Kenjutsu

The kenjutsu (剣術, literally “technique of the saber”, i.e. Fencing) is a Martial art Japan old board ( bujutsu ), which concentrates on the control of the sabers Katana and Wakizashi. Taught with the Samurai, it belonged to the Bujutsu of the feudal Japan.

One practices the kenjutsu without protections. If the finality is the handling of the Katana, the drive with two is done with a Bokken; the drive with dégainement the (iai) is done with a Iaito.

Schools and styles

The schools and academies of martial arts (Ryū) specialized in the way of the saber truly developed in Japan the shortly after the victory of the dynasty Tokugawa in 1615. In a country in peace, the class of the samurai was found desœuvrée. Thus the schools of fencing thrived on the model of the academies of European fencing. The warlike techniques of last the (bujutsu) became “ways” (Budo) which stressed much more the importance of the interior control of oneself.

It thus developed a more related mystic of the saber with philosophy than with the war (Europe also knew schools of mystical fencing with the Spanish style of Jeronimo de Carranza). This way of the saber was the research of the perfection, of the union of the spirit and the gesture. Each school had its own techniques thus energy length of the saber to the positions while passing by the manner of carrying the blows. Each academy had a double teaching exoteric and esoteric. Only the knowledge of these two poles made it possible to control the system completely.

The Chūjō style of fencing was thus divided into teaching

exotérique : style flash, style coils, style arrondi ; style floating boat and
ésotérique : Diamond, the Construction, Infinite the .

The most famous Master of saber was certainly Tsukahara Bokuden in the Années 1550 - 60, whose fencing Suprême was most mysterious of its secret methods.

The style Niten ryu (literally “school of the two skies”) is the heiress of Miyamoto Musashi; its characteristic is to teach the handling of the two sabers (nito) , Katana and Wakizashi , simultaneously. The life of Musashi was interpreted brilliantly with the cinema by the actor Toshiro Mifune under the direction of the realizer Hiroshi Inagaki.

There exists a derived form, the Shinobi kenjutsu, form “ vulgaire ” of the kenjutsu, developed by the Japanese Masters of the Ninjutsu (or shinobi-Ho), and which includes techniques “ originales ” but of a frightening effectiveness - sometimes to the detriment of the esthetic aspect.

Today, the majority of these techniques were lost and the rare schools which remain teach only the form external of the fencing with the Westerners. One of the last large sabreurs Japanese was Saito Hajime which died in 1915.

Elements of technique

With a katana , the cut is done only with the first ten centimetres of the blade, part called monouchi (物打), literally “object which strikes”. When it is handled only (general case), the katana is held with two hands; the most notable exception is the style Niten ryu where one uses simultaneously the two sabers.

The combatant must endeavor not to show any intention, in order to be able to surprise his adversary. At the time of the combat, it attempts to keep its straightness (shisei) in order to be always balanced.

Behavior of the saber

During the history, the weapons evolved/moved, and thus the behavior of the saber also:

length and weight of the heavy weapons

at the times of wars on battle field because them armours to be transpierced, with wearing of gloves (kote) ;
light in period of peace, finer blades, more subtle handling.

progress of the metallurgy - forging mill and alloys - which modified the sabers;
developments in the technologies of combat, advent of the iaijutsu (to strike while decladding in only one movement).

Europe knew similar evolutions, on the basis of the cumbersome sword with two hands medieval and leading to the foil.

It is noticed that the old schools (KB ryu) , such as the Katori shinto ryu or the Take No uchi , have seizures various - natural seizure, as if it were about an egg for Katori and stronger, like a seizure of axe of logger for the last - practices codified more recently such as Muso shinden ryu or the Jikiden ryu .

Today, the united modern development of the Kendo and the Iaïdo, in fact of the generalized emergence of philosophy C (the way, in the direction manner of life in opposition to the technique of combat) generalizes a common type of seizure.

