Tonight we're going to be cutting bamboo tonight using a REAL sword in Gumdo. To date I have only used the wooden sword. On Monday I got to use the real sword for the first time when doing paper cutting. Seeing how the other guys use the sword I didn't expect it to be so heavy. It also didn't help that it was far too long for me. So it's awkward to hold due to it's weight, awkward to take out and put back 'cause it's too long and it has a functioning blade on it that could dismember. I didn't even do a good job cutting the paper with this extra sharp sword. I didn't cut it at all. If you don't swing it straight and put too much force it's not going to cut. So if I can't even cut paper with the sword - how am I going to cut bamboo.

And not only is it awkward to handle and my technique not up to par but these swords cost hundreds of dollars. In fact, the one he's going to have us use is $1,000. So what if I break it and have to pay for the repairs (break as in cause the blade to chip). This is all a bit overwhelming to me. I sent my teacher an e-mail asking to paper cut with the real sword again tonight and give the bamboo to my fellow classmates to use. But I also stated that if he still feels I should cut bamboo despite my concerns that I would. We'll see what happens.

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