, 2009 6:35:57 GMT
I agree with Ken... those cuts were super smooth... like 'smooth jazz' smooth. I didn't know you could cut effectivly at that speed... ...I'm going to try that. Slow my cuts down and work on my form... see if it works. +1 for giving me the idea.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2009 14:43:43 GMT
I agree with Ken... those cuts were super smooth... like 'smooth jazz' smooth. I didn't know you could cut effectivly at that speed... ...I'm going to try that. Slow my cuts down and work on my form... see if it works. +1 for giving me the idea. I would be that sword is "Tom Sharp"
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2009 15:01:27 GMT
Nice cutting shippofox. Good, smooth and controled. Looks fine to me. If you want to go faster, just go faster and see what it does for you.
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Post by YlliwCir on Apr 10, 2009 15:57:15 GMT
Very good cutting, Fox. It appears you're doing just fine at that speed. Very cool. +1
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slav
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Post by slav on Apr 10, 2009 16:18:24 GMT
Stop twirling the sword around before and after the cut. This shows me that you lack some control with the blade. You sortof do a loop after the cut because the sword is slightly out of your balance and you must loop it around beside/behind you (one-handed even) in order to stop it and bring it back into control. Thus you are are kind of just letting it fall rather than making a decisive "cut". Like a razor sharp baton or baseball bat or something. Part of this has to do with the fact that your are working almost at full arms-length through your cuts. That is why you aren't cutting faster; you are forcing your arms to be more of a big pendulum rather than a driving force. Your shoulders should be relaxed and your elbows should be slightly bent and pointed slightly outward. Pivot at your shoulders for power and only extend your arms through the "powerband" of your cut; but still not all the way to full length. That will help you knock off the twirly stuff after the cut. As for the whirlybird before the cut...well, just knock it off! That said, your grip and edge alignment is superb, don't change that a bit.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2009 17:09:31 GMT
Wow, thanks for all the replies. I didn't expect to get many, lol. Stop twirling the sword around before and after the cut. This shows me that you lack some control with the blade. You sortof do a loop after the cut because the sword is slightly out of your balance and you must loop it around beside/behind you (one-handed even) in order to stop it and bring it back into control. Thus you are are kind of just letting it fall rather than making a decisive "cut". Like a razor sharp baton or baseball bat or something. Part of this has to do with the fact that your are working almost at full arms-length through your cuts. That is why you aren't cutting faster; you are forcing your arms to be more of a big pendulum rather than a driving force. Your shoulders should be relaxed and your elbows should be slightly bent and pointed slightly outward. Pivot at your shoulders for power and only extend your arms through the "powerband" of your cut; but still not all the way to full length. That will help you knock off the twirly stuff after the cut. As for the whirlybird before the cut...well, just knock it off! That said, your grip and edge alignment is superb, don't change that a bit. Yeah, I guess I have been doing that kind of. <.< I'll try to do what you said and see how it goes. I think someone told me last year that my swings should be stopping shortly after the actual cut, but I guess I forgot until you brought it up. I'll watch some other videos posted on this forum and take notes, too. Thanks! Edit: Oh, and how high do you all think the stand should be where I place the water bottles? I'm not sure if it's too high or too low. I know it's too high for me to do horizontal cuts, but I'm not sure if that's an indicator of anything.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2009 3:38:04 GMT
Hey, guys. Sorry for the double post. I went out and did some more cutting today. I watched a lot of other people's cutting videos last night, but when I look back at mine it just looks strange and not right... I tossed in some cuts that I felt were decent, and others that I felt were just wrong/bad... which I put in slow motion. I was wondering if you guys could criticize my cutting? I really do want to learn how to do it right, but I guess I need someone who can do it right to point out what, and if they can, why I'm doing these things wrong. I know I can get plenty of good cuts by doing what I use to/normally do, but when I watch those cuts it doesn't look right. One thing that just doesn't look right is the way I step towards my target and sort of twist my body. I'm not really sure how to do that correctly, or if I even should. And when I bring the sword down it looks like it kind of curves out then comes back in, but I thought it should just be a straight cut. I didn't even notice that I was doing that until I watched my videos in slow motion. Feel free to point out anything wrong or right. I took this picture today, too. Just felt like posting it. I think it's pretty. ;D
