Feb. 22nd, 2011

varjohaltia: (Default)
On Saturday, I went to see the USF Aikido Club's weapon's seminar, taught by Jim Alvarez. It was pretty interesting, especially the part where people used live blades to cut tatami targets.

I've never actually seen the cutting practice in person. The difference between video and reality is pretty impressive, not to mention the lack of smell. The sound that a well placed sword cut makes when it goes through an arm-thick bundle of bamboo is amazingly subtly, just a little "schnick."

Also, pretty neat to see just how the tiniest mistake in one's stance or technique means you hit the target with your sword, instead of cutting through it. The adjustments that made the difference between clubbing the target and slicing it were incredibly small, and most of them appeared to be pretty far removed from the sword itself. Neat stuff. Maybe one day I'll get back to it and eventually get to the point where I could give it a try.

Click on the image for the full gallery (people other than Alvarez-sensei on the third page.)

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