Noob seeking advice on Kashima

[Johnnyd]

Hello nutters! I was on the maples forum and saw a thread about advanced techniques for maples. It was a YouTube channel in Japanese. I did some research in my bonsai for Japanese maples book I recently bought. The technique is called Hagari/leaf cutting.
I decided to try it with my kashima. My question is will this work if I have a sacrifice branch above the leaves I've cut. If it will be counterproductive I suppose I could remove the sacrifice branch. Mostly trying to keep the sacrifice branch to heal large scars. Thanks all!

 

[Johnnyd]

So this was looking like a lost cause in 2021. It was weak and overworked. I put it in the ground and tried to forget about it; except for some yearly work after leaf drop. Three years of ground growth and the trunk line looks healed. I do notice that from the graft line down the trunk has slight reverse taper. I'm hoping to layer it right above the graft. If I could go back in time and give myself some advice it would be, "don't start with a kashima ". Koto Hime is just as attractive and much more forgiving. Hope this helps someone.

 

[Johnnyd]

The ground layer worked better than expected. The roots have chosen a new planting angle that seems promising.

 

[Hack Yeah!]

Getting gnarly!