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Post by YlliwCir on Apr 12, 2009 4:22:56 GMT
Yo, Fox. Good cutting. I think "wrong" is a relative word here. It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. If you're looking to practice a particular art or school of swordsmanship, you might get some training or advice from other practitioners (which it appears you are doing, eh?) If you are looking to just do some backyard cutting, I think you're doing great. That's pretty much my thing at the present. I'm in no way trying to imply one should not practice an art or style if that is part of the objective. For myself I study a few books on medieval swordsmanship that a fellow forumite suggested and I find them quite helpful and do find the postings on such interesting and informative, tho I in no way am a devoted follower of any particular discipline, (like I needed to point that out). ;D In my opinion the most important thing is to be safe and the next to have fun. You already seem to be doing those so any where you care to take it from here is all good. I like the pic btw.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2009 4:48:41 GMT
Yo, Fox. Good cutting. I think "wrong" is a relative word here. It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. If you're looking to practice a particular art or school of swordsmanship, you might get some training or advice from other practitioners (which it appears you are doing, eh?) If you are looking to just do some backyard cutting, I think you're doing great. That's pretty much my thing at the present. I'm in no way trying to imply one should not practice an art or style if that is part of the objective. For myself I study a few books on medieval swordsmanship that a fellow forumite suggested and I find them quite helpful and do find the postings on such interesting and informative, tho I in no way am a devoted follower of any particular discipline, (like I needed to point that out). ;D In my opinion the most important thing is to be safe and the next to have fun. You already seem to be doing those so any where you care to take it from here is all good. I like the pic btw. Thanks Ric. I think you understood precisely what I was trying to say. I'd like to "practice a particular art or school of swordsmanship" and I am trying to "get some training or advice from other practitioners" ;D I just feel so awkward when watching my videos after watching yours or Ianflaer's or Hiroshi's because you all seem to have a style or art, where as I'm kind of all over the place without any set style. I do have fun when I'm out there cutting, but for some reason unknown to me I just feel like I'm "not doing it right". Maybe I'll PM Hiroshi and ask him how he learned what he did and all...what he does when he cuts looks real appealing and just "right" for some reason. + karma and stuffs. Thanks a lot!
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Post by shadowhowler on Apr 12, 2009 4:53:28 GMT
I agree with Ken... those cuts were super smooth... like 'smooth jazz' smooth. I didn't know you could cut effectivly at that speed... ...I'm going to try that. Slow my cuts down and work on my form... see if it works. +1 for giving me the idea. I would be that sword is "Tom Sharp" I think your right... the cuts are just so smooth at such a slow speed, the sword must be SILLY sharp. Fox: What sword are you using?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2009 5:44:29 GMT
I would be that sword is "Tom Sharp" I think your right... the cuts are just so smooth at such a slow speed, the sword must be SILLY sharp. Fox: What sword are you using? My Cheness Kaze katana. It's the only sword that I've ever owned and used. I got it last year.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2009 6:29:57 GMT
Wow. You are so smooth, it makes me scratch my head and wonder how the blade makes it through the bottle without disturbing the bottom at those speeds. o.o Just can't help expressing amazement. Let's see...First off, I'm no expert and still need work on my own form. (If only I had time/place to practice. Ah, Summer...) One thing I can offer is help on stopping the blade quickly. As you swing, twist your wrists inward so that the heel of your palms are directly over the middle of the tsuka. The sword will "jerk" to a stop. (I recently posted a link to a little article on this, but now I've lost it. 5minlater: Nvm, found it! listserv.uoguelph.ca/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind9404&L=iaido-l&P=22345) Controlling that follow through is very[/b] important. If you haven't seen the graphic images sticky in the general section ( /index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=5150) definitely check that out. There's also one on SFI about a botched noto and I think that link is in that thread. It's not hard to find either way...And if losing a leg isn't enough incentive for you, imagine if you somehow (it can happen) lose grip of your sword, and it goes flying off behind you (exactly where spectators should be standing safely). This can happen in any direction, of course, so keep that in mind also (as a general safety rule/lesson/whatev.) Also, I whacked the tip a brand-new sword off of concrete because of uncontrolled follow-through. See, you could