This seizure is not easy to assimilate, it is not spontaneous (not more than the behavior of a club of golf for example). The handle (tsuka) of the large saber (Katana) with the length of three widths of palms. One positions the right hand in top of the handle, against the guard (Tsuba) , and the left hand in bottom of the handle, the little finger being with horse on the edge of the handle (will kashira) ; this placement is the same one for the left-handeds person and the droitiers. This makes it possible to have at the same time

a power of cut, given by control: the saber being held by its end, the ray describes by the end of blade (monouchi) at the time of a cut (切, giri ) is largest and thus maximum speed;
a precision of cut, given by the high hand which guides.

The hands must be on the top of the handle; this appears obvious when one crosses with a knife, but this position is not very natural when one holds the saber with two hands, and this more especially as as one does not carry out any more real cut (except the practitioners of Batto C ), the practitioners do not try out the importance of the thing. It is thus necessary to be forced to turn the hands on the interior, in a movement similar to the drying of a linen, so that the base of the index and the medium of the heel of the palm are in contact with the top of the handle; one uses the expression you No uchi , “interior of the hands”, or shibori . The advantages that one withdraws some when it was acquired are numerous: reduction of the risk of Tendinitis, the adherence of the handle is perfect without causing crispation; it is a seizure light and effective, making practically impossible désarmenent it.

This position must be preserved constantly, in particular during the changes of guard; for example when one arms to strike from top to bottom (guard known as jōdan No kamae ), this position of the hands limits the rise in the arms, the hands to find itself with the top of the face and cannot pass to the top of the head. If one wedges an object between the two wrists, the object should not fall at the time of the movements.

On the other hand, this seizure makes lose of mobility and causes muscular contractions at the beginner. It can thus be judicious, at the discretion of the teacher, not to pay too much attention to the behavior initially in order not to block the practitioner. In addition, certain movement of reception of the unfavourable saber (parade, although the concept is different from the European fencing) require the relaxation of this behavior in order to deaden the shock and to preserve balance.

It is also important to keep the elbows directed downwards. The bust must remain right (shisei) in order to maintain balance, the bottom of the back slackened in order to allow a great mobility, the shoulders are also slackened. The head is placed slightly in retreat, as if one wanted to align the face, the chin and the navel on a vertical line, in order to protect the face.

Guards (Kamae)

The guard, or Kamae (構え) in Japanese, is a position corresponding to the beginning or the end of a cut. It is logically a position of waiting at the beginning of combat. The guards are made on the left (hidari) and on the right (migi) , in a symmetrical way except for the position of the hands on the handle (tsuka) which does not vary.

The five principal guards sont :

seigan No gamae : the fencer is of face, the saber pointed in front of lui ; if the curve of the blade is continued, the curve passes between the two eyes of the adversary, the saber is thus with an average height (chūdan) ; this guard makes it possible to strike tuck (tsuki) or to change guard to carry out a cut (“to arm” the blow) ;
hassō No gamae : the saber is held blade to the top, the handle (tsuka) on the level of the épaule ; it is ready to strike in diagonal to the bottom (kesa giri) ;
jōdan No gamae : the saber is held above the head (high position, jōdan ), blade pointing upwards, ready to strike from top to bottom (shōmen) ;
gedan No gamae : the saber is held point in bottom, the handle on the level of the basin (low position, gedan ), ready to strike in diagonal to the top (gyaku kesa giri) .
waki No gamae : the saber is held horizontally, on the level of the belly, the point directed on the side;

for the guard on the left (hidari waki No gamae) , the left foot is moved back, and because of position of the hands on the handle (tsuka) , the right wrist covers the left wrist;
for the guard on the right (migi waki No gamae) , the right foot is moved back.

