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Thread: 3,333 cuts

  1. #1
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    Default 3,333 cuts

    Just finished my New Year's stamina exercise - 3,333 cuts. My right shoulder is aching, and my palms have a nice assortment of blisters. Plus my brain is half fried from the tedious counting!

    Most of the cuts were shomen giri, with a few kesa and horisontal cuts thrown in to break the monotony. Mostly I did 100 cuts, took a short break, 100 cuts, short break etc.

    The statistics:

    Lightweight bokuto: 1000 cuts
    Medium weight bokuto: 1000 cuts
    Iaito: 950 cuts
    Suburito (the "oar shape" variant): 350 cuts
    Kodachi bokuto: 33 cuts

    1300 of the cuts were done from seiza, the rest mostly from a standing position. The whole ordeal took me 3 hours. Next year I'll try 5,000!
    Aage Bakken

    Ki is like duct tape, it has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together. [yoj]

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    Get out more...
    Scott Halls
    Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu Kenjutsu - Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iai
    兵法二天一流剣術 - 無双直伝英信流居合

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    Quote Originally Posted by A. Bakken
    Just finished my New Year's stamina exercise - 3,333 cuts. My right shoulder is aching, and my palms have a nice assortment of blisters. Plus my brain is half fried from the tedious counting!

    Most of the cuts were shomen giri, with a few kesa and horisontal cuts thrown in to break the monotony. Mostly I did 100 cuts, took a short break, 100 cuts, short break etc.

    The statistics:

    Lightweight bokuto: 1000 cuts
    Medium weight bokuto: 1000 cuts
    Iaito: 950 cuts
    Suburito (the "oar shape" variant): 350 cuts
    Kodachi bokuto: 33 cuts

    1300 of the cuts were done from seiza, the rest mostly from a standing position. The whole ordeal took me 3 hours. Next year I'll try 5,000!


    An aged old guy who normally walks with a stick will wait until you finish them all then pick you off at will with one cut from hara
    Hyakutake Colin

    All the best techniques are taught by survivors.


    http://www.hyoho.com

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    Quote Originally Posted by hyaku
    An aged old guy who normally walks with a stick will wait until you finish them all then pick you off at will with one cut from hara
    Would you really? Not a nice thing to do.
    Roar Ulvestad

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    The benefits of a northen hemisphere New Years obviously, the weather is very different down here in Wollongong - it was 44 degrees celsius (111 farenheit ?) with gusts of hotter wind yesterday so we only did a token effort of 110 uchikomi strikes against bokken with jo and 5 kata in about 3 hours . Plus drinking lots of fluids...

    Aden
    Aden Steinke
    University of Wollongong Kendo club
    http://www.kendo-wollongong.com/

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    I wouldn't really call our weather here in Norway at this time of the year
    of much benefit to anyone. :P
    At least in the part of Norway I live, we had minor snow storm on New Year's eve, and venturing outside wasn't just horribly cold, but you couldn't see what was going on either, because of all the snow and the wind.
    I didn't do anything but relax this day, really. Compared to you guys at least. While you had som real keiko going on, I was guilty of only doing 20 or so Men cuts, and a few iai kata, and those I did well inside the house.
    Bjørne Hoff

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    Quote Originally Posted by hyaku
    An aged old guy who normally walks with a stick will wait until you finish them all then pick you off at will with one cut from hara
    Oh, I see what you're saying - quality over quantity any day of the week! Granted, if the exercise had been only about getting the numbers in, it would have been largely pointless. But actually, a major part of the challenge in stamina exercises such as this one, is to constantly work on one's technique, in the face of growing exhaustion. It's a good way of identifying weak spots. As a training method, it certainly has its limits, but I honestly don't intend to do it much more often than once a year!
    Aage Bakken

    Ki is like duct tape, it has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together. [yoj]

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    I am to stamina training what Charlie Manson was to public relations.
    Scott Halls
    Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu Kenjutsu - Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iai
    兵法二天一流剣術 - 無双直伝英信流居合

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    Well, maybe it is kind of an acquired taste. I didn't enjoy it much initially myself, preferring to work on kata and the other juicy stuff. But later I've come to regard suburi and kihon waza as being of equal importance to kata. I can see that opinions could vary on this subject. To my support, I quote Peter West, iaido 7th dan:

