In the Spanish historical fencing school we say that “each action has sence in some context and is a mistake in others, it all depends on the distance and the angles”
We finished another wicked online lesson with Master Seki, he is something else 😮 His knowledge and skill is phenomenal 👍 We can't get enough! Thank you so much Shogo San for helping bringing this national treasure to the world 🙏 And not to forget big thanks to Tsukada Sensei and Kurosawa Sensei (camera guy Sensei) And hope the exhibition goes well - 7 minutes, WTAF! 😮 Take care. Stay safe 🙏 John and Kate
The second kata that strikes through the opponent’s sword feels like something out of a game where you break the opponent’s defense or stamina bar. It’s really cool to see that in real life
In HEMA, there very similar techniques. It's interesting and fun to see the similarities between European and Japanese sword martial arts! I'll be traveling to Japan this November and would be over joyed and honored to take part in Ryuha and/or Kobudo classes or training sessions!
Are you telling us is that whether it's with thrusts, straight cuts, or diagonal cuts the aim is to control the line and that each type of strike is useful in different circumstances, that there is no one magic technique that beats everything, and you have to work hard to use the right one in the right way at the right time? Because that sounds like remarkably good advice that many students need to hear. Once again we see that Sek Sensei is a skilled practitioner and teacher who knows what he's talking about.
In my 70 years of life experience this is true in almost everything. There is always more than one good way to do anything, and it is good to be able to employ whichever is appropriate in given circumstances because sometimes your favorite good way may not be the best way. It is said that best is the enemy of good. That can be taken as a warning to not become dependent on the one very good way you have practiced over and over because you will eventually run into a situation in which it’s not the best.
@@Servantwarriormindset ]Mmmm, not exactly. More that sophisticated use of any tool is more than finding a magic technique for it. And when your life could be at stake you need to understand the uses and limitations of each mode of use and choose appropriately.
I would argue the formulation of "x attack is the strongest or weakest" is wrong. The proper way to think of it is 'these are the strengths and weaknesses of x attack. This is when and why you use it". Whether an action succeeds or fails is highly dependent on the scenario you use it in, and choosing a good action for your current situation is a core skill of fencing, also called the virtue of judgement.
It's very interesting to see the intersection with HEMA, I had no clue you guys did half swording with katanas (parrying with a hand on the blade), the deviation technic by blocking through the cut and pushing the other blade away is also something we do
Personally, I do not consider these techniques to be half-swording where the blade is enwrapped by the entire hand. This would be very dangerous with a katana, whose edge is significantly sharper than, say, a langenschwert. I would classify these as reinforced parrys.
7:37 here you can clealy notice Seki-sensei's true mastery, as he calmly sidesteps just enough as someone who is just giving way on the street and then gently places the staff in between the opponents hands, didn't even look to the swing coming in his direction at full speed, as the idea of being hit doesn't even dare to cross his mind
Wow thank you so much for this channel! It’s so hard to find technical insight for kenjutsu without living in Japan. Thank you for bridging that gap and giving us the chance to experience and learn from such a great master!
With my lacking experience... few questions, if I may ask... 1. Love the "dance" half-swording kata - definitely going to try it out in HEMA next time I have a chance - if nothing else, it seems like an excellent practice of where to place your body and blade vs an attacker. 2. Several points there where Seki Sensei scores the killing blow, but in a real fight, the movement of his opponent would keep going, and if nothing else would hurt him or kill him if the movement of his opponent were to proceed. (01.57 for example, looks like while the defender (Seki Sensei) takes the neck, which is an instant kill blow, but the attacker (Shogo) has a clear cut towards the abdomen, which would in best case hurt the attacker a lot if not blocked. Same is the case at around 02.20 - but here the attacker moves slower, so it is not as obvious.) Is this something taken into account here? What is the game after delivering a killing blow but leaving yourself exposed? Or am I missing something completely here? 3. With the staff, idk if this is the right way to do it, but if someone blocks my sword with a staff at an angle, I'd try to slide my sword downwards (or upwards) along the staff to catch opponents hand, as there are no guards, and maybe cut a finger or two, and look for an opening. (at around 06.21, I would definitely try that, moving out of the middle line, while trying to cut into literally anything by going to the right (attacker point of view, while sliding the blade across the staff and hoping to catch something.) I mean, if you are way faster than your opponent, this is a non-issue, but again, I assume equally skiled fighters at this point. Again, thank you for the content and the teachings!
