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Paul Steadman
26th November 2000, 15:05
G'day,

What are the standard rules, regulations and scoring criteria for Tameshigiri competitions (Tai-kai etc) as used around the world? Is there an International standard or does each fderation have their own version?

Back in 1996 I attended the annual Sports Chanbara Tameshigiri Iaido Championships conducted by Tanabe-Sensei and hosted by Saito-Sensei in Sydney, Australia. I placed equal third (Oops I mean fourth ;-\ } and I had never entered an event such as this prior, nor have I since!

The thing is, besides the Japanese Sensei present at the event, no-one seemed to know how to judge said event. The respective Iaido, Kendo, Iai-jutsu, Batto-do & Jiu-jitsu (I hate that word) Sensei all had their own idea on how a kata or cut should be judged.

Can anyone help?

Regards,

Paul Steadman

Victor Woo
27th November 2000, 01:58
There is an organization that recently came into existence that answers all of your concerns about standardizing the judging of kata, test cutting, and free sparring using foam weapons (chanbara) in a competitive setting. It is named the North American Blademen Association and you can learn more of the details at http://www.naba.ws/ . Don't let North America in the title put you off, the association recently added a member from the United Kingdom. I am certain they would love to have members from Australia.

The members of the NABA board of directors come from five different schools of swordsmanship. The NABA does not favor one style of swordsmanship over another. The board has created standards that cover such things as target stands, type of cutting materials and their preparation, safety inspections of swords, and judging / scoring of kata and cutting.

There are many people who are interested in participating in some form of competitive Japanese swordsmanship. There will be seven events in North America and one event in the UK that will follow the NABA format in 2001.

Best regards,

Victor Woo