Questions Concerning Two-Sworded approach

[kaizasosei]

by the musashi stance i am assuming you mean wakinokamae. where one sword is held in hassou(pointing up or towards enemy) and the other curls in under the armpit.
there are two possibilties for basic reception from this stance, which is to receive with the bottom sword from armpit and once the threat has been hit away, the top sword directly strikes. the other way is to receive with the top sword,short or by following through, and then the bottom sword swings back to the other side,comes up and strikes from above, which brings you back to wakinokamae(armpitposition) on the other side. the easy way to explain this is that the rear sword must always be on top. -

in doublestickarts like in fma, there are similar principles.
i think, one should incorporate both style of remaining away as well as parrying and getting close. keeping distance is key at the start i believe, because, when you stretch your arms with two swords(especialy japanese katana) then it forms something like a huge circle around you like a protective aura- that should be felt in order to keep the correct distance.

there are also types of positions in western sword arts, where i have seen arms crossed in front of body. somewhat similar and very useful is also the crossblock which can be used in many versatile ways to receive almost any angle of attack. simply by crossing the swords and catching the attack vicing it shut or taking one sword back to counterattack.

the key is timing and ultimately double sides coordinate left and right in an amazing way. however, i am now learning that one also has to coordinate the upper and lower body as well- both are a challenge for the body and most of all the brain. our left and right are not independant of one another from birth. if you are placing money in a popmachine and need to reach for more cash from back pocket, for example, youll find that the first action with one hand will cease or become disturbed by the second action with the other hand getting the wallet out again.. silly example sorry, but this is true in many other cases where left and right need to be used simultaneously and independantly. by practicing the simple forms of double swords, one can slowly achieve more inter-in-dependance. 'don't let the one hand know what the other hand is doing' sortof thing.
ultimately, the swords should move fluid like machines but also precisely like the arms of a wingchun practitioner doing chisao practice, the swords should always seek to take the upperhand and hold down a threat with one while the second is already on it's way to counterattack.

god i love two swords. it's become a great part of my martial arts. although i first practiced only with one sword for a long time, on occasion with daisho.
hope i was able to explain the style fairly accurately.

peace

 

[Sukerkin]

I have no desire to be 'picky' or be a koryu 'snob' but the waki no kamae that I have been taught does not resemble what was described above.

Have a look here for some quickly Googled graphics:

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=6&ct=result

What art is it that uses the term iwaki for such an idiosyncratic postioning of dual blades? The only school I know if that even uses dual blades to any extent is Niten Ichi (tho' they did borrow some techniques from earlier styles no longer extant).

Regardless, do you have any illustrations to show us, Kaiza as I'm having a hard time figuring out how such a posture would function?

 

[kaizasosei]

hi. really cool to see that book again. i first borrowed it from the vancouver public library when i was 13.

we're talking two swords here,so...

yes i can give you a really amazing tip. i was close to sharing it above but i thought id wait for some feedback first.
checkout the video from Saotomesensei 'the two swords of aikido'
it shows the basic kata moving from side to side.

i searched youtube for some clips but found none of the video im referring to.

it's a real gem. i really reccomend it, if you are into two sworded styles. if you have that video, then everything will become clear.

basically, you have two swords. one in each hand. if you have one leg in front of the other, then the sword of the back leg is held at the level of your ear. the other sword of the other hand(front leg) is under the armpit of the first sword at the ear(hassou). specifically, the hand of the lower sword is directly under the armpit.

waki means armpit.

for single sword, wakinokamae i believe is the same as the metal position where the sword trails behind.



j

 

[Sukerkin]

Ah, cheers. I have a better mental image now :tup:. I shall search out the sources you recommended too - after all, the old saying about a thousand words and a picture is quite true .