What a great weekend suprise. Thank you for your hard work. I have a little hypothetical question that bugs me for a while now. It's all cool with blunt swords, however the sharp ones present a lot of unusual challanges. So... What's the best course of action if I happen to perform Sekka no Uchi, and by accident my sword's edge will bite deeply into my opponent's katana? I know that you shouldn't parry with your edge, but accidents happen in a heat of exchange. We will end up in a binding situation with all that kinetic energy now turned against me. Is there any way for our hypothetical samurai to save himself?
I've been learning so much from you guys and I'm very grateful for these teachings I can practice at home also could we get more falcon staff content or just more techniques with the jo?
@@TheSilence1 - Short answer? No. I would like to see these techniques used in a steel on steel bout. Especially compared to other sword styles. There lots of techniques in Martial Arts that may or may not work in real work application against someone wanting to do you actual harm.
I love watching these different technique videos. A katana is so versatile in it's design so there really is no best technique to use with it. It's not like a rapier only designed to thrust or a saber designed mainly to cut. It does a bit of both so using it well requires mastery of a lot of different techniques.
I think it works only by surprise on a person without hand protection with a low pain threshold. The second hand is not affected by the hit, so he lost his sword only because his right hand dropped it by surprise. Probably an interesting parrying technique with a stick against a sword, in specific circumstances, but that's it.
@@christophe7723 I thought it was most interesting because of how it'd work with a sword instead of a cane; like, with a cane/staff, perhaps you could bonk the wrists hard enough to disarm the opponent - or even damage them if you were strong enough, but with a sword, I imagine you'd have a higher chance of the disarm working, and you could also slice their wrist veins in the process.
I have noticed how diagonal cuts allow the left arm more drawing power as it allows the left arm to draw the sword more and there not be anything potentially blocking nor rubbing against the side of the body and the right arm can draw equally with the left arm. So, more of the blade is evenly able to cut better because more can be channeled through the edge of the blade
Excellent video, Shogo! 👏👏👏I really liked the hanbo (you referred to it as a Jo in the video) techniques he demonstrated. Hopefully, Sensei will agree to do an entire video (or two 🙂) on the use of the hanbo. Here’s hoping!😀
That technique where Seki-sensei allows the opponent to memorize and get comfortable with the rhythm and then breaks it reminds me of Obi-Wan Kenobi's defensive technique.
I hadn’t thought of it like that! You become overpowered and your katana bounces back. I suppose teki’s katana comes to more of a stop than uke nagashi as well. Thank you for taking the time to explain this!!
Can you make a series about going from beginner katana to master? Because it is VERY hard to find ANYTHING useful about katana except this channel and the other two channels mochiron.
I have a question to Sensei Seki, hope I'll express my self clear... Ok, you know the worldwide famous spanish novel called "Don Quijote de La Mancha" (In english maybe is "Quixote of La Mancha") That book tells the adventures of a humble landowner from a place in Spain called "La Mancha", he like so much the tales of medieval knights, in specific wonder knights, without a lord to serve but making crooked things straight, help the helpless, protect the weak, etc. I wonder if in japan, between the samurais, was a type of warrior like I describe in medieval europe. A samurai without a lord, but doing the job of imparting justice and taking care (even if that mean being killed) of the forgotten and poor people. Thanks Seki Sensei and Shogo!!
I’d like to see how this style fares against more Italian HEMA cuts, where the diagonal cut is planted on the hip, and keeps the hands out of range, instead of “fishing” for a cut.
I have a very hypothetical question, and please forgive any ignorance on my behalf, i don't have the slightest clue about how these things normally work: Does Seki Sensei have any physical dojo within japan where they teach his school of thought for absolute beginners? (not expecting Seki Sensei himself to teach absolute beginners, i'm asking about anyone he has trained being the sensei) I love how logically minded every move is, and not just centred on an Art-form.
Seki sensei, often in anime you see a character training by repeatedly doing vertical cuts with a wooden sword or a suburito. Is there any actual practical purpose to doing this? What are practical body strengthening and conditioning exercises you'd recommend for a student?
I would think repetitive sword swings would develop stamina in the shoulders rather than strength (semantics, really) As for practical physical training, just look up simple calisthenic (bodyweight) exercise routines, particularly from boxing channels. They have the same focus on stamina and speed over pure strength building.
kesa is still difficult cut to deal with 1. the follow through, it still can slide and cut the fingers 2. to hit the hand, it still needs fast reaction to execute it
Point #2 is hard to disagree with, I suppose you just have to be mechanical about picking off the hands each time they leave the center line. Point #1 however is sparring only. There is no follow through after you have no (tendons in your) hands.
Straight cuts and aiming for the head is common when practicing kenjutsu but how applicable is it in a real fight? The skull is a really big bone to cut through
from my understanding, Uke Nagashi is a way to safely guide the energy of the opponent's swing away from your body, but what is the block technique called wherein you block Kesa Giri using direct force on force, where you cannot parry and if the enemy is powerful enough, can plow right through your block?
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Been hit one too many times when I tried my kesa giris in shiais. So much so, that I use it only as a last resort in kendo. But, if you know that your oponent has a center line that is not as solid as yours, and he is not as fast as you in his diagonals, then a uke nagashi might do the trick.
But what is the definition of "stronger"? Is it more powerful physically? Or more practical and able to win in a duel? From my understanding, down cuts are the most powerful due to going with "gravity", horizontal cuts have the ability to cut large areas of space, and thrusts are fastest but all have counters correct? So I would assume diagonal cuts are in between a down cut and diagonal cut. I suppose down cuts are more safer? I see it used in Kendo a lot, I know they cant use certain techniques but they can be trained up to be quick, to do multiple in a row and hit the head. I'm no sword expert by any means. I just know that an expert can not be defeated directly, they must be faked out someway. I really admire Seki Sensei's tatami cut, his cut so clean and perfect and also his deflection Uke Nagashi looks so beautiful, all the power from the opponent would just slide off his sword like water droplets on a ducks back. The footwork steps for the kata at 5:10 look like a reverse V step, I know that if your fighting hand to hand and the opponent has higher mobility you can V step forward to cut off the opponent. So I suppose it makes sense reversing for retreating away would be the best to avoid an attack. Beautiful video, so much information.
@@Ianmar1 I fence. We have “Katas” (patterns) We go back to guard. No, this appears to be so to make the instructor look good, for whatever reason. If you do a cut, and it gets parried, you prepare to defend a repost, you don’t just stand there and hold still with your sword off line.
@@robertvondarth1730 I am unfamiliar with how it works in Asayama ichiden ryu, but typically kata express a student - teacher relationship. The teacher presents a scenario and the student executes the correct technique in accordance with the principles of the ryuha, the teacher finally relaxes their guard to acknowledge the correct application of those principles and permits the completion of the kata. For the purpose of demonstration and discussion, Seki sensei is performing the kata from the student role.
It’s not that any attack is stronger or better then any other; straight cut, diagonal cut, thrust/stab or anything else you can Learn to fight with. It’s all about the situation your in at the time and how your opponent moves and many other factors but my point is that there is no right answer to what’s better or stronger, they are all skills you need to know and practice to get better in the end just like in a real fight your probably not going to use the moves you practice over and over again exactly the way you do when training your going to mix them all up to get the best results for the situation you find your self in. Making all attacks, moves and techniques equal to each other. One might be better in one spot while it will be weaker in another. It just about how and when you use them. Sorry for the tangent but I felt this needed to be pointed out for the sake of the discussion thanks for listening or reading is more accurate lol
Often the stick will be cut to the extend it is greatly weaken for any strike. Also, many modern fighters can take many hit by a hard stick. The idea that one hard stick blow can take down any fighter is fantasy. Not all modern fighters are starved lean confused badly trained monkey that is readily failing a fight by receiving 1 blow.
