Tameshigiri, shinkendo, iaido, kendo, samurai, test-cutting, katana, tatami omote, bushi, budo

Tameshigiri is the martial arts practice of test-cutting with a Japanese sword. The purpose of tameshigiri is to test not only the quality of the sword but also the technique of the swordsman and it is a very important part of the study of traditional swordsmanship.

Modern martial arts include various styles of swordsmanship, such as Shinkendo, Battodo, Kendo, Iaido, and koryu kenjutsu schools. No matter which style one learns, each school should teach the importance of tohou or sword fundamentals - tenouchi (grip), hasuji (edge angle), tachisuji (sword angle) and so forth. In essence, learning tohou is learning how to cut with an actual sword, and cutting (practiced via tameshigiri) is an essential component of swordsmanship. A swordsman practices tameshigiri to test his or her skill.

During regular training most sword practitioners use bokutou (wooden swords) or mozouto (imitation swords) to develop tenouchi and hasuji. Some people may be confident that they would cut well even if they have never performed tameshigiri before. Even with plenty of experience practicing kata (forms), however, a swordsman may not develop the different set of skills required by tameshigiri, such as proper speed, precision, and strength. Some highly ranked swordsmen cannot cut well and make dangerous mistakes because they only have experience performing kata and have not developed a well-rounded tohou. Without practicing tameshigiri, one will never understand the feeling of cutting correctly.