Can Iaido Trainees Do the Zatoichi Flash Cut in 30 Minutes?

One of your favorite samurai is Zatoichi, right? We have found a very popular video that perfectly reproduces Zatoichi's high-speed sword fighting technique. We are not a sword actor, but as someone who trains in the Japanese sword martial arts, we thought we had to give it a try. How well can we do it in just 30 minutes?
●The video that we reacted to:
Zato-ichi Style lightning fast Flash Cut in 3 simple steps!
• Zato-ichi Style lightn...
●Ace Aoshima' s Authentic Samurai Channel
/ aceaoshimasauthenticsa...
[Timecodes]
0:00 Let's START!
1:14 Introduction Of The Katana We Use Today
3:12 React to "Zato-ichi Style Lightning Fast Flash Cut in 3 Simple Steps!"
6:52 Comparing The Lightweight Katana with Iaito
8:33 Run Through The Three Steps In The Tutorial Video
9:54 Practicing Flash Cut For 30 mins
11:15 Zato-ichi Flash Cut Challenge
12:17 Ending
●The Aluminum Katana we used
amzn.asia/d/7LR8Ojp
●The Polypropylene Katana we used
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[@LetsaskShogo]

●The Aluminum Katana we used amzn.asia/d/7LR8Ojp ●The Polypropylene Katana we used amzn.asia/d/2GVggZd ▼The BEST online katana shop for decorations and cosplay: Mini Katana▼ minikatana.com/SHOGO *Get 15% OFF off all their products by purchasing through my affiliate link ▼Please support me through Ko-fi (a donation platform like Patreon)▼ ko-fi.com/letsaskshogo I have a new dream… It is to raise money to enroll in a school to become a Japanese language instructor (an official qualification)! I promise you that I will become the best Japanese teacher who not only teaches Japanese, but is also familiar with Japanese history and traditional culture. Things I want to do after I get the qualification: -Free Weekly/Monthly Japanese lessons on KZbin LIVE -Online private Japanese lessons etc. ▼Who is Shogo? What is this channel about?▼ kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJmokqB-m9-sr8k ▼Related videos in this channel▼ -It's Finally Time to Reveal Our True Selves kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6evnKmVqNCfhcU -Something I Should Have Told You A Long Time Ago kzbin.info/www/bejne/eofapWqblJJriJI -I Never Thought I'd Cry kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2SwcnyQopp-qJI ▼MY DREAM▼ kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5jSqHyMlNCUnaM “To make every Japan lovers’ dream come true, by making Japan a more secure, comfortable, and safer place for everyone to visit, study, and live in” I will be using the profit I gain from this channel at restaurants, hotels, and cultural facilities in Kyoto to introduce them. The more you watch the videos on this channel, Kyoto and Japan will become a more exciting place, and you can support your own and others’ dreams in the future even more. ▼Join our Membership▼ kzbin.info/door/n7DCb9ttrcw9h3vh9dfnVwjoin ●Membership benefits -Limited behind-the-scene videos -Weekly Zoom call or live stream -Priority reply to comments ▼[Sub-channel] “Shogo’s Podcast”▼ kzbin.info/door/ZAe1VayWxp5NLO4Net78DA Please subscribe!! The perfect channel to learn about Japanese culture and history in your spare time, during your walk to school or work, and when you are cooking or doing house chores. Not only will I be covering the topics in this main channel, but also some topics that you will only be able to enjoy in the sub-channel, like answering questions I receive, and my opinions towards some of the comments. ▼Places recommended to visit in Kyoto | "Kyoto Hidden Gems" series▼ kzbin.info/aero/PLpIWoYf9KNFU7LIIFB0P_reDt_oMdkCOq ▼Instagram▼ instagram.com/lets_ask_shogo/ *Please ask me questions through the DM here!（⚠I do not use e-mail）

[@fraderiktan1505]

shogo i think you should do another try with a different sword such as a shirasaya i think the problem was on the tsuba who is blocking your hand from spinning it freely i mean depending on how big the tsuba is i think to do this trick its best to choose one that have smaller tsuba or even no tsuba at all i think a simple boken would do the trick i cant guranteed sucess but i hope this will help