    [...] many people who do not train kendo, but only iaido or Iaido and Jodo do not do enough suburi. Suburi not only improves cutting efficiency (reducing the need for force and making the movement faster, sharper and less stiff), but improves shisei, breathing, seme, kigurai and many other aspects of the performance.
    http://www.kendo.org.uk/articles/iai/fourthdaniai.shtml

    Of course, this presupposes that the exercises are performed properly. Simply doing the movements mechanically might build stamina and muscle, but won't do much for improving one's iai.
    Aage Bakken

    Ki is like duct tape, it has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together. [yoj]

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    I might add as well, that this interest in the stamina aspects of iai training has a lot to do with the fact that our club's regularly visiting instructor from the Netherlands is a former competing triathlete, and does kickboxing and karate in addition to iaido, jodo, and kendo. Some guys just seem to be unlimited powerhouses of energy.
    Aage Bakken

    Ki is like duct tape, it has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together. [yoj]

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    interesting that you got blisters.... I have really hard patches of skin on the outside edge of my palms near my little fingers, but the rest of my hands are just rough (comes from playing with engines all day...) Normally the only skin damage I get is on the tops of my feet where they dry out during and extended practise session. Its a good idea though to do loads of cutting to see if your arms get tired. If they do you're cutting wrong!
    Tim Hamilton

    Why are you reading this instead of being out training? No excuses accepted...

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    Quote Originally Posted by A. Bakken
    Of course, this presupposes that the exercises are performed properly. Simply doing the movements mechanically might build stamina and muscle, but won't do much for improving one's iai.
    I agree. Doing cutting exercises will eventually develop good cuts but one needs to put them in context of the kata/waza.

    A good exercise I'm sure most people have heard of doing is Ippon me Mae - again and again and again etc etc. An estimate would be about 100-150 in one hour without stopping.

    Best,

    Jonathan Tow

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    Default Rva

    Aage

    Normally I would say you were mad and would stand by what Colin said. Given your visiting Dutch teacher though (atarashii nanadan wa taihen desu neeeee) I understand completely why you are building yourself up in this way.

    Happy New Year and good luck with all your training in 2006. Going to Eindoven (or however you spell it) this year?

    Regards
    Andy Watson

    Minoru hodo
    Kobe o tareru
    Inaho ka na

    http://www.simenergy.co.uk

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    Tsk, there's no need for madness unless we're in the five-figure range. Plain stubborness will get you a long way!

    Happy New Year to you as well, Andy! I'll try to make it to as many seminars as possible, but am not sure about Eindhoven. Could you send me an e-mail with the specifics (when/who/what)?

    As for the blisters, Chidokan, they tend to form at the finger joints and in the lower corner of my left palm (the latter being caused by the fuchigashira tsukaito knot). Usually I get callouses instead of blisters, though.
    Last edited by A. Bakken; 3rd January 2006 at 16:31.
    Aage Bakken

    Ki is like duct tape, it has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together. [yoj]

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    Quote Originally Posted by A. Bakken
    Tsk, there's no need for madness unless we're in the five-figure range. Plain stubborness will get you a long way!

    Happy New Year to you as well, Andy! I'll try to make it to as many seminars as possible, but am not sure about Eindhoven. Could you send me an e-mail with the specifics (when/who/what)?

    As for the blisters, Chidokan, they tend to form at the finger joints and in the lower corner of my left palm (the latter being caused by the fuchigashira tsukaito knot). Usually I get callouses instead of blisters, though.
    I would like to start the new kendoyear tomorrow with a 1000 haya suburi, but I am afraid it will scare away most of the crowd for the rest of the semester. Guess I will turn up early and do it in solitude, and then give the lazy crowd what they want, not what they need. Argghhh, if there was lesser rent to pay..
    Luckily, Aage has not slacked of during the holidays, and by friday, he will be ready for a hundred ippon me mae or shohatto. Right, old warrior?
    In the breaks, we can freshen up our condition with the other sword related exercises we have received trough our dutch connection.

    Remember: "I just checked in, to check what condition my condition was in."?

    Good luck to you all with checking in for the new year, and may you all be frequent flyers on the hardwood floors!!
    Roar Ulvestad

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