Domination!

Last night's class went well. We are still taking a break from Rokushakubo, focusing on basic taijutsu while wearing yoroi (armor). We bowed in and did our usual warm up rolling segment. Then, I grabbed my padded hanbo and had them stand in a line. Each person had to stand in front of me in shizen no kamae (natural stance). I would make a slow, horizontal swing with the hanbo at shoulder level and they had to do a vertical drop to a prone position and spring back up into shizen no kamae again. Then, I would swing at their shoulders again in a backhand manner, so as to train from right and left swings.

This was done slowly and smoothly at first. Then, as the line progressed through, I did the same two swings at hip level. After that cycle of guys went through, I moved the swings back to shoulder level, but at full speed. Finally, I ended with a round of full speed, hip level swings.

At first, most of them were jumpy and some got smacked. But, in time, they relaxed more and more, finding that when they relaxed, they had good reaction time and were able to drop below each swing - even the hip level, full speed ones! This was an important lesson in 'letting go' and in the 'shizen', or naturalness, of their movements. I was standing at striking distance, poised to swing each time. I would wait until I saw their body and energy 'settle', then snap the strike out. So, it was quite a sudden and challenging thing to avoid if they were focused on my technique. They had to really let go and just 'feel' when the strike was going to happen. Some dropped even before I swung! I laughed and made reference to how many folks we've seen on video doing that in Soke's Godan test, where they sit before Soke and he does a downward swing with a padded sword from behind!

I explained how this exercise is the first step in understanding the Sakki, or Godan, test - even though I am not qualified to administer such a test. But, many of the same things are involved in being able to 'receive' this type of test - letting go, not thinking, no technique, trust the feeling, etc. It was a good practice drill.

Next, I taught the three Koshi Sanpo Kata from our Kihon Happo Waza. The first, Ichimonji no Kata, involves a response to a head strike where you evade and block to the outside, then finish with an Omote Shuto (half open fist from outside the frame of the body - similar to a judo chop). I explained how, in training, you make large movements to understand and develop the little things within those movements. But, in Shinken (real fighting), the timing and movements become blurred. The 'step 1, step 2 and step 3' approach disappears and the whole thing becomes 'step 1'. I showed this using a strategy of "Dominating the Kukan (space)", where you aren't just moving into the opponent's space - you are dominating it to such a degree the opponent is left helpless and vulnerable. Plus, to tie in current themes, you are doing this while both of you are armored.

So, using this domination strategy, I changed the technical aspects of the original kata to make it seem more of a forward moving, offensive response. However, in looking at it more closely, it became clear to them I was still moving away and blocking, but the shift between moving away and moving into their center space for the Omote Shuto was so blurred that it appeared to be completely forward movement. Even the Omote Shuto was delivered from the center of my chest, instead of the high posture of the hand up by the forehead or temple. I just 'fired' it from it's natural position. Needless to say, the opponent was locked backwards on his heels, couldn't step back to regain balance, and fell away from being hit by my shuto while in this vulnerable position.

Then I showed a variation or expansion of this technique by using a shinai practice sword against a sword wielding opponent. We both started in Seigan no Kamae, but I pulled my right foot back to be in a reverse kamae. My partner brought his sword up over his head in Daijodan no Kamae, then swung down at my head in Tenchi Giri (downward cut). I moved in under his strike with my right step, bringing my sword up in a cross block, but used my forearms to block his forearms (similar to a Kosei no Kamae posture). Then, while still holding the weight of his strike, shifted my left foot in a kind of aruki cross step past his right foot. I 'let go' of the weight of his body by twisting out of the aruki cross step posture, placing my left elbow against his right shoulder and bringing my sword around behind his neck to cut the cervical spine (under the back plate of the helmet). This involved using precise body placement to enable me to 'feel' the actions of my partner and dominate the available spaces, leaving him vulnerable and dependent on my position for his balance. Once I took that away by twisting out of the cross step, he fell forward and was easily cut.

They liked this technique very much and spent considerable time with it.

Next, we explored the Jumonji no Kata and Hicho no Kata techniques, using the same concepts of timing and domination. Each time, the attacker felt as if I was directly coming into him, but again I was moving away and into the center space in such a way that the shift away was hidden.

This was a good class overall. We ended the night playing with some defenses against a double leg takedown, where the attacker goes in for the waist, then slides their 'hug' down to the knees. Once they compress the knees together, the toppling is easy. I showed defense ideas at every stage, from entry, to waist grab to knee compression. Then, I showed ideas from the conventional mount position, side mount position and so on - demonstrating the sport technique vs the real combat technique. This was not a class in BJJ or MMA grappling, but rather an exploration in how these things would happen in real combat and what considerations are there when there are no rules to what you or the attacker can do.

We bowed out to each other, then left satisfied another good night of training was achieved.