Tameshigiri results

Tameshigiri results

so what did I learn cutting bamboo? well, that my cut is pretty straight but follow through is short, due to the tendency in kendo to hit and stop the cut fairly high. I was originally unsure of how the shinken would react to the bamboo so I was holding back a bit. Otherwise my right cut was satisfying. On the left side however it was another story. I was quickly reminded that I had to move my body more in the angle of the blade and back leg, just like for the right side. Except it's not a natural movement in Kendo, but that's because we're lazy and forget about it, and don't focus on actually cutting. Because of the position of the hands on the sword, the swing has little power unless the body is angled in the same direction. Hands are crossed and angle is wrong systematically. But when tilting the body to the left in the same plane as the sword direction (and the back leg) the cut is straight. Easier said than done...