I'm going to a cutting even later this month and I have a couple nice two handed swords I'm brining with me. Could anyone recommend a challenging target for a two-handed sword? Tatami is available for purchase so a possibility could be double or triple mats. Any other ideas?

The two-handers are an Atrim 1592, as can be seen in the review section and a custom built from an A&A type XX blade, can be seen here: http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=13967

A Gus standard used to be sheets of 1/4" plywood. If the tatami is offered at a "scored" event, it is usually regarded as a maxim for judging worth but form is part of the formula. My most giving/absorbing target for big swords was .50 lead balls contained in a 2 litre bottle, stuffed in a leather pull up type boot. The leather cuts and the balls largely displace (does smear the blades). Another is bundle rubber hose sections. Green bamboo. There is ornamental cane that grows in NE but it doesn't provide must resistance, even bundled.

Cheers

GC

Linen-wrapped tatami is a very good one for "Is your blade sharp".

You can make cutting it more challenging by putting in extra stipulations about the cuts. Cutting between poles, without marking them, for example. Or putting multiple cuts onto a mat, or cutting using a less easy cut like the zwerhau.

Depends a bit on what you mean by challenging, though. Do you want it to test the sword, or the ability of the person wielding it?

10-15cm tightly rolled news paper rolls, soak them 24h hours and go at it. Excellent target.

I agree with the rolled newspaper! Thickness can be very easily adjusted and can provide quite a challenging target - very critical of technique.

cheap foam pool noodles are challenging as they'll turn if your edge alignment isn't perfect.

Don't try 3 mats of tatami omote unless you're already good at 1 and 2, if you screw up on 3 you can bend your sword. Clean cuts on 1 mat are a good challenge to start with, try to cut so the mat just falls away instead of going flying.

These can be hard to obtain sometimes, but large cardboard tubes (the sort that carpet and sheet flooring are rolled about) are a lot of fun. Set them up on top of a short post and cut away. They are fairly tough and if you get a particularly rough one they may have grit in them that could scratch or ding your blade, but I believe it's worth it for the fun. Just be careful with the 12-foot ones, if you cut those the long part of the tube tends to be the part that falls on you!

I got mine by simply inquiring in Home Depot's carpet section if they would set some aside for me and returned the next day to find several freely available for the having. You can also ask in flooring stores or other hardware stores. Good luck!