Without a picture, it's hard to make any guess. However, I suspect it's not bamboo. Bamboo culms always become hard and woody within 2 months or so after coming up, and, even if they lose their leaves and die during a cold winter, the culms remain in place, and would do so for several years. If you cut them down, you would need a heavy duty pruner. Almost all bamboo culms are hollow inside. Also, bamboo culms have branches and the leaves are attached to the branches, not the central stalk.

So...does this sound like what you had or not? If you want to post a picture, you can put an URL in the box below the message box, or you can go to the gallery and upload it there.