AEMMA Sharp Sword Cutting Practice February 8, 2010

Periodically, a sharp sword cutting practice is helaldod at AEMMA. In this case, there were tatami mats left over from the FACT Open House the week before, so the AEMMA'ites decided to finish the job by practicing on those mat left over. The video clips were courtesy of Igal Lelchuk.

Segment	Description
	Aldo cutting target: Free scholler and instructor Aldo Valente takes three great swings at the target, successfully cutting through the rolled tatami mats like cutting through butter.
	Ariella cutting target: Scholler Ariella Elema, carefully calibrates her position to deliver a mandritta strike towards the target, and successfully cuts through. She then sets herself up to deliver a man-reverso cut to the target, but was unable to cut all the way through it.
	Axe cut: Scholler Sean Winslow, having returned from studies in Ethiopia, brought back an African axe, fitted onto a rough shaft. It easily penetrated the rolled mat, but was not able to cut through it as expected, however, it proved to be quite the lethal weapon none-the-less.
	Brian cutting target: Brian McIlmoyle, principal instructor for AEMMA takes seven successful cuts at the target, each strike cutting all the way through the mat, making it look very easy to the other students!
	Darren cutting target: Scholler Darren takes his turn at cutting the tatami mat target, with two strikes, a mandritta followed by a manrerverso cut, both being successful. He attempts a third manreverso, but only manages to cut deep into the roll.
	Kel cutting target: Free Scholler Kel makes easy work of the target with a single "back-handed" strike to the tatami mat target, clearly giving Kel a thrill.
	Sean cutting target: Scholler Sean, careful as always takes some time to setup his strikes to the target, and successfully delivers a pair of cuts, from the right and then left, followed by three more strikes, of which one is successful, the other two cutting deep into the mat.

References

1. AEMMA. Arming Sword (spada) and Unarmoured Longsword (spada longa) Training @ AEMMA. June 12, 2003.
2. Flos Duellatorum (Pisani-Dossi MS): F. Novati, Flos duellatorum: Il Fior di battaglia di maestro Fiore dei Liberi da Premariacco (Bergamo, 1902)
3. David M. Cvet. Study of the Destructive Capabilities of the European Longsword. Journal of Western Martial Art. February 2002. (An article describing the destructive capabilities of the sword, using a facsimile target composed of rolled up tatamit mats, and illustrations on the structure of the target).