The hakama - from an iaidoka perspective:

Hi all -

As a fair proportion of iai technique is performed from a
seated posture, I thought it might be useful to post a couple
of points.

The beginner learns initially in seiza - the kneeling posture
used indoors and formally. At the commencement of any technique
the practitioner is therefore seated, with his weight on his
ankles, the feet flat and soles facing upward, and his first
move is to rise up to allow him to turn his toes to get a grip
to launch an attack.

The most common seated posture, however, is tate hiza, sitting
with one knee raised, the foot close in to the body, the other
leg folded beneath you, bum on ankle. It is an uncomfortable
posture but it allows maximum of movement, freedom of movement
to pivot in any direction, and therefore gives the man seated
in hiza a marked advantage over someone in seiza.

Tate hiza came about because it is the easiest way to sit when
wearing armour, other than on a stool. One cannot sit in seiza,
which compacts the torso, without the body of the armour rising
up around the neck.

Another posture is iai-goshi, which is used widely in aikido,
and was a combative form of hiza (probably hiza derives from
it). In this both heels are raised and the toes on the ground,
effectively its a squat with one knee down. It allows greater
freedom of movement still, whilst keeping a low profile, and I
have seen aikido practitioners move with amazing speed and
change of direction in iai-goshi, 'running rings' round those
on two feet.

In iai circles hiza and goshi are 'combative' postures and can
be read to imply uncertainty and mistrust in semi formal
situations. A samurai sitting in hiza before his lord, if his
katana was within reach, would be watched intently by the
master's guards. Samurai countered this by stating that such a
posture showed 'zanshin' - the state of constant alertness (a
simplified definition) and a readiness to perform his master's
will.

Put another way, if I was receiving an armed warrior, sitting
in seiza, and he in hiza, I would probably change my posture
accordingly.

Trivia:

It is bad manners to show the soles of one's feet when sitting.
The cross-legged posture of the west is used in the east but
the feet are kept tucked in to the body and the hakama is drawn
in close to cover the soles without 'spraying' all over the
floor, which is dillatory and considered somewhat flashy or
feminine.

The practice of overlong sleeves and leggings in court attire
was adopted from the Chinese court dress and had a useful
benefit of hampering an attacker. The draw of the Katori Shinto
Ryu utilises a 'roll' of the wrist as the right hand reaches
across to the hilt, and this serves to roll the sleeve back
from the wrist and thus not hamper the draw of the sword.

Samurai in 'civvies' would tuck the cuffs of their hakama in
the waistband and tie back their sleeves (if time and
circumstance allowed).

Iai techniques when all protagonists begin in kneeling postures
sometimes employ the device of stamping on the opponent's
hakama cuff to imobilise him prior to a strike. Others involves
forcing your opponent down with your sword then stamping on his
sleeve or whatever to hold him there.

Thomas

Hello,

All of this is great and correct. The seated position
for wearing armor is also used in some aiki-jutsu
schools. It is great to hear some logical and correct
Martial combat ideas.

Musashi
--- tom.davidson@... wrote:

> Hi all -
>
> As a fair proportion of iai technique is performed
> from a
> seated posture, I thought it might be useful to post
> a couple
> of points.
>
> The beginner learns initially in seiza - the
> kneeling posture
> used indoors and formally. At the commencement of
> any technique
> the practitioner is therefore seated, with his
> weight on his
> ankles, the feet flat and soles facing upward, and
> his first
> move is to rise up to allow him to turn his toes to
> get a grip
> to launch an attack.
>
> The most common seated posture, however, is tate
> hiza, sitting
> with one knee raised, the foot close in to the body,
> the other
> leg folded beneath you, bum on ankle. It is an
> uncomfortable
> posture but it allows maximum of movement, freedom
> of movement
> to pivot in any direction, and therefore gives the
> man seated
> in hiza a marked advantage over someone in seiza.
>
> Tate hiza came about because it is the easiest way
> to sit when
> wearing armour, other than on a stool. One cannot
> sit in seiza,
> which compacts the torso, without the body of the
> armour rising
> up around the neck.
>
> Another posture is iai-goshi, which is used widely
> in aikido,
> and was a combative form of hiza (probably hiza
> derives from
> it). In this both heels are raised and the toes on
> the ground,
> effectively its a squat with one knee down. It
> allows greater
> freedom of movement still, whilst keeping a low
> profile, and I
> have seen aikido practitioners move with amazing
> speed and
> change of direction in iai-goshi, 'running rings'
> round those
> on two feet.
>
> In iai circles hiza and goshi are 'combative'
> postures and can
> be read to imply uncertainty and mistrust in semi
> formal
> situations. A samurai sitting in hiza before his
> lord, if his
> katana was within reach, would be watched intently
> by the
> master's guards. Samurai countered this by stating
> that such a
> posture showed 'zanshin' - the state of constant
> alertness (a
> simplified definition) and a readiness to perform
> his master's
> will.
>
> Put another way, if I was receiving an armed
> warrior, sitting
> in seiza, and he in hiza, I would probably change my
> posture
> accordingly.
>
> Trivia:
>
> It is bad manners to show the soles of one's feet
> when sitting.
> The cross-legged posture of the west is used in the
> east but
> the feet are kept tucked in to the body and the
> hakama is drawn
> in close to cover the soles without 'spraying' all
> over the
> floor, which is dillatory and considered somewhat
> flashy or
> feminine.
>
> The practice of overlong sleeves and leggings in
> court attire
> was adopted from the Chinese court dress and had a
> useful
> benefit of hampering an attacker. The draw of the
> Katori Shinto
> Ryu utilises a 'roll' of the wrist as the right hand
> reaches
> across to the hilt, and this serves to roll the
> sleeve back
> from the wrist and thus not hamper the draw of the
> sword.
>
> Samurai in 'civvies' would tuck the cuffs of their
> hakama in
> the waistband and tie back their sleeves (if time
> and
> circumstance allowed).
>
> Iai techniques when all protagonists begin in
> kneeling postures
> sometimes employ the device of stamping on the
> opponent's
> hakama cuff to imobilise him prior to a strike.
> Others involves
> forcing your opponent down with your sword then
> stamping on his
> sleeve or whatever to hold him there.
>
> Thomas
>
>
>