[@XLR8Tony]

Can u make a Curry recipe video pls ? :D

[@alexsnow3319]

Poly (like the parrot) Pro (Professional) Puh (Punt) OR Pill (Pill like you swallow) Lean (Lean on a wall)

[@Varim.Gaunniss]

Surprisingly enough as someone without prior experience in "official" training with katana (though I practice a bit on my own, with katana, longsword and gladius as well) after your tips and brief explaination I found it actually pretty easy to draw-cut-spin-sheathe with wooden, polypropylene and steel (weighting around 1.2kg) katanas, with the last spinning it pretty slow. I think the difficulity here might be as you've pointed it out in a video. Someone who trained a lot in specific style will have habits and it will feel unnatural. I can tell from my own experience as I was used to hold / handle single-edged swords, having a dual-edge longsword prop worked against me haha. but it was fun to watch and to learn a new party-trick here, thank you for this reaction vid :)

[@captainhowzer7493]

I’ve been trying to do this and it is so cool to do with my cosplay katana not heavy so I wouldn’t imagine the actual katana

[@humanperson9443]

Using a actual katana is very hard and my leg is bleeding everywhere

[@jonasbaumgarten4440]

I gonna try it With a iaito too

[@Knight69.]

@@humanperson9443 same i was wondering if anyone else was having the old bleeding leg problem

[@lordhunterluasuperior905]

@@Knight69. you cut your own leg or what?

[@Jeduken]

@@Knight69. i have a scar on the top of my foot

[@KMO325]

I love the Zatoichi films. I use to watch them every Saturday morning on the IFC channel in the USA when I was a teen. This move is definitely one of the most iconic Zatoichi moves.

[@danzigrulze5211]

Can we all appreciate the fact that the actual man Shintaro Katsu actually performed this move and all of his own choreography while pretending to be blind. I have all of the movies, even the later ones and man is it insane to watch some of the moves and tricks he could do with that cane sword.

[@mrq6270]

I absolutely love the whole series!

[@New2Kendo]

I have trained in Iaido for 10 years, and I found this move more difficult than I thought. I have 60+ Japanese Samurai (Chambara) movies from Lone Wolf and Cub, to Tenchu, and the Kurosawa classics. I was drawn to Iaido by my love for these movies and the history behind the class

[@MachaBREATH]

The KZbin who made this video has barely reached recognition, thank you so much for making this video perhaps this would be a chance for him to gain more attention

[@aristontrusty]

Man i’m really loving all the Katana content! I’ve been into Japanese culture for almost my entire life. And now i’m studying the language, and your channel helps a lot with understanding customs and culture! But it’s great because i’ve recently started studying Iado, and a lot of your recent videos are Katana based! Thanks :)

[@LetsaskShogo]

I really love making videos related to katana too✨ So don’t worry, there is going to be more and more coming up in the future!😉

[@aristontrusty]

@@LetsaskShogo I’d love to see more about selecting the proper fitting Hakama, Dogi etc, and also the history of them in Japan!

[@colbycarlson6900]

I like doing weight training with my katana so I was surprised to be able to do it with the full weight. It also helps that the zatoichi Shirasaya has no Tsuba so you have more room for the finger movement

[@LetsaskShogo]

You can do this with a full weight katana?! That’s amazing✨

[@TopLob]

I like that Ace Aoshima is very clear and honest about that he's doing movie techniques and not real techniques, and how he's using things like lightweight takemitsu rather than real swords.

[@JL-jg7wn]

"The secret of spin sheathing taught by an industry professional" - one more video from Aoshima-san with really cool sheathing technique.

[@ArveEriksson]

Shogo + Kazu training montage(tm), let's GOOOO!

[@MrSharpdrop]

This was so much fun to watch! I really appreciate the explanation of the different materials used for the movie prop katanas, as well as the katanas that the two of you train with.

[@LetsaskShogo]

This was an wonderful opportunity for me to learn more about different materials for katana too!

[@ericdillard2450]

The movement looked really fun, but I was so impressed by each of your demeanor when you did the technique. Your focus was so impressive. I was so impressed with what each of you showed in the video.