: blow of estoc ; the slope of the blade (“ Rolling ”) depends on the conditions :

if the adversary is in armor with a gorgerin, it is necessary to make penetrate the blade under the gorgerin then to turn it in order to it soulever ;
if one pricks with the throat (not protected), one can incline the blade in order to emphasize it by a horizontal cut instead of him to make make “ step back ” ;
if the horizontal blade is held, that largely weakens gripping and the risk to be made disarm is important ;

shōmen : cut top to the bottom ( men indicating the head) ; the cut starts from a guard jōdan No gamae and arrives at a guard chūdan (lower than the guard geidan No gamae ) ;
kesa giri : cross in, edge from top to bottom skew of the base of the neck to the floating ribs of the other côté ;
on speaks sometimes about yokomen (“side of the head”);

either it starts from a guard hassō No gamae , and arrives at a guard close to gedan No gamae ,
or it starts from a guard jōdan No gamae , the blow having then the form of a Virgule;

gyaku kesa giri (“ kesa giri reversed”): cross diagonal upwards; it starts from a guard gedan No gamae , it requires replacement to take again a guard (for example hassō No gamae );
yoko guruma (“side wheel”), or C giri (cut of the armor), or ichimonji (the saber has a movement similar to the brush writing the kanji “一”, ichi ): horizontal cut on the level of the belly; it is done of a guard waki No gamae , and at the end of the cut, it is enough to make swivel the wrist to have the guard waki other side.

Parades and counter

The concept of parade is very different from the European concept. Indeed, in kenjutsu , one does not seek to block the blade (except for the techniques of stop: domaru waza or uchi dome ), because that would blunt it and risk to break it, or one would risk to release it. Defense consists rather with “ recevoir ” the blade of the adversary ( ukeru ), i.e. to dodge the blow while putting its blade in contact with that of the attacker, in order to control it and that this one cannot strike again; ; the two blades slip one against the other.

In the ideal, the dodging-parade makes it possible to be replaced and counter-attack.

Among the elementary techniques, citons :

kiri kaeshi (consequence), or uke nagashi (to receive and continue) : against a cut coming from in top ( shōmen , possibly kesa giri ) or a blow of tuck (tsuki) , movement consisting in assembling the hands and directing the point of the blade towards bottom, to let slip the blade of the attacker against the raised blade (the blade protects the front armlever) while a step on side is taken, which makes it possible to then strike in a diagonal cut (kesa giri) ;
maki otoshi (inversion in roller) : against a cut coming from in top (shōmen) or an attack of tuck (tsuki) , one moves back of a step by controlling the blade, then one draws aside the blade by a movement of roller (maki) what creates the opening to strike (movement close to a “against-of-sixth” or a “against-of-quad” of the French Escrime);
kiri otoshi : on the basis of a guard hasso , when the adversary crosses, one carries out a cut over with 45 ° of his cut or the plan of his blade (hasuji) ; if it attacks shomen or tsuki , one crosses in kesa giri ;
kiri old : on the basis of a low guard (gedan) , when the adversary crosses, one goes up its saber according to a diagonal trajectory, but contrary with a cut gyaku kesa giri , it is the side of the blade, or the back, which intercepts the cut.

In Japanese logic, the terms above do not describe the shape but rather a principle of combat (just as a Kanji can have several directions). For example, maki otoshi can be carried out by drawing aside the blade with a movement of cut rather than a movement of rolling up and the cut can be even used to draw aside the blade and to strike in the same movement (form known as I to I shin , “ a saber, a corps ”).

One can work against counter. For example, a movement maki otoshi draws aside the blade of the attacker by a movement of roller; this one can then continue the circular motion and pass under the blade of the adversary to be placed so as to strike it (tsuki) . The adversary can then try to draw aside the blade on other side (towards its line)…

Heritage

The kenjutsu is the ancestor of the Kendo. It also was of fundamental importance in the genesis of the Aikido ; the kenjutsu is practiced by the Aikidoka under the denomination Aiki-ken .

the art of the saber also includes/understands:

art to declad ( iai ) and to strike in the same movement: Iaijutsu , which gave the Iaido ;
the drive with the cuts on boots of Bamboo (or possibly of the carcasses of animals): Batto C , Tameshi giri (this last term indicating the test of the blade).

Random links: