The Four Levels of Zanshin Part 2

Peter's FB post reminded me that I hadn't properly explained a previous blog post concerning The Four Levels of Zanshin

To expand their meaning I have described how they relate to kirioroshi and would refer readers to Ogura Sensei's interview which can be googled to get even more detail:

1. Sekka no kurai - The body of a rock - This is a reference to a spark from rocks when they are struck together. This means that the actual delivery of cuts is instantaneous with no warning of its impending delivery.
2. Tsuyu no kurai - The rain dripping from a leaf - This describes how one builds up to the cut just as a drip of water will accumulate at the tip of a leaf very gradually and then gravity finally overcomes viscosity and the drop falls.
3. Bonsho no kurai - The echo of the ringing of the buddhist bell - This describes the after effect of the cut - no movement, no signs of action or intention, just the low, deep echo of the event.
4. Hei no kurai - The fart that cannot be heard - I would suggest that this means that without any warning or sign, people around you just fall over dead. While humerous this does I believe have some reason of rhyme to it. It almost captures the previous three as one who can dispatch all their opponents with no apparent movement or effort.

The first three (which are supposed to be the legitimate levels) are of course not in order of the event i.e. first their would be tsuyu in the preparation of the cut, then sekka as the cut is delivered and then bonsho as post-cut zanshin takes place. The order is I believe supposed to indicate levels of expertise in the order in which they would be naturally learned.

First one learns to cut quickly, using effort and speed but ultimately where good technique means that natural speed and power occur without undue effort. This is Sekka no Kurai.

One then learns how to develop the johakyu leading up to the cut such that an opponent is unable to defend, dodge or counterattack the oncoming cut. One's taisabaki, balance, ashisabaki, ma-ai and merihari are all instrumental in developing the "build up".

Finally, the unmoving, unfettered mind and body which exist after the cut can be felt only like the echo of a bell, slowly fading as the event of killing one's enemy slips into the past. This is what we understand by the word Zanshin.

Anyway, just some of my thoughts and interpretations of things that I have heard or read from more senior practitioners and teachers. I have tried to visualise these aspects into my kata of late to what I think is a positive result.

Iaido Training Session 34

And so we continue on the yearlong slope down towards the grading. I have in the last week or so conversed with many people about the European Iaido Championships especially concerning the grading. Those of you in the know will know that it was something of a massacre with only one 6th dan candidate passing out of all the 5th, 6th and 7th dans. I certainly thought there were at least a few who were worth their salt in this grading including my good friend Henry Schubert whose mental image I use for how people do Jikiden (this isn't to say that there aren't other people more experience than Henry, only that I have worked more with him than any other Jikiden person in koryu).

The results of this examination have crystalisd my drive though, I now realise that I cannot at any rate, take my foot off the accelerator in training myself for my 6th dan. Too much training may not be enough.

Anyway, on this particular Wednesday 17th, no sensei and so we all had a party. Not really, but we did all work on koryu. Even given the drive I am feeling to train more, my right arm was then and is still feeling the effects of last week's overenthused ochiburi's and I wasn't in the mood for lots of training. I spend some time with Raj and now have him up to Tsukikage! He's doing very well and is very enthusiastic to learn and train new forms.

I spent a bit of time "testing" my balance at end of cuts and think I will work on this next week with a bit of sayu ashi giri training. George filmed me doing an embu but can't download it yet to evaluate it. I am wondering if there is a budo training app for the iTouch.

Iaido Training Session 29 to 33 and everything else

Should I have shaved on the morning of the European Taikai?

Well it has been a busy period, I have missed posting onto my blog several times but the sheer number of events both martial artistic and work related have kept me away from cold evenings huddled around my computer screen.

Since my last training blog post thingy I have:

• Taught at an Iaido and Jodo referees seminar in Warsaw
• Co-delivered the Jodo seminar and grading in Darlington
• Been to the European Iaido Championships

Obviously it is impossible for a person with as shabby memory as my own to recall each and every details of my training recently so I will stick with the highlights...

In the Dojo

Training has been fairly quiet recently, without Lucy and Aurelien there the atmosphere has been a bit calm and staid and sometimes difficult to motivate myself to doing pre-taikai training without the whole representation of our dojo there. I have been working a lot on koryu lately mainly to try to strengthen my legs and make it look somewhere close to the same level as my seitei. As usual, Chuden has been my choice of forms in the main and I have learned quite a bit about Iwanami especially in terms of how to turn and do the driving cut. Weight distribution seems to be key with this form and it cannot be performed properly if this weight control is lazy. Trying to get the right balance of large and small technique is also interesting with the first three forms and I think this is something I need to personally research.

