Yea. To cut something in half with one strike requires a certain type of technique. The sword isn't just swung like a baseball bat. There is a certain way to do it. Pretty much to cut or slice or chop at all requires a technique. That is why they are called cuts, slices, chops and not just HACKing away at something.
I'm sure samurais at least learned those basic moves.
All this over my opinion that the samurais in kurosawa's films don't impress me