Kesa giri cuts are designed for battlefield. In duels, we've seen flaws in this video of kesa giri. On the battlefield nobody ran with Jodan no kamae and implementing Jodan giri, because they would be killed immediately.
Cool insight on kesagiri leaving the center line exposed. Kendo kata 4 teaches wakigamae against hasso no kamae, but since there is neither kesagiri nior kiriage in kendo the riai is lost.
Can we get Sensei to talk some more about how Japanese, or samurai history? Like maybe how or why the katana finally got where it is today or just some of the various interactions in society? How did Shoguns and other lords keep retainers and what was expected? Those little bits he gives about why a samurai would announce an attack from behind or those other bits of social interactions are interesting to me. Or even how they fought duels or how they got into duels? I knew that you cannot pull a sword out in a palace (47 Ronin famously) but I find those social "norms" fascinating. In the west, we shake hands with our right to show we are unarmed... Sometimes we forget.
In the Spanish historical fencing school we say that “each action has sence in some context and is a mistake in others, it all depends on the distance and the angles”
We finished another wicked online lesson with Master Seki, he is something else 😮 His knowledge and skill is phenomenal 👍 We can't get enough! Thank you so much Shogo San for helping bringing this national treasure to the world 🙏 And not to forget big thanks to Tsukada Sensei and Kurosawa Sensei (camera guy Sensei) And hope the exhibition goes well - 7 minutes, WTAF! 😮
Take care. Stay safe 🙏
John and Kate
The second kata that strikes through the opponent’s sword feels like something out of a game where you break the opponent’s defense or stamina bar. It’s really cool to see that in real life
In HEMA, there very similar techniques. It's interesting and fun to see the similarities between European and Japanese sword martial arts! I'll be traveling to Japan this November and would be over joyed and honored to take part in Ryuha and/or Kobudo classes or training sessions!
The audio cuts out at around the 40 second mark
Kesa is so strong it cut the audio too.
@@ryanomalley3705 Seki Sensei went from Mentor to Protagonist real quick.
When training in the 90s. We were shown the ttp. Then we trained, we were not allowed to talk.
@@davidhutchison7567 ?
Are you telling us is that whether it's with thrusts, straight cuts, or diagonal cuts the aim is to control the line and that each type of strike is useful in different circumstances, that there is no one magic technique that beats everything, and you have to work hard to use the right one in the right way at the right time? Because that sounds like remarkably good advice that many students need to hear. Once again we see that Sek Sensei is a skilled practitioner and teacher who knows what he's talking about.
In my 70 years of life experience this is true in almost everything. There is always more than one good way to do anything, and it is good to be able to employ whichever is appropriate in given circumstances because sometimes your favorite good way may not be the best way.
It is said that best is the enemy of good. That can be taken as a warning to not become dependent on the one very good way you have practiced over and over because you will eventually run into a situation in which it’s not the best.
In short you are the weapon, everything else is supplemental.
@@Servantwarriormindset ]Mmmm, not exactly. More that sophisticated use of any tool is more than finding a magic technique for it. And when your life could be at stake you need to understand the uses and limitations of each mode of use and choose appropriately.
I would argue the formulation of "x attack is the strongest or weakest" is wrong. The proper way to think of it is 'these are the strengths and weaknesses of x attack. This is when and why you use it". Whether an action succeeds or fails is highly dependent on the scenario you use it in, and choosing a good action for your current situation is a core skill of fencing, also called the virtue of judgement.
I'm starting to think Seki-sensei is also pretty good on the dance floor with those moves and rhythm during the modified Kiri Komi.
These videos are helping me through hard times...
It's very interesting to see the intersection with HEMA, I had no clue you guys did half swording with katanas (parrying with a hand on the blade), the deviation technic by blocking through the cut and pushing the other blade away is also something we do
That's the problem with many katana enthusiast channels, they do not come from real experts as such they seem limited.
