RYUJIN Heavy Duty Tameshigiri Cutting Omote Mat

These were just what we needed for rolling up and cutting with our swords as part of Kumdo testing. I think the only flaw was maybe these were a little fresh or something but not sure. They carried quite an odor of something that needed more drying time so we removed them from the box and laid them all over the garage for a few weeks to dry out. I do not mean to dry out as in wet but maybe they plant should have been dried a little longer before weaving and packaging but no biggie. We had a few from a previous batch. It did take a few weeks of leaving the garage door open before they did not have an odor and are ready to roll up now for slicing through. No physical flaws were noticed with any of them so overall, they are just what we needed.

Great quality cutting mats, good size for plenty of cuts.

Martial arts sword instructor here with 20+ years of experience. Traditional tamishigiri uses tatami mats as cutting targets. These mats are closer to beach mat material with a looser weave making them easier to cut. These are a better option than pool noodles and water bottles for cutting but if you are expecting real tatami that’s not what you are getting.

These are not tatami omote. Tatami omote is the top, heavy layer on traditional Japanese flooring. It's made from densely woven reed stems. Material under the omote are usually woven straw. You'll see this referred to as Wara. These are Wara mats.That said, these are fine cutting targets. They are easier to cut than omote, and a bit less dense, but superior to pool noodles, water bottles, etc. Honestly right now these are a steal. The sole importer of tatami in the US closed shop, actual tatami (if you can find them) are 25-30 per mat right now. Wara are also out of stock everywhere, so these are a heck of a deal

These are actually wara straw mats instead of tatami grass mats. Still usable for cutting but are much MUCH easier to cut making them less useful as a test of skill. Also while the price would be great for real tatami it’s barely average for wara. I’m not a very happy customer as I had intended to use these mats to teach a cutting seminar but now need to find real tatami.

This is Goza mat. Easier to cut than the used tatami. Next time I will cut them in half and pack them with scraps. I soaked them for 24 hours.