Was this guy insane?

[Nanbanjin]

I once met a doctor who played kendo. He told me that when he was a med student he broke into the university morgue and hacked up thirty cadavers just so he could work out the best way of cutting.

I have noticed that a lot of the people on this forum are preoccupied with how you would hack people up in "reality". I thought it might be interesting to know what you all think of my doctor friend.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Complete nutbar.

[Nanbanjin]

Complete nutbar.
Thanks Neil. You responded quicker than I could get the poll up.

[Neil Gendzwill]

What can I say? Home sick when I should be practicing.

[AlexM]

The dude was nuts with a capital N.

A dubious attempt (the kendo version of breaking boards?) to improve his kendo.

I don't feel sick hearing about it, just disturbed at how a Japanese University could not keep track of its corpses. Are you sure he wasn't pulling your leg? Losing one corpse (or having it cut up) is hard to believe, losing thirty is just bad book-keeping.

[litige]

HAHA breaking boards, that suck. what's next the American Championship of Cadaver Slashing.
This guy is a freak.

[Nanbanjin]

The dude was nuts with a capital N.

A dubious attempt (the kendo version of breaking boards?) to improve his kendo.

I don't feel sick hearing about it, just disturbed at how a Japanese University could not keep track of its corpses. Are you sure he wasn't pulling your leg? Losing one corpse (or having it cut up) is hard to believe, losing thirty is just bad book-keeping.
It wasn't a Japanese university.
It was a few years ago and my recollection of the number of bodies is a little hazy. It was certainly more than ten.
This guy tells us this story over dinner. He just says he cut up a few bodies with a surgical saw or something. I said the obvious "didn't you get in trouble?" He replies "Hell yeah, (number I can't quite recall) bodies! I got in real trouble!"
Some intelligent guy chimed in with "I think that's a story you should keep to yourself"
and also "would you trust this man with your baby?"

We all do stupid things when we are young. This one takes the cake though.

[Nanbanjin]

What can I say? Home sick when I should be practicing.
I am taking a couple of days off to study. Geez I'm really getting heaps of study done - not!

[Shazzanzzz]

...
I was trying when i did the poll, said one or two,

But, that guy really has problems if the story is real.

[xvikingx]

I agree,

If this isn't BS, I would suggest distancing yourself from your friend. But then again this reeks like a big, steamy, fly-ridden pile of it.

[Nanbanjin]

No, I swear this story is true.
Anyway, somehow it seems to have ended up in the lounge. Nobody will ever see it here, so I might as well have not posted it in the first place.
I was actually working towards something semi-constructive here.
For the record, this guy wasn't Australian.

[slidercrank]

No, I swear this story is true.
Anyway, somehow it seems to have ended up in the lounge. Nobody will ever see it here, so I might as well have not posted it in the first place.
I was actually working towards something semi-constructive here.
For the record, this guy wasn't Australian.
It's not clear to me whether this guy "hacked up" the cadavers with a nihonto or a surgical saw. Either way, reading the first message brought a chill to my body, because I took it to mean that this guy tried to do tameshigiri on the cadavers, and being of Chinese descent, I have seen enough pictures of WW2 Japanese soldiers trying out their tameshigiri skills on POW's or civilians (live ones). I must confess that these imageries are burnt into my consciousness and is a big reason I'm reluctant to take up iaido.

[Nanbanjin]

It's not clear to me whether this guy "hacked up" the cadavers with a nihonto or a surgical saw. Either way, reading the first message brought a chill to my body, because I took it to mean that this guy tried to do tameshigiri on the cadavers, and being of Chinese descent, I have seen enough pictures of WW2 Japanese soldiers trying out their tameshigiri skills on POW's or civilians (live ones). I must confess that these imageries are burnt into my consciousness and is a big reason I'm reluctant to take up iaido.
Thanks for your reply.
Sorry, I seem to have been culturally insensitive here. The guy said he used a surgical blade and I think he said a saw. Unfortunately he really was trying to test cutting techniques. Funny thing is he seemed such a mild fella. They say its always the quite ones!

The point I was trying to make and that I seem to have overstated is that all the talk of "realistic cutting" that goes on on this forum is a little sickening.