Raj has also compelled me to think about Jikiden quite a bit to the point of asking one of the Polish guys to show me some of his Omori Ryu to remind me of the finer points. It is quite an interesting feeling to do a different ryuha even one as close to Shinden as Jikiden is. There seems to be a more obvious contrast of large and small movements in the techniques and I guess a lot of this is from me emulating Henry Schubert's expansive way of doing the kata.

I think I now want to start doing the videoing process of tracking my technical progress and have asked George to bring his camera to the dojo. Guess it's time to break out the spreadsheet...


In Poland

Jock Hopson Sensei, Harry and me were invited along with Robert Rodrigues Sensei to deliver an Iaido and Jodo referees seminar in Warsaw. It was a very pleasant experience, not much to say on the Iaido development front though only that the event reminded me how much a skill like judging and examining requires soooo much experience. Jock saw things that I hadn't even noticed during both events of the taikai and the shinsa.


At the European Iaido Championships

The event this year was held in Paris and the BKA team was fully prepped through a 10-hour coach ride from Waterloo, through a wormhole in the Paris orbital and deposited somewhere in Albania.

The event was preceeded with a one-and-a-half-day technical seminar and then a half day referees seminar. I don't want to dwell on this event too much and you will have to ask me personally on my opinion of that event - it wasn't pretty! Suffice to say, it is always an expectation that seitei will change slightly through time, I am however surprised though when it changes from being practical to utterly impractical and actually impossible to demonstrate rationally. Perhaps I should forget it for now.

The taikai event was interesting though. I won my pool and went through the tournament to be beaten in the final by Michael Simonini from Belgium. He has lovely expansive technique but manages to keep it very much under control by not being overly tall but well built. You can see his depth of practice by the sheer control he maintains over his body and sword. The event also allowed me to pit myself against Claudio Zanoni from Italy, my good friend. I have had to change my Iaido in the last few years to beat Claudio by removing the heaviness as much as possible. Claudio is light and sharp and able to maintain a strong posture and I have had to try to do the same. I also went up against Matti Pajaujis from Sweden who only entered into the 5th dan category from last year's grading. Matti is more compact and robust and his cuts are very sharp. Both Michael and Matti were, I think, the only ones to pass their 5th dans when they took it in their group.

So what did I learn?

From Kishimoto Sensei:

1. At 5th dan don't start the embu by standing up and sitting in a different pose such as tatehiza. Start a kata from seiza, this is much more preferable to the judges and examiners.
2. When performing Chuden forms with a one-handed oblique draw, the sharpness of the cut relies upon keeping the yokote of the sword in the saya and then using the hips and chest to get the sharpness of the movement. This is different to Shoden which uses a more regular balance of sayabiki and sayabanare to create johakyu.
3. Try to use breathing to generate the timing of drawing and cutting especially the tension created by squeezing the breath.

From Rene Sensei:

1. Try to turn the hips more to face the body forwards in the stepping cuts.
2. Be careful not to use your right arm as a rifle scope on nukitsuke.
3. Regulate Shihogiri timing more to avoid jumping from one cut to the other.

From Momi Sensei:

1. Watch the footwork on Ukenagashi to create the proper "i" position and not stepping the left foot to far forwards.
2. Avoid stepping off the centreline too much in Sanpogiri.
   

Doing some pre-taikai training with Aurelien and Daniel also was a bit enlightening when Dan was having problems with the "new" footwork with Ushiro. He was finding himself off balance and I rationalised, tested and proved that keeping the back stock straight was essential in being able to do this rotation quickly. The period also reminded me that young 3rd and 4th dans are liable to rush through furikaburi and not be able to create the right merihari.


Having examined the fight on film and listening to things people have been saying as well as watching performances, I have concluded I need to work on the following items as well as regular kata training:

1. Improving my cutting technique to ensure that my balance is absolutely perfect at the end of the cuts.
2. Continue improving nukitsuke to keep my sword down and thus my shoulder (an action that Peter West Sensei keeps reminding me to work on, thanks Peter.)
3. Ensuring that the raising of the hips with Ochiburi is absolutely synchronised and sharp.
4. Ukenagashi footwork and timing.
5. Ukenagashi footwork and timing.
6. Ukenagashi footwork and timing.
7. Make sure that the first draw in Sanpogiri doesn't take a shortcut in front of the face but actually passes over the head (see video above - it's very obvious on both of us).
8. Maintain flexibility overall but carry on working on lower body and core strength - this makes iaido much easier.
9. Start to rebuild strength in right forearm to avoid injury - throwing painkiller-numbed chiburi's around is leaving me a message right now.

Well lots to work on again, I have also noted that although the dates for the EIC 2011 are different to this year, I have now done my penultimate EIC at 5th dan and there is a dizzy slope down (or up) towards my grading. The clock is ticking.