[@SuperHeliboy]

I’ve been collecting the Zatoichi movies and am very impressed with the content that you provide. Thank you.

[@orlandomarchena4885]

In case this hasnt been mentioned yet : Polpropylene is in fact a (thermo)plastic polymer. It's called "plastic" because it becomes softer and more plyable when heated : it "melts". This is in contrast to thermosetting polymers that become more brittle when heated, polyurethanes , vucanised rubber and bakelite are well known examples

[@davidl5452]

Very impressive for only 30 minutes practice. I'm sure Aoshima has been practicing this move for years.

[@samuraicowboy9850]

Its 9:30am here, and work is dragging…. This perked me up, thank you!!!

[@Vilzo825]

I have been learning this trick for a whole week and I haven’t gotten it :((((. But now I do. It’s more simple for me since I train a lot and btw thank you for the amazing content Shogo :D

[@bakuto5898]

Try to use a cane sword (SHIKOMIZUE), or at least a Sirayasa. First, exercise without the case and try to improve your speed. 2. try to pull out the sword from the case and pull back the case from the sword at the same time, improve your speed. 3. try to hit a small object. 4. now you can try it from a sitting position. I have been practicing this for six months, I can hit a small mineral water bottle top (dopped into the air) with 60% accuracy. I hope I helped a bit!

[@LetsaskShogo]

Great job👍

[@JLoC.2479]

Ace Aoeshima taught me so much

[@cranom5616]

I have been training the zatoichi for some time, it really takes practice to reach the correct speed.

There's something enchanting about the swift movements of the katana😯

[@ShinKyuubi]

I actually saw that video and I've done it with an actual katana, I also have a cane sword like Zatoichi uses and have done it with that too. Looks cool but it's kinda scary when you think about how one screw up can go with a live blade.

[@LetsaskShogo]

I would personally never do this with a real katana😨

[@DedicatedSpirit8]

I've been on a zatoichi binge. Seen about 5 of the 12 movies I belive are out. Can't wait to practice.

[@user-wo9gl6tc4f]

Finally! I was hoping for a video,where you partner with your colleague (and countryman) Ace Aoshima . By the way by watching his tutorial, I started learning this move. Advice: grab the tsuka as far as possible from the handguard, so you'll have enough space for your index finger between your hand which you've taken the sword with and the tsuba ring. Aoshima san also has the spin sheathing technique in his channel, so if you want, you can also react to it. Actually there's an even more exotic move called Sanjuro Final Strike. I have tried all three moves and I can do two of them properly. The only I still have problems with is exactly this.

[@TimothyLau55]

You guys were having so much fun! Shogo was giving out more 殺気. Kazu looked very 優しい while cutting imagine opponent.

[@danielp815]

I saw this move a few months ago and did it with a sharp, heavy, katana , and yes my middle finger was cut up and lost skin but i was able to do it you guys were great!

[@logankennedy7082]

I am a Kenjutsu and Haidong Gumdo trainee and I remember first trying to learn how to do the flash cut. Luckily, in Haidong Gumdo we do a lot of flips with the sword where you're holding it with just your index finger and pointer finger, so that helped me out a lot. One of the things that I see that could also help you guys is flicking your wrists more at the end which allows you to carry the momentum for a faster cut and sheathing. Awesome video!

[@unrussleablejimmies4428]

I had to take my Tsuba off before I could do this...otherwise my hand placement is inth middle near the end of the grip which feels awkward. Zatoichi also does this with out a Tsuba which I think is more authentic. Thanks again for covering this Shogo-sama

[@fractalshift]

I practiced this and found it fairly easy to learn the fast draw. I instinctively grasped the center of the handle, Im not a formal student of Iaido so I feel there can be a one handed draw (for a single slice or block) a small variation made a huge difference (though its a slightly different move) it was even faster to turn the sheath to the side and slice horizontally. Doing this was very fast, almost faster than the eye could see!

[@crodd92]

Thanks for showing this video! This is my favorite cut I have seen and I want to master it. The manipulation of the fingers and dropping the katana looks very familar since you do that if you want to reserve grip a dagger or sword (medieval type swords from ren faire stunt acting).

