Posted on 07/12/2012 10:58:47 AM PDT by Theoria
Competitors Try to Best Each Other in Slicing Water Bottles, Tennis Balls; Bisecting a Grape
Donavon Phillips windmilled his arms. He hopped a few times to get the blood flowing in his legs. A light sweat formed under his black-and-red jersey—just the right dew.
"You can't go into this cold, because it's an all-out sport," said Mr. Phillips, pulling his right arm across his chest.
He was warming up for a cutthroat event: the 10th annual World Championship Cutting Competition.
It takes razor-sharp focus to be a cutting champ, along with a blade that resembles a bulkier, sharper version of a kitchen meat cleaver. Mr. Phillips is one of a few who have helped make a sport out of demonstrating they can swiftly, flawlessly slice through a dozen water bottles or chop a rolling tennis ball in half.
Having won the national title in May, he is a favorite on the cutting circuit.
The bearish, 32-year-old auto technician from Morton, Miss., who played offensive line on his high-school football team, started cutting six years ago, right around the time Americans began buying expensive kitchen cutlery with brand names like Wüsthof and marveling as celebrity chefs and TV cooking shows made knife wizardry cool.
More recently, Mr. Phillips has dedicated himself to an hourlong training session each week using a shiny, rectangular 15-inch knife he made himself. He calls it "Edge of the Delta," in honor of his Mississippi roots. He spends hours scrutinizing videos of the greats, such as Dan Keffeler, famous for splitting a two-by-four in 1.4 seconds. He has a sponsorship from Spyderco Knives, a Golden, Colo., company that prides itself on "radical innovations to the knife culture" like a one-hand blade opening and ergonomic design.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I still prefer my Glock
A Kukri does cut well.
Do they ever utter the phrase “He flies, but he no longer reproduces”?
In Medieval Japan - the cutting of inanimate objects with a samurai sword was an art form.
I forget what it was called - (any other “Lone Wolf and Cub” fans out there?) - but like most things - the Japanese had a word for it.
Tameshigiri involves cutting.
Iaido involves drawing a sword as an art form and sometimes cutting.
In the comic “Lone Wolf and Cub” a master of Tameshigiri takes on Ito Ogami.
Do you know if they still practice it? I bet a master of Tameshigiri with a samurai sword could really put on one heck of a demonstration!
He practices for one hour a week to cut water bottles with a kitchen knife, and people gather to watch him do it...
I agree, because; "freeze! or I'll stab your brains out" doesn't sound right
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