Villingen Seminar 2010 - The Hikinuki Armistice

Well having returned recently from this most excellent seminar I thought I would put finger to key and try and record some of the stuff that was conveyed.

I think the thing that most bothers me at the moment is how much people have got themselves into a flap about hikinuki/ukenagashi ni kaburi. The first thing to consider is that this isn't by any means all that new. Ishido Sensei first conveyed this small change to us at the Hagakure Iaido Seminar back in 2006 (I wrote an article on the seminar which can be found at http://www.daedalusdesign.co.uk/hosted/iaidojodo/articles/articles-hagakure06.htm). At that time it was clearly explained that it was absolutely necessary for the tsukagashira to be leading the upward movement into furikaburi and there was no necessity to keep the tip up during this process.

This principle still exists for all those movements where it is necessary to bring the sword up by going through ukenagashi (i.e. last cut of Morotezuki, cuts 2 & 3 of Sanpogiri, 2nd cut of Shihogiri).

Within one or at most two years, the principle of hikinuki was formalised into the Seitei system. This basically meant that a small drawing-out motion was necessary while bringing the sword up. It was pointed out quite clearly by Ishido Sensei that this drawing out was delivered by turning motions of the body along with a gently contraction of the arms. It has best been demonstrated with one person holding a saya in which the exponent's sword was inserted. From there on a movement, once again through ukenagashi, would lead into furikaburi.

I once asked the question, why go through ukenagashi, and both sensei's Ishido and Kishimoto both explained that it was the most efficient way of moving the sword. As an engineer I find this response to be reasonable and logical. Furthermore we have been urged to keep the sword as close and as aligned with the centre line as possible. Again this makes complete sense in keeping unnecessary movements to a minimum.

So what constitutes going through ukenagashi? Simply put, ensuring that the sword is slanting down from the tsukagashira means that this can be called ukenagashi ni kaburi. The amount of slant is a matter of taste and physical specifics but obviously too vertical would mean a lack of control over the sword, over horizontal and it is no longer ukenagashi.

Why am I posting this? I think perhaps due to the number of people that have thanked me for this blog during the Villingen seminar I thought I would try to give something back which was useful. I sincerely don't think that this ukenagashi/hikinuki thing is something which people need lose sleep about. If one tries to move the sword naturally, succumbing to it's natural inertia, the sword moves exactly as we are told to.

Anyway, perhaps it would be good to clarify these movements in their respective kata:

1. Tsukaate - after the rear thrust, the hikinuki is made naturally by turning back to face the front. By allowing the tsukagashira to be the leading part of the sword, hikinuki and ukenagashi is naturally performed.
2. Morotezuki - after the front thrust, the hands are slightly withdrawn towards the body as the turn is made. From thereon, leading with the tsukagashira produces the desired movement. After the first cut, the turn is made and the sword brought naturally above the head using the tsukagashira to lead the sword up.
3. Sanpogiri - After the first cut, as the body turns the sword is naturally rotated up once again using the tsukagashira as a lead. As the sword reaches its apex above the head, the te-no-uchi action can bring the kissaki up and over in a smooth motion to continue into the cut. The third cut is delivered again by moving the tsukagashira up as you move under and through the sword.
4. Ganmenate - After the rear thrust, use a similar motion to Morotezuki by gradually retracting the arm as it lifts the tsukagashira up over the head to cut (not forgetting to actuate the whole body one body width to the left).
5. Shihogiri - Like Tsukaate, the thrusted sword is gently retracted by both the hands and the turn of the body as the tsukagashira leads the sword above the head into the first cut. The second cut is performed the same way as the last cut in Sanpogiri.

I hope that more or less makes it clear. Again I don't think these aspects were introduced to trip people up; they are merely there to represent the most natural, efficient, smooth and realistic action of the sword.

Iaido 6th Dan Training Session 17

Flexibility, stability and mobility.

All wise aspects of iaido teaching or merely rants from tonight's posting.


Mostly both.

To be sure, these are aspects which I believe are the key physical benefits from practising martial arts. Because they are output benefits means that they are aspects which are exercise during training and thus the performance of the art is greatly improved if these factors are well developed in a person.

...sadly these are factors which I am finding not up to scratch in my own iaido. I have quite nicely settled into a good training regime. I turn up, I warm up a bit and I then slowly work through, one at a time, each koryu kata. I rarely repeat a kata unless it is one of the sticky ones like Ryuto or Ukigumo (in which case I stick to doing it about 3-4 times only). I don't believe that my current shortfall is either a lack of understanding on the construction of the kata or a lack of ability to demonstrate the unique points of certain kata. My problems lie in the execution of basic movements in the kata.

For instance:

• the angle of inclination of my sword in nukitsuke is often too "down"
• I am frequently in a state of uncertainty just before I start to draw - I think this is born out of a lack of confidence around timing of the foot and sword.
• My yokochiburi is inconsistent - often jerky, too large or too small or based on hand movement rather than sword movement.
• Noto is a constant pain in getting the balance of spontanaeity without losing control

Aside from those points, I can walk okay.

My training regime is focussed on just exercising and improving those basic points in the various scenario in different kata, therefore I don't spend too much time on any kata.

I completed Shoden and Chuden tonight (it's amazing how little gets done in two hours when you practice slowly and methodically) and worked on a few seated koryu. Doing so much Chuden is showing where my lack of flexibility, mobility and stability is most prevalent. I think that just doing repeated training is the best thing for this - I need to build up more lower body and core strength. I am enjoying working on these by doing a bit of slow training of Urokogaeshi and Namigaeshi. Both are quite challenging in those three factors as rising and turning in tatehiza is quite rare in the koryu.

I have also added Shihogiri from Okuden Surawiwaza to my list of koryu to focus on, I think it's a very good stability developer and will also hopefully go onto building natural cutting speed.

Well at least I hope so.

Iaido 6th Dan Training Session 15 and 16

Thankfully due to the now, more focussed, approach to my training I can remember what I have done for the last couple of weeks.

During last week's practice everybody wanted to go through both okuden sets so we started with suwariwaza and then finished with tachiwaza. The sheer number of kaewaza reminded me of a friend's interpretation of what Oshita Sensei had recently told his students - "focus on the hon-waza; when you have got that right then do the kae-waza". I wanted to share this with our dojo members but at the same time make them aware of the various kaewaza (not that I know them all, far from it). It is tempting to indulge in kaewaza practice but it sometimes reminds me of people who run off and do various styles in order to deepen or broaden their iaido experience while not realising that they are just thinning it. While these two activities are separate, they are not so far apart. Kaewaza exist as representatives of regional differences which are grown from local senior sensei spreading their interpretation amoung their dojo members and possibly visitors from other dojo. I have seen such variations not just in the execution of technique but in the order, naming and assignment of technique as well. Influences from Jikiden and Jushin also sometimes prevail.

Bringing the focus into last night's session, with the return of my sensei from Japan, I decided to work through each koryu form, once each only, in order to a) refocus on honwaza and b) improve individual aspects through varying kata. I decided to not give myself second chances, I would do each kata only once and if I didn't do it to my satisfaction then tough - move on.



I actually found myself making more progress than normal. I think the "one kata only" introduces a certain urgency to technical detail rather than throcking technique. Legs are feeling a bit odd today having done only suwari waza last night (and quite a lot of seiza/listening practice) but it was good to focus only on my own training for a change.



I am still set on trying to lift all my koryu up to some semblence of 6th-dan'ness although will eventually give more priority to my chosen few koryu for presentation.

I also considered my upcoming schedule today, I am going to Villingen, Eindhoven and Brighton so about 3 weeks of intense practice (and some scrutiny I hope).