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Iv'e studied Kendo for three years, I love it.



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Hello.
I used to study Kendo in Chalk Farm, London for a while but found it very
difficult to 'warm to'.
I do believe that Kendo serves an excellant purpose as a 'taster' for many
of the wide world of Japanese Bujutsu in general and it is an excellent
pursuit in itself.
I have since moved on to study Kenjutsu proper..My Bugei (martial
organisation) is the Genbukan Ninpo Bugei and the Kokusai Jujutsu Renmei
which teach a variety of Kenjutsu waza from more than one old Japanese Ryu-ha
including Hontai Kukishin Ryu, Hontai Takagi Yoshin Ryu, Itto Ryu, and
Asayama Ichiden Ryu techniques.
I personally love the Kukishin ryu Bikenjutsu (or 'hidden sword techniques')
which are incredibly flowing and amazing to watch. Iai is also taught and I
love that almost as much as the Kenjutsu!
Good luck with your training..It truly is a path for life!
Abayo.
Ben Sharples

Hi Ben -

Do you study kenjutsu in London?

I used to study Muso Shinden Ryu iaido at the Hagakure Dojo in
Kennington.

Iaido, Jodo, Kenjutsu and Tanjo primarily, with the sensei 'slipping
in' bits n pieces when we could extract it from them.

A favourite story:
There is a technique called sanpo giri - 3 direction cut.

You are approached by three men, who begin to separate to give
themselves room to attack you from 3 directions (front, left and
right).

You dummy at the front guy to stall him, but turn to cut down the man
on your right - do an immediate 180 turn to take the man in your rear
(which was your left) who was moving in to take you from behind,
then turn to the front and cut down the third man.

We were being instructed by a visiting Japanese sensei, who said,
"when my great great grandfather do this one, last man throw down
sword and run away!"

Whether he was kidding or not, we never knew, but it was a sobering
reminder about just what it was we were doing, and about men who
lived and died by how seriously they took their training!

Thomas

Is it possible to learn Myamoto Musahi's "two sword"
technique, I mean, is there anyone who teaches it. I
have the Go rin no sho and it is very helpful... but
theres nothing like personal instruction is there.

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Hi Lee -

Where are you based? The style you want is Niten Ichi Ryu. I 'think'
there's a school in the UK but I'm not sure, and various techniques
have been incorporated into other styles - I used to do two sword
kenjutsu techniques as part of the Muso Shinden Ryu curriculum,
but I don't know whether it was Niten Ichi or from elsewhere.

Best bet is contact your local kendo governing body.

Thomas

Hello,
There are practitioners of the Niten Ichi ryu still training in Japan.
Places to search regarding this training are... www.e-budo.com, and
www.koryu.com, both excellant sites that contain vast amounts of information
or access to information on both Koryu ('old' martial traditions of Japan)
and Bujutsu in general and specific terms.
Regarding the Niten Ichi ryu..I can tell you that the current Soke is the
10th in the lineage..His name is Imai Masayuki Sensei. The Dojo that he
trains in is situated in Oita prefecture in Japan and trains in Kenjutsu,
Kodachi, and of course, Nitto (two sword techniques.).
Best of luck with your search!
Abayo.
Ben.