The purpose of this exercise was to determine the attributes and properties of an edged weapon against a reasonable FHT. The materials used for this study and assessment were comprised of the following:Facsimile Human Target (FHT): The FHTs were compromised of tightly rolled, water-soaked straw/tatami mats. FHTs were created by tightly rolling a pair of straw/tatami sheets together and securely tying them near each end with string in order to ensure the rolls retain their cylindrical shape. The cloth hemming material along the ends of the mats were removed, however, the hemming material along the edges on both sides remained intact.
The resulting dimensions of the FHT roll of was approximately 13 cm (5.25") diameter and approximately 76.7 cm (30.25") in overall length (oa). These rolls were then placed in a tub and soaked in water overnight. Sometime during mid-day of the next day, the tub was drained and the rolls were permitted to remain in the tub to drain the excess water. The rolls were then vertically afixed onto a wooden spike protruding from the top of a vertical 10.2 cm x 10.2 cm (4"x4") post of 78.7cm (31") in length creating the FHTs used for this exercise. Click on the illustration on the right to view a larger image.
Care must be taken to not be over zealous with the strikes for there is a possibility of breaking the sword. It is recommended that a wooden suspended post is best suited to training with wooden wasters. The second design is more sophisticated in that it more closely reflects a human target with respect to reactions and for the possibility of being struck in return with one of the freely swinging and sometimes chaotically swinging padded dowels. Of course, appropriate protective gear should be worn by the practitioner at all times.