Isao Machii is a master of Iaido, a modern martial arts application of traditional Japanese swordplay that emphasizes the movements associated with the form.

Unfortunately, Machii, who’s called a “modern samurai,” lives in a time when he can’t show off his blade mastery by using it to drown the countryside in the blood of his enemies.

That’s why a poor batting cage ball has to suffer on Japanese TV in order for Machii to prove his bona fides. But. It. Is. Awesome.

Reddit user namraka posted a gif from that video in the Woah Dude community, showing Machii gracefully slicing a ball traveling 167 km/h (103 mph) from 9.22 meters away (about 30 feet). As a point of reference, major-league batters are 60 feet, 2 inches away when they try to hit a 100-plus mph fastball.

If you still not impressed, check out Machii’s skill in slow motion.

Machii, 42, has been racking up the inanimate objects he can quickly cut for a while now. He holds Guinness World Records for most sword cuts to a single mat, most sword cuts to straw mats in three minutes, and fastest tennis ball cut by a sword.

Oh, and the speed that tennis ball was traveling 708 km/h… or about 440 mph.