Yeah you're probably right. I understand the inherent problems in the structure with longer internodes and straight segments. I will do some, but not all the chops you recommended. The main trunk will benefit the most from the chops while the side trunks will be chopped in the upper halves to redo the apex. The back trunk was developed from a very low branch and will be allowed to thicken before cutting back. I will take time to study the image, then decide on my cut backs and design path.
While I am striving for a better tree, I also take into consideration my enjoyment I get out of it. Would I rather do significant cut backs on all trunk, invest many more years, but ultimately producing a better tree? Or would I rather make a decent tree, with a few structural problems, but can be produced with less work with still a good image? By no means am I implying that the current suggestions are bad, and that I am not investing time to improve some of the structure. But I've seen trees posted here where the OP was pressured into hacking into pieces just because of a few flaws when the current tree was still capable of being worked into a decent bonsai. After a certain point, I'd be better off investing money in better material. Its like would you spend 20 years and produce a tree that is 100% ("flawless") or spend say 10-12 and get something that is 70-80% in terms of quality. That's just an arbitrary example so please don't take it too seriously.
The tree on the right by the way is a root over rock trident maple. It was one of the very first trees in my collection. It spent the last year in the ground and I recently dug it up and did some cut backs. This season I will be developing primary and some secondary branching.
For now here is my tentative plan. I will let the main trunk grow largely unrestricted so that it can thicken far more than the other sub trunks. Perhaps not as dramatic if I were to cut lower, but good enough to make me happy.
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