I have held a real sword about three times in my life and every time my guts have churned a little. Maybe I am just a whimp.
I am with my dad when it comes to Iaido. He watched an Iaido that was on after my kendo class and afterwards said me: "That kendo seems alright, but all that prancing around with real swords, those people should be certified insane."

As far as kendo goes, the shinai has a sweet spot just like a tennis racket or a baseball bat. I wish people would just try a little harder to find this and strike with this area rather than imagining actually hacking things up.

I apologise again for the images this has conjured up for you and don't mind if the administrators trash this whole thread.

[emitbrownne]

Whoop whoop whoop whoop !:surprise:


Freak

[mingshi]

Maybe that guy should take up cookery instead. Slicing up salmon is the only activity I can think of that have practical use of a "blade". Once I attempted to stop a kohai from clubbing his shinai onto people by telling him to cut through a birthday cake... (and he didn't get it! meaning either he doesn't go into the kitchen at all, or no one buys him a cake! poor guy...)

Iaido isn't that bad... As long as no one is in front of you :) But I don't know how do you compare that with Kendo Kata with metal blades.

Tameshigiri is the disturbing one. I feel sorry for all the straw rolls that was only cut half way thru, and those amputated ones piling up on the floor, with water slowing seeping out from them :(

[Kenshi]

hang on, he did this on his own steam... not like he had permission to do it or anything????!!!! isnt that illegal or something? i mean, i know med students name the cadavers and sort of dont treat them respecfully... but some [most?] people would see this as pretty bad! was some action taken... or was it just put down to "med students having fun" or something.

its an odd story. dont get me wrong, ive a few myself, but ive never "hacked up" a cadaver.

[Nanbanjin]

hang on, he did this on his own steam... not like he had permission to do it or anything????!!!! isnt that illegal or something? i mean, i know med students name the cadavers and sort of dont treat them respecfully... but some [most?] people would see this as pretty bad! was some action taken... or was it just put down to "med students having fun" or something.

its an odd story. dont get me wrong, ive a few myself, but ive never "hacked up" a cadaver.
All he said is that he got into a lot of trouble. He didn't elaborate.
A guy from around your way (the one who said "would you trust this man with your baby?") was witness to this story. Maybe you could ask around if you need verification. The Scottish guy (not the mad one) was about third dan in 1996. He was at the summer camp then. I can't remember his name. He said he used to be a punk rocker in the late seventies.

[Nanbanjin]

Maybe that guy should take up cookery instead. Slicing up salmon is the only activity I can think of that have practical use of a "blade". Once I attempted to stop a kohai from clubbing his shinai onto people by telling him to cut through a birthday cake... (and he didn't get it! meaning either he doesn't go into the kitchen at all, or no one buys him a cake! poor guy...)

Iaido isn't that bad... As long as no one is in front of you :) But I don't know how do you compare that with Kendo Kata with metal blades.

Tameshigiri is the disturbing one. I feel sorry for all the straw rolls that was only cut half way thru, and those amputated ones piling up on the floor, with water slowing seeping out from them :(
No birthday cake. He's probably angry. No wonder he hits hard!

[aikanaro]

I agree with mingshi about the practical use you can find for a sword ... there's no situations in the present where you need to make use of one against someone, so why would you need to cut a body?. I think that "improving" his kendo was a bad excuse for hacking at corpses ... even if it was only "playing" or "practice" (not that I think of it as fun or useful), there's something disturbing in someone who thinks that way... you should distance from this guy, or get him some help... indirectly, preferably... don't want him to get upset .... totally nuts. :)

[Nanbanjin]

I agree with mingshi about the practical use you can find for a sword ... there's no situations in the present where you need to make use of one against someone, so why would you need to cut a body?. I think that "improving" his kendo was a bad excuse for hacking at corpses ... even if it was only "playing" or "practice" (not that I think of it as fun or useful), there's something disturbing in someone who thinks that way... you should distance from this guy, or get him some help... indirectly, preferably... don't want him to get upset .... totally nuts. :)
I only met the guy once or twice. I didn't keep in contact after that.