I have a japanese maple that was about 4 ft tall when i got it.?

Question:that was about 3 yrs ago. my ex came by about 2 yrs ago and whacked it. it has come back over the last 2 yrs but it's just a bunch of long shoots. i have not pruned it because i was afraid of killing it. so how do i prune it to get it into shape again. it's pretty strong now. it needs some direction and i'm afraid i will cut the wrong shoots. any help is greatly appreciated

Answers:
First of all, I congratulate you for having such a healthy Japanese Maple even after your ex did such serious damage. It sounds to me like witchbrooming. This is called such because the long shoots resemble the bristles of a witch's broom. Your best bet is to take a picture of your tree and email it to me. I can forward it to a teacher friend of mine from my horticultural school, who can then reply directly to you, if you wish. I don't want to post his email address here for the world to see. This won't cost anything.

Ok, i fixed it... sorry about the email mix up. New to this Answers thing. ;)