Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Sword Techniques of the Koryu Dai San no Kata
Tomiki Sensei wanted to get to the essence of things. So he cut down the 2,000 plus aikido techniques to a small set of core techniques. The full set of 2,000 can be viewed as that core plus variations on the core.
Meanwhile, Ohba Sensei liked to catalogue old techniques. That is how we got the six Koryu no Kata (collections of old techniques). The third set is the basis of the first, second, and third degree black belt tests in what is now referred to in the west as Tomiki Aikido. (In Japan, there is no style name. The organization is the Japan Aikido Association, and the head dojo is Shodokan.)
Let me go over some things I learned recently about the sets of techniques called tachi dori (literally, “grabbing the sword,” but actually meaning disarming a sword wielding opponent when you are unarmed) and tachi tachi (literally, “sword sword,” but meaning that both you and your opponent have a sword). They are part of the Koryu Dai San no Kata (the third collection of old techniques).
For those of you not familiar with these techniques, I refer you to Loi Sensei’s book, Tomiki Aikido.
Tachi Dori
There are five of these techniques where a sword wielding opponent (tachi) attacks you when you are unarmed. In each of them, you take the sword away from tachi. I’m going to describe them all assuming that tachi is right handed and standing in a right foot forward stance. Since he’s right handed, his right hand will be farther away from his body when holding the sword.
To begin the first technique, uke takes a vertical sword cut (somen uchi) at you. As you taisabaki to the right your right tegatana cuts down at tachi’s forward wrist (right wrist if tachi is right handed). You then push forward and move your right foot forward maybe six inches as you grab the sword between tachi’s hands. That gets an initial kuzushi. Be sure to grab from underneath and then rotate the hilt forward as you throw. To set up the throw, you slide your left leg behind you, staying low. You do NOT push way up in this technique. Everything stays under tachi’s shoulder level. You turn till you are almost facing the same direction as tachi and then push forward while rotating your wrist to throw. Uke goes over the little toe of his right foot. (He was in a right foot forward stance the whole time.) You keep the sword as they take a forward roll.
For the second technique, uke again attacks with shomen uchi. Do your taisabaki to the left and cut down on uke’s forward (right) wrist with your left tegatana. Next, use your left tegatana to push in and down at uke’s elbow. Your blade should fit right in the crease of the bent elbow. As you do this, slide the left foot forward so you can push on the arm with your full body weight to bend the elbow. As you are doing that with your left hand, the right hand grabs the hilt between uke’s hands. You then pivot to your right and do shiho nage (tenkai kote gaeshi). Make sure not to poke yourself with the sword. (Uke should turn with the shihonage so that they can take a forward roll rather than a backfall.) You keep the sword as the fall.
For the third technique, tachi is going to poke at your throat with a strait tsuki (stab). As he does this, his arms and the blade should all be parallel to the floor, at his own shoulder level. The key thing to understand about this technique is that you are doing hanmi (half-stance) for the taisabaki. As you move to the left and turn out of the way of the thrust, do not turn your hips a full 90 degrees. Only go into left-foot forward hanmi. Your left hand goes up vertically (as if you were taking the oath in a court of law) as you do the taisabaki. The blade should miss you by only a couple of inches because you don’t really get off line, you just do hanmi. You then bring your right hand up and over as a tegatana and hit uke square in the head. And I do mean square. Your tegatana blade should split him in two, right down the middle of his face. (Uke obviously leans back when you practice this so as not to get his nose smashed.) And actually, for this technique, uke keeps the sword as he falls. The idea, though, is that he is unconscious. If you were to land this blow, he most definitely would be.
For the fourth technique, tachi from his perspective cuts diagonally from top left to bottom right. It is a kiri-kaeshi (a diagonal sword cut). Move forward as torii and block with your left foot forward and with your left tegatana. Your tegatana should block in the middle of tachi’s right forearm. Also, crucially, block with your own forearm, with contact about two to three inches below your wrist. That matters because if you then relax your wrist, it naturally drapes over tachi’s forearm—meaning that you can easily pull on the forearm—as you do next. Pull and move to your own right, pivoting to your left as you do so. This will spin tachi around and you can quickly slide your left hand up under his elbow so that you can then push forward and throw him with oshi taoshi. He lets go of the sword as he goes into the fall.
For the fifth and final technique, when uke cuts straight down (shomen uchi), do a left taisabaki, going into a left-foot forward hanmi. Your left hand comes down over uke’s right (forward) wrist. Then grab the hilt between uke’s hands with your own right hand as you step forward with your right foot. Squeeze the sword towards yourself, using your right hand to pin it on your right hip. Next do something very complicated. (Or at least complicated for me to describe!) Take your left hand and snake it between uke’s two arms. It should go over his right arm (the closer one to you), under your own right arm (the hand of which is grabbing the hilt) and then come to rest palm-up just beyond the sword’s tsuba (hand guard). In particular, place the palm-up hand so that the back of it is touching the top (dull side) of the sword blade. Typically, it’s hard to reach so far and only the back side of your hand by the thumb will be touching the top of the sword. As you do all that complicated insertion, your hips will naturally turn a bit to the right. Once the hand is in, you turn back to the left (i.e. towards uke) and pull up while rotating the blade vertical (that is, the tip goes down and threatens to cut tachi’s groin in two). Tachi falls backward, his wrist having been locked, and the blade now threatening him. As he falls, he lets go of the sword
Meanwhile, Ohba Sensei liked to catalogue old techniques. That is how we got the six Koryu no Kata (collections of old techniques). The third set is the basis of the first, second, and third degree black belt tests in what is now referred to in the west as Tomiki Aikido. (In Japan, there is no style name. The organization is the Japan Aikido Association, and the head dojo is Shodokan.)
