I couldnt wait to try this Shashka on some Tatamis, so i went a bit ahead of my club. A bigger cutting video will come soon.
There are more ways to test the cutting skills than with the mats. but the feedback you can get from this method is among the best.
Was the cut straigth? were it performed fast enough? did the cut off parts flew wide or did they drop to earth?Did the cut leave the target with a claen edge or did it rip through the last part? Did the target deform, bend or entirely flew off? All of these can be observed by cutting the tatamis and you can see how and where you need to improve. Cutting is easy, but cutting right and clean is the difficult part. To cut from a guard or in movement is the next step to implement the cutting to a more fencing orientated way. The more little movements come as a chain: hip, shoulder, elbow, wrist, edgealignment, the more difficult it is to make a clean cut.