Personally, I do not consider these techniques to be half-swording where the blade is enwrapped by the entire hand. This would be very dangerous with a katana, whose edge is significantly sharper than, say, a langenschwert. I would classify these as reinforced parrys.
And here I'm thinking whatever is the best technique to do in the circumstance is the strongest technique. Lol
Great video! Love learning from yall
Very interesting instruction and demo are really great thanks you.
7:37 here you can clealy notice Seki-sensei's true mastery, as he calmly sidesteps just enough as someone who is just giving way on the street and then gently places the staff in between the opponents hands, didn't even look to the swing coming in his direction at full speed, as the idea of being hit doesn't even dare to cross his mind
Now we're curious about that upward cut. Maybe the sensei can share some thoughts about upward cut, and how it is not allowed in kendo?
It's dangerous. The flaps on the tare and mendare only deflect downward strikes.
Wow thank you so much for this channel! It’s so hard to find technical insight for kenjutsu without living in Japan. Thank you for bridging that gap and giving us the chance to experience and learn from such a great master!
Excelente Seki sensei!!! 👏👏
Very nice brothers, love watching and learning about the art ❤
I think the lesson to take from this are certain cuts should be used depending on the situation
Best video yet - super informative - thanks so much for sharing this level of detailed insight !!!
Thank you for the video.
I think I will stick with the katas for straight cuts. I doubt I can do diagonal cuts right.
With my lacking experience... few questions, if I may ask...
1. Love the "dance" half-swording kata - definitely going to try it out in HEMA next time I have a chance - if nothing else, it seems like an excellent practice of where to place your body and blade vs an attacker.
2. Several points there where Seki Sensei scores the killing blow, but in a real fight, the movement of his opponent would keep going, and if nothing else would hurt him or kill him if the movement of his opponent were to proceed. (01.57 for example, looks like while the defender (Seki Sensei) takes the neck, which is an instant kill blow, but the attacker (Shogo) has a clear cut towards the abdomen, which would in best case hurt the attacker a lot if not blocked. Same is the case at around 02.20 - but here the attacker moves slower, so it is not as obvious.) Is this something taken into account here? What is the game after delivering a killing blow but leaving yourself exposed? Or am I missing something completely here?
3. With the staff, idk if this is the right way to do it, but if someone blocks my sword with a staff at an angle, I'd try to slide my sword downwards (or upwards) along the staff to catch opponents hand, as there are no guards, and maybe cut a finger or two, and look for an opening. (at around 06.21, I would definitely try that, moving out of the middle line, while trying to cut into literally anything by going to the right (attacker point of view, while sliding the blade across the staff and hoping to catch something.) I mean, if you are way faster than your opponent, this is a non-issue, but again, I assume equally skiled fighters at this point.
Again, thank you for the content and the teachings!
I'm glad to see some mention of using the kinematic chain to power one's striking techniques.
Great work
What a great weekend suprise.
Thank you for your hard work.
I have a little hypothetical question that bugs me for a while now.
It's all cool with blunt swords, however the sharp ones present a lot of unusual challanges.
So...
What's the best course of action if I happen to perform Sekka no Uchi, and by accident my sword's edge will bite deeply into my opponent's katana?
I know that you shouldn't parry with your edge, but accidents happen in a heat of exchange.
We will end up in a binding situation with all that kinetic energy now turned against me.
Is there any way for our hypothetical samurai to save himself?
I have a busted left hand permanent so I practice a lot of jo. I have other injuries. It's best to keep up training, if you can, for your health.
I've been learning so much from you guys and I'm very grateful for these teachings I can practice at home also could we get more falcon staff content or just more techniques with the jo?
Would like to see these techniques pressure tested in a HEMA type of competition with steel blades.
The 400 years of history as a samurai art isn't proof enough for you?
@@TheSilence1 - Short answer? No. I would like to see these techniques used in a steel on steel bout. Especially compared to other sword styles. There lots of techniques in Martial Arts that may or may not work in real work application against someone wanting to do you actual harm.
Samurai were soldiers, not larpers.
@@TheSilence1 - You don't learn to fight from katas..
