Chambering the Sword

In a lot of our Katachi waza, Uchidachi pushes Shidachi backwards then cuts.

To be able to push your opponent, your kissaki needs to be in the center. When you push him you shuffle your front foot to enter into his space - your kissaki aimed at his face or chest. You keep pressing by taking a full step ahead with your back foot while raising your sword. When your opponent steps back, you cut him.

It is important to cut him WHILE he is stepping back - while his backing foot is still in the air. If your cut comes when his foot has already landed, it is too late. He could - and should - cut you.

If you chamber your sword behind your head, you give your opponent the opportunity to cut while it is behind you. You created an opportunity for you when you forced him backward, and you just lost it by chambering behind your head. Not very bright, you deserve to die !

Of course if both of you chamber behind your head, this does not apply, maybe you both deserve to die !

I suppose this is why in Itto Ryu we are told not to chamber our sword past our head, and why in Kendo the Men cut keeps the sword moving forward.

 

Practice this : Start at one end of the dojo and push your partner - ask him to cut you if he can - if you chamber behind your head, he should seize the opportunity. If you only chamber above your head, he should have no opening. 

BTW, this also works in Karate. It is very difficult to launch a successful move while retreating. Unless you are baiting the opponent - but this is a different story !

Kenjutsu, Iajututsu, Kendo & Iaido

When I taught a Kenjutsu class at our Yoshukai Summer camp 4 students out of 15 showed up without any kind of sword...

Turns out a most students had no clue what Kenjutsu is about.

Let us try to clarify what Kendo, Kenjutsu, Iaido and Iaijutsu are.

Iaijutsu : Basically, Iaijutsu is about drawing your sword and cutting your opponent in one move. This is the intent. Ideally, your opponent is out on your draw (nukitsuke). As it is unlikely that he is fully dead, but more than likely wounded, you put an end to his misery with an additional move. It is also possible that you missed him on your first draw, or that this first draw was a purely defensive move needed to evade his attack. In that case, you proceed to other moves in order to get rid of your opponent. 

In a way Iaijutsu is more about duelling and street fighting.

The student of Iaijutsu generally performs moves by himself. It is somehow similar to Karate kata. It is important to supplement this training by actual practice with a partner, but at the beginning it is not necessary. 

Generally Iaijutsu is practiced with a Iaito : a blunt sword that allows safe practice by numerous students in a dojo.

Kenjutsu : In Kenjutsu you draw your sword and use it. This is more about battlefield combat.

The student of Kenjutsu immediately starts training with a partner.

Kenjutsu is usually practiced with a wooden boken. 

Iaido and Kendo are similar to Iaijutsu and Kenjutsu in their technical aspects. The techniques of Iaido are the techniques of Iaijutsu. The spirit of their practice is different. Whoever practices Jutsu is seeking technical mastery of the Art. Whoever studies Do is seeking self improvement through practice. However, this is not clear cut. The practice of Iaijutsu or Kenjutsu can also be a spiritual journey, and some senseless idiots practice Kendo.

	Kenjutsu / Kendo	Iaijutsu / Iaido
Practice	With partner	Solo
Type of fighting	Battle field	Street fighting
Training weapon	Wooden Boken / Bamboo Shinai	Blunt Iaito

Sometimes the term Batto-do or Batto-Jutsu is used to regroup the 2 disciplines under the same term.

There would be much more to say on this subject, but the point is simplicity. I apologize for the approximations. 

The next time you come to a Kenjutsu class, please bring a boken

Bunkai

Last Thursday we went to the Dothan Botanical Garden to practice and tape Bunkai of 4 Bato-ho Waza : Tsuigekito, Shato, Zantotsuto and Zentekigyakuto.

Bunkai is a practical application of a solo practice move.

Bunkai can be very obvious, specially in basic kata such a Yoshukai Kion Kata Shodan, the moves are mostly combinations of inside middle blocks and direct front punch. 

In some other cases, such as old forms or kata which might have been modified for various reasons by generations of instructors, Bunkai may not be evident. When a master created a form, he might have had one, or several bunkai in mind for each move of the form. So there may be several possible and legitimate bunkai for every move or waza of a form, or kata.

Why practice Bunkai ? Because they bring an element of reality in our individual practice. Martial Arts are not about grace and elegance. Kata should be practiced to develop safe and automatic reactions to real life-threatening situations. If in our practice we perform an approximative, wrongly angled and timed move, in real life this may translate into injury.

So Bunkai practice with a skilled partner really attacking will help you feel and understand the actual meaning of the move. There is nothing like being hit to realize we were doing something wrong - or unskillful. It will also help you realize that the form (Kata - Waza) which some instructors insist is absolutely immutable has to be adapted to take into account size, distance and timing of an actual attack - if when you take one step as requested by the book you are too short, then take a second step...

Once you fine tuned your practice through bunkai practice with different partners of different size, speed and experience, then you can go back to your individual practice and visualize what you really are doing. This brings a totally different dimensions to your practice, and you will also realize the why's of some details you had never wondered about.