Any students of Japanese swordsmanship out there?

[wildfire405]

Hello!

I'm the new guy, Joe!

I've been poking around the boards and didn't see a place where people were talking currently about martial arts. (maybe I should do a search) The big reason that inspired me to start and keep reading the Usagi books was that I had begun to take Shinkendo -- Japanese swordsmanship.

Perhaps this post will get moved and attached to an old thread, but I'd like to share a bit about the experience I've had in my art, and I'd love to hear others talk about their art!

Shinkendo is a relatively new martial art developed in our founder's desire to unify separate sword schools of thought and techniques into a comprehensive collection of what he believes is a complete picture of Japanese swordsmanship and Samurai martial methods.

I've been at it for a year-and-a-half now and I'm finally beginning to understand movement. Its helped my Aikido, which I've been a student of for three almost four years now.

What has amazed me most is how much the edge angle during a swing effects cutting. Twice a year we do test cutting on tatami rolls, and even though a katana is a three foot razor blade designed to cut things, its ReALly DiFfICuLt to cleanly get through a target!! Practicing with a fellow student on the side, I even managed to bend an expensive blade cutting through a milk jug because my edge angle was off. I'm interested in hearing how other arts address edge angle.

Well, that's a start, it time to get working for me! Glad to be here on the boards!

Hey, and while I'm at it, does anyone know where to get an Usagi replica gi? I've got the black hakama, just not the blue top. I think it'd be neat to show up to class with it on. Maybe I'll have to make one. . . .

[Stan Sakai]

I believe Leonardo-san has been doing Iai-jutsu for years. She and her dojo regularly travel to Japan for exhibitions.

[wildfire405]

Iaido looks amazing and beautiful. There's a kata we do in Shinkendo that seems to draw on the amazing elegant precision of Iaido and I'd love to see if there's a parallel kata that exists.

I hope Leonardo-san reads this and posts! I'm excited to hear from her!

[Fanfan]

I practice martial arts for 12 years now (Chinese ones, taiji and wushu, wing chun kuen), and I am a student of Japanese Akuzawa sensei since he started last year to form instructor in France, I had the honor to be one of his student.
So it is a bujutsu practice (not kakutogi), based on shinshin tanren, koryu. No weapon except your body.
I used sometimes bo and other weapon to make understand line of attack, "girigiri" (the sound that makes 2 kimonos when they passed very closed) timing and stress control.
I should practice this year with Kono sensei, with Kuroda sensei they are two of the most impressive actual masters, that have rediscovered martial arts. Their Iaï is beautiful, and you should have a look to their practice.

[wildfire405]

I had to do some searching on google to learn most of the Japanese words you were using, and I learned a lot! I think I found a video of your sensei on youtube! That's a neat looking art. Some of the movements are very similar to what we do in Aikido!

Akuzawa Sensei:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpP_HmoJoHg (check timecode 1:10)

compare to Aikido:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEajsu2IsQk (Timecode 2:50)

Neat! I love seeing the parallels. It looks like your art is more agressive than Aikido--I saw some striking, but just like the movements in Aikido, those exquisite strikes of your sensei are coming from a supernaturally strong center of gravity. Aikido is all about taking that stron center and using it to blend and join with with the attacker's energy--even though I started this thread asking about swordsmanship, Aikido is where my heart is.

And this is where the heart of Aikido is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1ZsFnma ... ure=autofb

This thread could be fun!

[wildfire405]

I mis-read that! Iai-jitsu! That's even cooler! I'll have to find this Leonardo-san and start a conversation!

[Leonardo-san]

Sorry for not posting in a while, for a number of reasons haven't had a lot of online time recently.

Yes, I've been training for about 5 or 6 years in iajutsu. (Must be getting old, I can't remember what year I started.)
I've been to Japan twice with my sensei and fellow students, where we train two days with his sensei, then go sight seeing for the rest of the trip.
We were supposed to have been going at the end of this month for the third time, but too many people had to cancel because of their jobs/income.
Once a year we do a public demonstration as a part of the Obon festivities at the local Buddhist temple.

There's a lot to just drawing a sword. After the years I've been doing it, I'm still working on those perfect draws and cuts. Angle is super critical to a good cut--but then everything else that goes with it, too.
In addition to the various work with the bokken, iato, and covered shinai for controlled spars (without kendo armor), we have a jo kata, too.

Nice that there are others who train in martial arts that enjoy comic books like Usagi.

[wildfire405]

Drawing the sword is one of the 5 core teachings we work on in Shinkendo. Each part is important, but dang: It is really dangerous taking that sword in and out of the scabbard. Its been two years and I still have to look where the koiguchi is and I the mune slids off the sides half the time.

We certainly don't give drawing the focus that an Iaijitsu practitioner would, and I marvel at how elegant you Iai practitioners look. Our art ends at 5 basic draws. We have cuts and katas that we can slip in between the draw and the chuburi, but we're either nukitsuki, thrust, kesa draws left and right, and a kiriage draw. As a newbie, I would have guessed there'd be more, but the sword can only come from a few directions!

What would you say is the key difference between Iaijitsu and Iaido?

I hope we get to chat more!

[Ashigaru Chuck]

First off, apologies for such a late reply.

I've been studying Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu iaijutsu for a little over 16 years now, under Masayuki Shimabukuro, <i>Hanshi</i> at the hombu dojo for Kokusai Nippon Budo Kai/Jikishin-Kai International.

I believe the phrase "iaido" and "iaijutsu" are often used interchangeably; however there is a subtle (perhaps negligible) difference. The concept of "do" = "the way of" vice "jutsu" = "technique" has been debated by martial artists for a *very* long time. Really, the idea is to improve your technique in order to understand the true meaning (the way). So one would study iaijutsu, in order to understand iaido.

The first character, "iai" refers to "everything" and "bringing together", so iaido would be "the way to bring everything together", in the critical moment of drawing and cutting in one motion, stopping your opponent's action.

The real test, however, is to determine if your actions, beliefs, and understanding is pure; to draw the sword is to risk everything, above and beyond your own life and death. This is a decision that comes before you even move. <i>"Saya no uchi no katchi"</i> = victory while the sword is still in the scabbard, and <i>"Ken shin ichi nyo"</i> = sword and spirit are one; so, before you express your spirit, to face adversity, you must already be victorious, know right from wrong, and be willing to accept the consequences of your actions.