I love watching these different technique videos. A katana is so versatile in it's design so there really is no best technique to use with it. It's not like a rapier only designed to thrust or a saber designed mainly to cut. It does a bit of both so using it well requires mastery of a lot of different techniques.
Thank you for this video. Can we ask Seki sensei to explain what is good and bad about the shomen strike? Thank you.
Informative, thank you.
That technique at 7:06 is just terrifying, he casually stopped the attack, disarmed him and could counter attack with minimal effort
I think it works only by surprise on a person without hand protection with a low pain threshold. The second hand is not affected by the hit, so he lost his sword only because his right hand dropped it by surprise. Probably an interesting parrying technique with a stick against a sword, in specific circumstances, but that's it.
@@christophe7723 I thought it was most interesting because of how it'd work with a sword instead of a cane; like, with a cane/staff, perhaps you could bonk the wrists hard enough to disarm the opponent - or even damage them if you were strong enough, but with a sword, I imagine you'd have a higher chance of the disarm working, and you could also slice their wrist veins in the process.
@@christophe7723If a real sword hit your hand like that, you’d probably drop the sword
And then die.
Because you’d have one hand left.
I have noticed how diagonal cuts allow the left arm more drawing power as it allows the left arm to draw the sword more and there not be anything potentially blocking nor rubbing against the side of the body and the right arm can draw equally with the left arm. So, more of the blade is evenly able to cut better because more can be channeled through the edge of the blade
Excellent video, Shogo! 👏👏👏I really liked the hanbo (you referred to it as a Jo in the video) techniques he demonstrated. Hopefully, Sensei will agree to do an entire video (or two 🙂) on the use of the hanbo. Here’s hoping!😀
Awesome Seki Sensei. Thank you.
Seki Sensei is a national treasure and is also the coolest . Thank you as always
I think so too! Thank you so much for supporting us!
Kiri Komi if used with a Folding Fan looks like a dance. :)
How about a break down of the "chasing away devils/demons" kata, or ceremony. ???
打太刀・仕太刀の動き方・仮足や千鳥の足捌きが良くわかり、とても勉強になります。
ありがとうございました。
Your final comment brought question to my mind. Almost every thing I have watched focuses on counter strikes. Do you have videos on attacking?
Can we talk about the epic bossfight/showdown music during the demonstration at 3:13 ? 🤘🏼🤘🏼
That technique where Seki-sensei allows the opponent to memorize and get comfortable with the rhythm and then breaks it reminds me of Obi-Wan Kenobi's defensive technique.
all of those people saying that you'd never make contact with a katana edge to edge should watch this video.
I'm pretty sure Shogo is one of those people.
Could you provide a timestamp please? I only saw edge on hira.
Thanks again for a great video! What do you mean by “you purposely lose” when doing sekka no uchi?
You let the opponent hit away your katana, but you control the direction your katana gets hit away to!
I hadn’t thought of it like that! You become overpowered and your katana bounces back. I suppose teki’s katana comes to more of a stop than uke nagashi as well. Thank you for taking the time to explain this!!
Can you make a series about going from beginner katana to master? Because it is VERY hard to find ANYTHING useful about katana except this channel and the other two channels mochiron.
We’ve already made some videos for beginners to train at home! Otherwise, we do recommend you to join our online lessons!
patreon.com/lets_ask_sekisensei?Link&
本当にありがとうございました！
Great Work!
I love how he can be in such good condition physically and mentally whilst being slightly older
3:13 What is the name if the technique done by Seki sensei since the other techniques were named?
Anyone else noticing that when Shogo introduces seki sensei the voice stops?
Sorry, editing mistake!
That was awesome
Sensei makes it looks so damn easy lol,
I have a question to Sensei Seki, hope I'll express my self clear... Ok, you know the worldwide famous spanish novel called "Don Quijote de La Mancha" (In english maybe is "Quixote of La Mancha") That book tells the adventures of a humble landowner from a place in Spain called "La Mancha", he like so much the tales of medieval knights, in specific wonder knights, without a lord to serve but making crooked things straight, help the helpless, protect the weak, etc. I wonder if in japan, between the samurais, was a type of warrior like I describe in medieval europe. A samurai without a lord, but doing the job of imparting justice and taking care (even if that mean being killed) of the forgotten and poor people. Thanks Seki Sensei and Shogo!!
