Oh, dear, Bob, you aren't really serious about these are you? Let's go through them one at a time....
"How to Wear A Sword". Well, he gets terminology wrong (refering to an Iaito, a dull "drawing sword" as a Battojutsu Iaido), his position for the sword is very much Seitei Iai (across the body.... not really what would be used for actual wearing, as it leaves no place for the Wakizashi), his use of the sageo is nowhere near as secure as most forms (which typically have the sageo taken behind and underneath the saya [scabbard] first), his thumb position for holding the sword is likely to see him slice it open on a real sword the first time he slipped "breaking the tsuba (sic)", his reference to the koiguchi was terribly phrased, his take on the seal between the habaki and koiguchi is way off, his concepts of how it would be held walking through a crowd needs a reality check, and did he really suggest fuedal era Japanese "shake hands" with their free hand?!?! Why does he think bowing developed there! If you're close enough to shake hands, you're close enough to have been cut and opened up, it would serve no purpose! And I'm not even touching on his idea that simply breaking the seal at the koiguchi was the equivalent of drawing a gun... more like unclipping the seal on the holster!
"Nukiuchi". Well, that grip is a little, uh, lacking... he had to go to a "sword master" in Japan to learn not to hold a sword like a baseball bat? But really, his grip is too even across the entire hand, and there is no concept of te no uchi at all. Not surprisingly, he misses the point of the angled grip entirely... it is not to "stop you cutting up your hand against the tsuba", it is because you have very limited mobility if your hand is jammed up against the damn thing! And please don't tell me he just said "Japanese Katana sword", really? He's not doing well....
Now we get to the draw itself... apparently he's going to show the basic draw and cut, which is called "nookee ooch" (really, that pronunciation is terrible... a Japanese sword master taught him? Really? In California or Japan?), which is just the term for drawing cut, not a specific one itself, so he's losing even more points here. From there he goes on to demonstrate a rather bad draw, overly stressing the tsuka, with a rather karate-like rigid posture, not like anything I've seen in any Ninjutsu or Ninjutsu-related system in coming up to 2 decades.... and his methods of Noto are frankly almost dangerous!
Right the third one, "More Sword Draws". Ignoring the previous fleeting reference to Katori Shinto Ryu Iai and Batto (starting with the back of the hand on the tsuka, as he seemed to miss the point of that entirely... for the record, it is to keep the sleeves of your top back and away from catching the end of your tsuka in the middle of a draw. Embarrassing, and rather fatal to have happen when needed!), he goes on now to show "Tate Nukiuchi", or as he puts it, "Tah-tay nookee ooch". He translates that for us as "Tate will be from the top"... er, no. Tate means "shield", so this is a shielding draw and cut. He then goes on to go through a range of variations, giving possible uses... and managing to completely miss the actual point, which is an evasive action into a draw! And how is his ear still on his head?
Next is Gyaku Kesa Batto... I'm not even going to try to write out how badly he mangles each word here, suffice to say it shouldn't sound Spanish. He then goes on to show a basic rising draw and cut, with frequent reference to "I like to do this with Taijutsu as well..." seeming to infer that if he remembers to do anything with his body as he performs these actions (such as take a step), that is the same as employing Taijutsu. This boy has a long way to go, I fear.... And I'm amazed that he has all his fingers, and especially his left thumb!
Now, for Gyakute, at least he got the translation correct! Reverse Hand! Well done! Of course, he then continued, refering to it as "reverse hand position", but we might almost forgive that. Not his draw, though. Due to his lack of real understanding of the grip in the first place, these draws have real structural issues if he intends to cut from them, as his wrist is not supported at all. He's also gone back to his karate-style stances, all the while refering to "I like to do this with Taijutsu as well...". Add to that him nearly skewering himself with very bad Noto a few times, the sound of the sword knocking against the inside of the saya as he turns it mid-draw (which can lead to damaging the sword, weakening or splitting the tsuka, or weakening or splitting the saya.... none of which are good things! There's a reason the draw should be set up before it happens, not midway through!), and he's just getting worse!
Okay, the last clip didn't embed properly... but we have youtube!
"Noto". Oh dear. Got some bandaids ready? Good.... From the mispronunciation of koiguchi ("koee ooch", hmm, missed the "g" in there? Kinda changes the meaning from "carp's mouth" [not goldfish, technically] to either "strike the carp", or "inside the carp".... eww..) to his mention of a "blood groove" (he didn't really, did he? Oh, yes he did! In fact, his reference seems it imply that there is a "blood groove" on all Japanese Katana Swords, and that is how you find where to "pinch" the blade to guide it into the saya!), the first instructions aren't going well... He then goes on to give the impression that you should be pressing down on the saya with your left hand (to keep your fingers out of the way.... really, why start now?), which will actually put the ha, the cutting edge, along the top of the saya, an absolute no-no in any Iai form! His concept of only having the last few inches to play with is generally frowned upon, as it can lead to rather a high number of accidents with people missing the saya and instead stabbing their own hand, and as for his little "ninja trick" with his hips? Maybe if he could use them properly he may realise that that is far from a "ninja trick", it is simply the way it should be done. But really, he's going to split his saya the way he is doing this, his posture is all wrong for Ninjutsu, these methods are dangerous to say the least, and frankly incorrect according to pretty much every form of Iai I have ever come across!
Not someone to look to. Frankly he comes across as just someone who likes to hear himself talk, and likes being on youtube....