Let me go over some things I learned recently about the sets of techniques called tachi dori (literally, “grabbing the sword,” but actually meaning disarming a sword wielding opponent when you are unarmed) and tachi tachi (literally, “sword sword,” but meaning that both you and your opponent have a sword). They are part of the Koryu Dai San no Kata (the third collection of old techniques).
For those of you not familiar with these techniques, I refer you to Loi Sensei’s book, Tomiki Aikido.
Tachi Dori
There are five of these techniques where a sword wielding opponent (tachi) attacks you when you are unarmed. In each of them, you take the sword away from tachi. I’m going to describe them all assuming that tachi is right handed and standing in a right foot forward stance. Since he’s right handed, his right hand will be farther away from his body when holding the sword.
To begin the first technique, uke takes a vertical sword cut (somen uchi) at you. As you taisabaki to the right your right tegatana cuts down at tachi’s forward wrist (right wrist if tachi is right handed). You then push forward and move your right foot forward maybe six inches as you grab the sword between tachi’s hands. That gets an initial kuzushi. Be sure to grab from underneath and then rotate the hilt forward as you throw. To set up the throw, you slide your left leg behind you, staying low. You do NOT push way up in this technique. Everything stays under tachi’s shoulder level. You turn till you are almost facing the same direction as tachi and then push forward while rotating your wrist to throw. Uke goes over the little toe of his right foot. (He was in a right foot forward stance the whole time.) You keep the sword as they take a forward roll.
For the second technique, uke again attacks with shomen uchi. Do your taisabaki to the left and cut down on uke’s forward (right) wrist with your left tegatana. Next, use your left tegatana to push in and down at uke’s elbow. Your blade should fit right in the crease of the bent elbow. As you do this, slide the left foot forward so you can push on the arm with your full body weight to bend the elbow. As you are doing that with your left hand, the right hand grabs the hilt between uke’s hands. You then pivot to your right and do shiho nage (tenkai kote gaeshi). Make sure not to poke yourself with the sword. (Uke should turn with the shihonage so that they can take a forward roll rather than a backfall.) You keep the sword as the fall.
For the third technique, tachi is going to poke at your throat with a strait tsuki (stab). As he does this, his arms and the blade should all be parallel to the floor, at his own shoulder level. The key thing to understand about this technique is that you are doing hanmi (half-stance) for the taisabaki. As you move to the left and turn out of the way of the thrust, do not turn your hips a full 90 degrees. Only go into left-foot forward hanmi. Your left hand goes up vertically (as if you were taking the oath in a court of law) as you do the taisabaki. The blade should miss you by only a couple of inches because you don’t really get off line, you just do hanmi. You then bring your right hand up and over as a tegatana and hit uke square in the head. And I do mean square. Your tegatana blade should split him in two, right down the middle of his face. (Uke obviously leans back when you practice this so as not to get his nose smashed.) And actually, for this technique, uke keeps the sword as he falls. The idea, though, is that he is unconscious. If you were to land this blow, he most definitely would be.
For the fourth technique, tachi from his perspective cuts diagonally from top left to bottom right. It is a kiri-kaeshi (a diagonal sword cut). Move forward as torii and block with your left foot forward and with your left tegatana. Your tegatana should block in the middle of tachi’s right forearm. Also, crucially, block with your own forearm, with contact about two to three inches below your wrist. That matters because if you then relax your wrist, it naturally drapes over tachi’s forearm—meaning that you can easily pull on the forearm—as you do next. Pull and move to your own right, pivoting to your left as you do so. This will spin tachi around and you can quickly slide your left hand up under his elbow so that you can then push forward and throw him with oshi taoshi. He lets go of the sword as he goes into the fall.
For the fifth and final technique, when uke cuts straight down (shomen uchi), do a left taisabaki, going into a left-foot forward hanmi. Your left hand comes down over uke’s right (forward) wrist. Then grab the hilt between uke’s hands with your own right hand as you step forward with your right foot. Squeeze the sword towards yourself, using your right hand to pin it on your right hip. Next do something very complicated. (Or at least complicated for me to describe!) Take your left hand and snake it between uke’s two arms. It should go over his right arm (the closer one to you), under your own right arm (the hand of which is grabbing the hilt) and then come to rest palm-up just beyond the sword’s tsuba (hand guard). In particular, place the palm-up hand so that the back of it is touching the top (dull side) of the sword blade. Typically, it’s hard to reach so far and only the back side of your hand by the thumb will be touching the top of the sword. As you do all that complicated insertion, your hips will naturally turn a bit to the right. Once the hand is in, you turn back to the left (i.e. towards uke) and pull up while rotating the blade vertical (that is, the tip goes down and threatens to cut tachi’s groin in two). Tachi falls backward, his wrist having been locked, and the blade now threatening him. As he falls, he lets go of the sword