I’d like to see how this style fares against more Italian HEMA cuts, where the diagonal cut is planted on the hip, and keeps the hands out of range, instead of “fishing” for a cut.
If you plant on the hip it means the cons become reach.
can you use sekka no uchi when you are in the right waki-gamae or would you use some other technique?
as for the video it is amazing. ❤
Beautiful.
Judo throws utilize the same concept of upper body rotation and movement.
THANKS
I have a very hypothetical question, and please forgive any ignorance on my behalf, i don't have the slightest clue about how these things normally work: Does Seki Sensei have any physical dojo within japan where they teach his school of thought for absolute beginners? (not expecting Seki Sensei himself to teach absolute beginners, i'm asking about anyone he has trained being the sensei) I love how logically minded every move is, and not just centred on an Art-form.
Could you teach all the Kamae in Asayama Ichiden Ryu please?
The next video will be about that!
seki sensei really said in the end its a skill issue
Seki sensei, often in anime you see a character training by repeatedly doing vertical cuts with a wooden sword or a suburito. Is there any actual practical purpose to doing this? What are practical body strengthening and conditioning exercises you'd recommend for a student?
To improve your form and swinging strength
look up "kendo suburi"
I would think repetitive sword swings would develop stamina in the shoulders rather than strength (semantics, really)
As for practical physical training, just look up simple calisthenic (bodyweight) exercise routines, particularly from boxing channels. They have the same focus on stamina and speed over pure strength building.
kesa is still difficult cut to deal with
1. the follow through, it still can slide and cut the fingers
2. to hit the hand, it still needs fast reaction to execute it
Point #2 is hard to disagree with, I suppose you just have to be mechanical about picking off the hands each time they leave the center line.
Point #1 however is sparring only. There is no follow through after you have no (tendons in your) hands.
Seki-Sensei is like a SoulCalibur character, but in real life!!
Straight cuts and aiming for the head is common when practicing kenjutsu but how applicable is it in a real fight? The skull is a really big bone to cut through
"Diagonal strikes are strong because muscle go this way!"
Seki sensei: Your middle is open
"NANI!?"
It would seem there is no strongest attack, but rather, it's a case-by-case basis. Assess the situation, then move accordingly.
from my understanding, Uke Nagashi is a way to safely guide the energy of the opponent's swing away from your body, but what is the block technique called wherein you block Kesa Giri using direct force on force, where you cannot parry and if the enemy is powerful enough, can plow right through your block?
What's the protrusion on the kashira in the tameshigiri clips?
We will make a video about that “Ninja katana” soon…
Thank you Seki Sensei
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Been hit one too many times when I tried my kesa giris in shiais. So much so, that I use it only as a last resort in kendo.
But, if you know that your oponent has a center line that is not as solid as yours, and he is not as fast as you in his diagonals, then a uke nagashi might do the trick.
Countering the counter of the counter… ❤🎉
Damn.
Seki doesn't go easy on uchidachi/ motodachi
You have to make extremly heavy and wide in diagonal cut and it will be efective. Kendo was developed for short and weak people, japaneses.
Why is back of the sword not used?
When Fighting with swords, it can happen that you clash. Right? What are your ideas about it and what techniques do you have for such an event?
Does Japanese swordsmanship not have a changing through?
But what is the definition of "stronger"? Is it more powerful physically? Or more practical and able to win in a duel? From my understanding, down cuts are the most powerful due to going with "gravity", horizontal cuts have the ability to cut large areas of space, and thrusts are fastest but all have counters correct? So I would assume diagonal cuts are in between a down cut and diagonal cut. I suppose down cuts are more safer? I see it used in Kendo a lot, I know they cant use certain techniques but they can be trained up to be quick, to do multiple in a row and hit the head. I'm no sword expert by any means. I just know that an expert can not be defeated directly, they must be faked out someway. I really admire Seki Sensei's tatami cut, his cut so clean and perfect and also his deflection Uke Nagashi looks so beautiful, all the power from the opponent would just slide off his sword like water droplets on a ducks back. The footwork steps for the kata at 5:10 look like a reverse V step, I know that if your fighting hand to hand and the opponent has higher mobility you can V step forward to cut off the opponent. So I suppose it makes sense reversing for retreating away would be the best to avoid an attack. Beautiful video, so much information.
