The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
By Brett Denison, Mizukan Dojo
I
have been practicing Kenjutsu and Iaijutsu for almost two decades.
In the course of that practice I have trained a great deal with bokken
(wooden sword) and have also trained extensively with an Iaito (unsharpened
sword).
About ten years ago I purchased a shinken (live blade, sharp),
but at the time I wasn’t able to afford a high quality blade so I settled for
the best blade I could afford at the time.
The
katana I purchased was made in Spain and had a sharpened stainless steel blade.
The blade was attractive, but you could tell that the blade was mass-produced.
The blade has a temper line (yakiba or hamon) that
has a very symmetrical pattern to it that was obviously acid etched into it.
I
train with a sword on average of twice a week.
This usually includes kumitachi, and iaijutsu practice.
My training in swordsmanship progressed rapidly after acquiring the shinken.
Frequently beginning
Kenjutsu/Iaido students practice with Iaito swords (these have an alloy
blade that is not and cannot be sharpened) to train with. These are safer
and significantly cheaper. But at some point in their training, once they have
advanced beyond the novice level, it is necessary to put away the Iaito and
acquire a Shinken (live sword, with a sharp edge). By continuously
training with an Iaito you become complacent and loose respect for the sword.
Only through training with a live blade can you ever expect to make real progress
in Japanese Swordsmanship.
For
whatever reason, I never developed an interest in tameshigiri (test cutting),
and would gauge the progress of my training on the sound made when executing
cuts. This
was all about to change.
Times are much different now then when I purchased my first shinken,
and I have increased the level and frequency of my sword training.
Because
of this, I decided to make a more significant investment in the form of an actual
hand forged Nippon-to (Japanese Sword).
The sword I purchased is a Gendaito (Modern Era) katana, and
is not an antique or collectors item, but it is a real Nippon-to.
My initial impression when I first handled it was that it weighed more
then my stainless steel blade, and that the feel of the blade was more natural
and better balanced.
One
of the reasons that I purchased this new katana was because I had developed
an interest in tameshigiri.
Shortly after getting the new katana I purchased some Goza mats
(rice straw mats).
I then rolled and tried the mats, and soaked them for an appropriate
length of time.
While
the mats were soaking, I started to ask myself if my old shinken would be able
to cut the goza mats.
I decided to test it out.
In order to test the old Shinken, I took a double roll of Goza mats that
had been prepared and soaked.
For
the codec to view the video click here
In
this video, the first two cuts are unsuccessful.
These were made with the old Shinken, the one made in Spain.
The actual impact on the goza mat was that each of the two attempts only
cut through the first one or two layers of mat.
Just to show that there was nothing wrong with the rolled goza mat, I
decided to finish the mat off with the new Shinken (this is demonstrated in
the final cuts in the video clip).
(Please, visit the website of Denison sensei at the Mizukan Dojo )