lose sword, leg, and friend/familymember/lovedone, all in one careless accident! (Sorry for all that, just means be careful!) Try and keep hips and shoulders square and bring the sword down so that the left hand stops right in front of your left hip. Though, this doesn't mean don't use your hips. Gah, that's a hard one to explain if you haven't done martial arts...Give them a quick jerk to start your movement off, but bring them quickly back to square. That ought to sort of "whip" the upper body into motion, yet pull it back from over-extension. I think your stepping forward is fine. Generally, you don't want the sword to be coming down on the front leg. You look like you've thought this through, though. Yeah, so the "problem" may be that your whole body is so loose and relaxed, but that may be what's leading to your super smooth cuts (of which I am quite jealous). Don't let any of this advice ruin that smoothness. Try to integrate it. And like whizzbang said, if you want to go faster, just do. Maybe little by little if you actually can't cut at faster speeds. Well, yeah, there's my over-long-winded answer from someone who's not entirely qualified. ;D Since when do I talk this much?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2009 7:09:30 GMT
I would say be very careful trying to go faster with the way you are cutting. My biggest concern with the way you are cutting is that you are hyper extending through the cut, your elbows should always be slightly bent. Since you don't have training or experience my suggestion is when you are cutting for the moment always start from a high stance or position called jodan no kamae; www.halifaxkendo.org/images/Jodan.jpg[/quote]If you are making a diagonal cut from right to left from jodan no kamae the cut should stop with the end of the tsuka inline with your left hip and the point of the blade is about level with your knee pointing away from you. That is how I was taught to do it, I hope that makes sense. I think you are a little too relaxed, you should tense up after the cut, that is what aids in the ability to stop. Also I was the one who told you that the cut should stop just after the target. Also yeah stop twirling the blade around before and after the cut. The only time that the blade "twirls" is if you are redirecting the blade into an opposite direction cut.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2009 7:20:00 GMT
I've never thought of doing that, but I'll try it tomorrow. I do feel in control of my sword after the swings, but I never gave much thought to stopping quickly. I always just led it to where I wanted it to wind up, which was usually behind me and to the side. I guess I've just never had the confidence to try stopping that fast... but I'll try tomorrow! It looked difficult. It'll probably make my cuts look less awkward if I can do it properly, which is a good enough motivation for me! (I'll be safe, too) Thanks! I didn't think about "Try and keep hips and shoulders square and bring the sword down so that the left hand stops right in front of your left hip." before, but it makes sense. Agh, tomorrow I'm just going to keep reading what everyone said over and over and try to make more sense of it all, then practice outside a bit. It would be nice to go someplace with a live instructor, but I can't for awhile. (Parents. AP exams next month. Road test for drivers license ASAP. Got to find a job. University in the fall ) Is there a thread where people mentioned whether or not they took some classes or not? It'd be a relief to find out that some people didn't and wound up doing okay. I am trying to give everyone who posts in here plus karma ;D Edit: Sorry bloodwraith, didn't see your reply till after I posted this reply.Well, I tried to bend my elbows a bit like slavia mentioned, but it wound up feeling real weird.. I'm not sure if I'm doing it wrong or if I just have to get use to it. I'm trying to find videos of how bent people's shoulders are, but for some reason I just can't grasp the right way to do it.. Maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow. I think one thing I'm going to do is try and get a smaller (diameter) cutting stand, because often times I'm worried about hitting the stand even if the water bottle's at the edge of the block of wood.. I'm not sure if it's the stand or just me being worried over breaking the sword. I'm really trying to knock off the twirls, but it's difficult since I've been doing it all my life... especially with sticks as I was younger, lol. It was always cool to twirl them. Too many movies for me... I knew was bound to have some bad habits, lol. I'll try to tense up a bit and find some more videos and photos with the elbows bent and knees bent and all. I really appreciate all the help. I don't think I've ever seen a community as welcoming & nice as this one.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2009 11:03:16 GMT
hey i used to spin sticks around all the time... no scratch that lol, i still do...
if i ever find myself doing it with a sword though i slap myself and stop right away, ive seen too many accident pics to think its justified in any way.
looking at your actual cuts; i have to say that they are great, you show good control and edge alignment.
you prove that technique is far more important than power and speed.