Question
Why does the attacker drop their sword to the low outside after being parried?
They should immediately be in a guard
Because it is kata
@@Ianmar1
I fence.
We have “Katas” (patterns)
We go back to guard.
No, this appears to be so to make the instructor look good, for whatever reason.
If you do a cut, and it gets parried, you prepare to defend a repost, you don’t just stand there and hold still with your sword off line.
@@robertvondarth1730 I am unfamiliar with how it works in Asayama ichiden ryu, but typically kata express a student - teacher relationship. The teacher presents a scenario and the student executes the correct technique in accordance with the principles of the ryuha, the teacher finally relaxes their guard to acknowledge the correct application of those principles and permits the completion of the kata. For the purpose of demonstration and discussion, Seki sensei is performing the kata from the student role.
@@robertvondarth1730 I used to fence as well, and our coach would present openings in much the same way.
@@Ianmar1 I see, thanks
Are these weaknesses the reason Asayama Ichiden doesn't train this angle as one of its main drawing/sheathing techniques?
We practice the Kesa swing too! It’s included in the 5 basic drawing methods!
It’s not that any attack is stronger or better then any other; straight cut, diagonal cut, thrust/stab or anything else you can Learn to fight with. It’s all about the situation your in at the time and how your opponent moves and many other factors but my point is that there is no right answer to what’s better or stronger, they are all skills you need to know and practice to get better in the end just like in a real fight your probably not going to use the moves you practice over and over again exactly the way you do when training your going to mix them all up to get the best results for the situation you find your self in. Making all attacks, moves and techniques equal to each other. One might be better in one spot while it will be weaker in another. It just about how and when you use them. Sorry for the tangent but I felt this needed to be pointed out for the sake of the discussion thanks for listening or reading is more accurate lol
Is the first stick kata possible? I mean, the opponent can slide their sword to the hand instead of dodging the kick
Often the stick will be cut to the extend it is greatly weaken for any strike. Also, many modern fighters can take many hit by a hard stick. The idea that one hard stick blow can take down any fighter is fantasy. Not all modern fighters are starved lean confused badly trained monkey that is readily failing a fight by receiving 1 blow.
Arigato oooo
Kesa giri cuts are designed for battlefield. In duels, we've seen flaws in this video of kesa giri. On the battlefield nobody ran with Jodan no kamae and implementing Jodan giri, because they would be killed immediately.
Thank you for leaving a comment!
We will be making a video about it soon, but Jodan stance was used on the battlefield too!
@@letsasksekisensei try to run in Jodan no kamae and trip
🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 Uussshhh
epic
Looks very unlikely to pool off against a person why really resist and know what "distance " means. I give a credit only to deflection parry.
diagonal cuts are harder to avoid.
If you choose to open with anything other than pawn e4, then you better know what you are doing.
Cool insight on kesagiri leaving the center line exposed. Kendo kata 4 teaches wakigamae against hasso no kamae, but since there is neither kesagiri nior kiriage in kendo the riai is lost.
They are different games in sports and competition.
5:00
Ughhh, I would not try this to my katana, It'll quickly break the sharp edge
Can we get Sensei to talk some more about how Japanese, or samurai history? Like maybe how or why the katana finally got where it is today or just some of the various interactions in society? How did Shoguns and other lords keep retainers and what was expected? Those little bits he gives about why a samurai would announce an attack from behind or those other bits of social interactions are interesting to me. Or even how they fought duels or how they got into duels? I knew that you cannot pull a sword out in a palace (47 Ronin famously) but I find those social "norms" fascinating. In the west, we shake hands with our right to show we are unarmed... Sometimes we forget.
This is very good with strong principles of fighting imI can see. 👍🏾