[@timblack8796]

as someone who has trained in both combat and stage sword (western) the only thing that doesn't change is the sword. Stands, grip even attacks are completely different. But this still looks so cool! thank you as always for the wonderful content

[@irvingmarquez1106]

Excellent video Thank so much greetings from Mexico

[@kaitoshimizu7614]

Both of my Favourite Channels have a Collaboration. You are so Awesome Mr. Shogo. Also that scene where there's three of you doing that flashcut. I'd even download it on my phone 😁

[@stevek.385]

Zatoichi ( Katsu Shintaro ) was the best!! There were three Japanese movie theaters here in Los Angeles and we used to see his movies as soon as they came out.

[@Yanks123Fan]

I enjoy this duo

[@cleopatra862]

Nice…thank you for sharing! You guys are amazing. I used to live in Iwakuni and I love the Japanese culture.

[@lordbarron3352]

I know you must be busy with uploading and editing videos so much, so I appreciate that you still read comments Shogoさん.

[@grog6539]

I saw this video ages ago and it just looked so clean

[@cc-nb8om]

cool interesting to watch a simple yet hard beautiful sword display, stunning, well done

[@manjitahzan9577]

Can't wait to try this. But to try with sharp katana is quite scary...

[@statesrights01]

Much Respect to you both. Watching this I kept thinking.. "What if this was live steel??!" 💖💖💖😯

[@texasmamabear9651]

What a fun video!! Thank you!!🤗

[@73montreal]

That looks fun guys! Awesome.

[@ponyote]

Thank you for another lovely video.

[@captainhowzer7493]

The scraping my middle finger and index finger hurts so much when trying this

[@floundergearjam]

Well done and entertaining. Thanks

[@drakecassell1840]

You two look awesome at the end like I'm really impressed

[@raiftadehara9218]

There are a couple other videos on Ace's channel that would be interesting

[@captainhowzer7493]

This is so awesome

[@enriquekahn9405]

As someone who has seen every Zatoichi movie multiple times... I just wanted to flex. Zaitoichi's swordcane doesn't have a guard so the I think the grip adjustment difficulty would be obviated. I think it's also straighter and shorter than the ones you guys used, and just from watching him swinging it around on camera I feel like Shintaro Katsu's prop swords may have been weighted in the grip. Either way you guys did fantastic especially with only 30 minutes practice!

[@sageofsixpathskakashi3742]

Thank you for the content. Your channel made me start Kendo 3 months ago and I've been loving it ever since. I find most topics on this channel educational (from how to wear a Hakama to if Duolingo can actually help you learn Japanese) but that's not to say I don't enjoy laughing at a crazy japanese ad from time to time 😅. We'll miss Kazu and Tomoko tho 😭

[@hallelion]

I feel like I have watched so many videos here in the channel, but this is the first time I have seen Kazu without a mask... Interesting...

[@shotokankaratedo6155]

Great review of flashcut.

[@lastnamefirstname8655]

cool zatoichi flash cuts, shogo. this looks cool and fun, with proper practice and safety of course.

[@nathanielknoxfrost2073]

I was hoping you would see that vid i loved it a lot this was amazing to see

[@McLKeith]

I hope someday you talk about some great Zen Masters such as Eihei Dogen, Yotaku Bankei, and Ekaku Hakuin.

[@sojiro288]

If you haven't reacted to Isao Machii I would love to see that.

[@Sonosuke]

What a fun idea, I love this!

[@S1L3NTG4M3R]

Zatoichi!!!!! THANKS :)

[@shihouneon]

The horizontal flash cut is even easier than you thought, just reverse grip your katana while drawing from the side like tachi drawing.

[@orenmontgomery8250]

Well that was fun!

[@kingfish4575]

Have to try this now.

[@j.d.4697]

Ooohhh I am digging the scifi look on that tsukamaki!

[@madmanthepope6448]

Very cool I've seen this on his channel a while back and also a fan of the blind swordsman.