i love cutting bottles with my kaze, dont worry to much about hitting your stand a little bit, (obviously try not to lol) but its a pretty tough sword.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2009 21:13:33 GMT
Well, I was able to find three water bottles, so I decided to go out and do a bit of cutting. I made a video, but this time I included the warm up stuff along with the cuts (then the cuts again in slow-motion). I didn't do any twirling, and I kept telling myself over and over again "Knees & arms bent. Stop sword quickly (I don't think I did it quick enough sometimes). Left hand stop at left hip. Try and be more square." Now that I look back at the video it's kind of hard to tell that I was keeping myself bent at the knees & arms, but that may just be because of the angle. I'll try and do a video from the side next time. (hopefully tomorrow! ) I don't think the cuts were as good as my old ones, but it didn't look as awkward... which is okay with me. On the first and third cuts the kissaki (that IS the tip, right?) hit the ground and got a bit muddy.. I cleaned it off after the session. I felt like I fell apart during the actual cuts, not sure why. It just seems like the practice swings were much better half of the time. Anyways, here's the video. I spent over 9 minutes outside, but I cut it down a lot. hey i used to spin sticks around all the time... no scratch that lol, i still do... if i ever find myself doing it with a sword though i slap myself and stop right away, ive seen too many accident pics to think its justified in any way. looking at your actual cuts; i have to say that they are great, you show good control and edge alignment. you prove that technique is far more important than power and speed. i love cutting bottles with my kaze, dont worry to much about hitting your stand a little bit, (obviously try not to lol) but its a pretty tough sword. Thanks kenpachi. I'm trying to not worry as much about hitting the stand, and I think I'm getting a bit more confident with my cuts. Today I didn't really think much about the stand at all. I'm finding it a bit difficult to get as many smooth cuts as before, but I'd rather learn to cut properly than just do my own thing. Maybe once I get the hang of it I can go back and try to get the smoothness back again. Today I'm just going to try and get as much advice as possible, watch as many videos as possible, spend the little free time I have on learning as much as possible, and maybe I'll figure out how to get rid of my bad habits and switch them with good ones. ;D
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2009 1:21:31 GMT
You keep dropping your point, your cut should stop after the target and then you should come back up into the guard you started from, as you get more comfortable with the cut the transition from jodan to cut to jodan without needing to stop will make the cut flow much better. Remember to keep the point up, that is part of why learning to stop is so important so you can transition into another cut quickly and smoothly. Normally when performing this type of cut the swordsman flows from chudan into jodan through the cut and back to chudan. I wonder if your sword might not be a bit heavy for you or a bit overbalanced. I would also suggest adding some draw to the cut which will aid in stopping as well. Adding draw is when as you make the cut you pull the tsuka back towards you, when making this kind of cut if cutting from left to right your right hand should end up just forward of your hip slightly. I hope you understand what I mean, it is a little hard to explain in text.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2009 2:18:39 GMT
You keep dropping your point, your cut should stop after the target and then you should come back up into the guard you started from, as you get more comfortable with the cut the transition from jodan to cut to jodan without needing to stop will make the cut flow much better. Remember to keep the point up, that is part of why learning to stop is so important so you can transition into another cut quickly and smoothly. Normally when performing this type of cut the swordsman flows from chudan into jodan through the cut and back to chudan. I wonder if your sword might not be a bit heavy for you or a bit overbalanced. I would also suggest adding some draw to the cut which will aid in stopping as well. Adding draw is when as you make the cut you pull the tsuka back towards you, when making this kind of cut if cutting from left to right your right hand should end up just forward of your hip slightly. I hope you understand what I mean, it is a little hard to explain in text. I think I get what you're saying.. When you say I should go from Chudan -> jodan -> cut -> chudan do you mean I should start with this then raise my sword up to then cut, then move back up to the chudan? If so, do I quickly raise my sword from chudan to jodan and then bring it down with the cut in one motion, or bring it up, pause, then make the cut? I'm guessing all in one motion. And about the adding some draw. I think I understand that.. I'm pretty sure I've noticed people doing it in videos, but I thought it was just to cause more of a slicing action. If it's supposed to help with stopping I'll give that a go. I'll try paying attention to that while watching some videos. I'm not sure if my sword's too heavy or long for me or not, really. It doesn't feel heavy, but it doesn't feel light either. I'm 66.5" tall I think, and the sword's 42.5" long. I'm not sure how long it should be compared to me. Thanks a lot for the advice, bloodwraith. I'll learn from it. You're awesome. I hope I understood everything correctly.
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