[@MDCpaintball]

Gotta try this out

[@DeeDee-Sweet]

This was fun to watch 😆

[@johndalquen7668]

Shogo, has been my go to guy for japanese culture for some time now.

[@SlashRfnR]

9:28 the Eurika moment.

[@TheRealViking]

I have a trick to practice this. When you come to visit me in South Florida, and I have a couple of rooms for you and your family to stay here!

[@priority19]

outstanding!

[@d3KR4MPU5]

It looks so easy from outside, but hard to try :D Sending much Love to you 🙂

[@dlkravcov1973]

Great video! You are great! 👏👏👏👏👏👍👍👍

[@Br0ns0n]

What a fun video! 😆

[@jhilal2385]

My first impression is that to increase your speed, in addition to repetition, combine this technique with the lesson from your "Ask Seki Sensei" channel where Seki Sensei showed kobudo techniques for fast drawing the katana that beat iaido techniques. Specifically that you keep your torso straight on while you step forward with your right leg, grasp the handle with your right hand, and bring the saya/katana forward with your left hand; then as you pull the saya away with your left hand, also turn your torso to the left while keeping the handle and your right hand fixed at a single point in space. This combination of torso twist and left hand motion will be faster than moving the left hand alone.

[@josephchiarello11]

That’s a pretty sick attack man!

[@moarnalidsch895]

I'm definitely gonna try this when I've received my Iaito.

[@user-dl8ft1zb3f]

Wow,you both did it👍👍👍👏🙏⛩🐲⛩

[@Technoanima]

So cool.

[@kaitoshimizu7614]

Hope you'll also try Ace Aoshima's Spin Sheathing. I'd like to see it on the next vid 😄 I tried that one

[@FFXI_Addict]

Kazu is a boss! Very impressed by his rapid growth!

[@wildera7456]

I'd gotten a Demonslayer cosplay wooden katana, and practiced this move with that. It was really fun, although I have no experience in kenjutsu

[@merveduru]

That was so fun ❤️❤️❤️

[@LaNoir.]

Eeh, Shogo speaking japanese caught me off-hand! I love it!

[@redsonjja7486]

Thank you so much for teaching us this! I can't wait to impress my friends! With regards to the hand guard.. please note that Zatoichi has a sword with no hand guard so this move is less complicated for him. Also note Zatoichi has a blade that is not curved so he does not get as much curvature wobble (edge rolling to one side along its axis while pinwheeling it end to end) when he spins it. Much Luvz for all! ❤

[@Moonity.]

You should prolly react more on his channel! He is a great guy to learn stuff with katanas :D

[@phillydisco]

Tomisaburo Wakayama (Shito Katsuro's brother) does something similar in the first Lone Wolf & Cub film Sword Of Vengeance, when you see Ogami Itto make that last kill, he whips out and re-sheaths that sword so fast, you need to slow it down on player just to see what he did.

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

Thank you.

[@jayceeinvincible]

love it!!!!💯❤️

[@silverbeam88]

I’m a HUGE FAN of Zatoichi!!!😆😆😆😆

[@ronsorage78]

For 30 min that was pretty well executed.

[@airgaborpara3824]

Photek is a musician who has big love of japanese culture. The combination of his music and pictures of the country is fascinating.

[@cindersofcreation]

I'm just a western martial arts guy, but I'm amazed at how little this technique telegraphs movement, impressive to see. I'm a staff guy but this made me think about learning more about Katana

[@JoeAverage1469]

So cool 😎

[@tokenstandpoint93]

Wow I'm surprised Zatoichi is known by people as young as you are. I saw my first Zatoichi movie when I was 8 and that was in the 80's and as a Gaijin that was young to know about the Blind Swordsman

[@elsie3538]

This is very cool

[@soveriegn478]

Btw the beginning of this video when they were talking about the weight and type of metal made. it seemed like they were selling us the katanas.

[@Kronslew]

Whelp, going to go watch some of my Zatoichi films now XD

[@Aliaz93moneyfingerz]

Way better than me after thirty minutes 😂

[@kittydigs6469]

So very cool! ^-^

[@tvans07]

This was also supposed to be done with a cane sword. So no guard to catch your fingers.