Tenshinsho Jigen Ryu

[Chris Parker]

Yep, agreed. Sorry, Daniel, I wasn't disputing your point, I was adding to it by showing how far out of context the clip is (by itself), aiming to support you. Didn't mean to confuse the issue!

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Sorry... that came out wrong. I didn't think that you were disputing it. I guess I was thinking more that what that poster did was worse than filming five minutes of something and then posting it without knowing the context because the poster had to know; he or she had the whole thing.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Anyway, an update; I purchased a new iaito for class and spent an hour last night practicing batto/noto and about a half an hour on the hoke. Did the same the previous night with my shinken. Will practice the same tonight.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Glad you enjoyed the class. I know several people that attended the last seminar when the Jigen ryu soke went to Virginia (last spring?) and they had nothing but good things to say it.

I hope to be at the next one. After eight years in an indy-Kendo school with a kwanjang who made his own federation, I am excited to actually be part of something that has a strong lineage and history. Not that what Kim Kwanjang did was inherently bad or wrong; it simply is not for me at this point in time any longer.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Happy New Year! My first Monday of 2012 saw me back at Bushikai for Tenshinsho Jigen Ryu. More batto-noto, more tenshi nuki uchi, and I learned ishimonji nuki uchi and kesa giri nuki uchi. Kamae was focused on as well. Most of the kamae was familiar (jodan, seigan, hasso, gedan, waki, and kasumi), but they had different names for waki and kasumi. We praciced tonbo and shin tonbo (a higher version of tonbo), which were new to me, but I picked them up readily enough. Very much enjoying the class.

 

[Chris Parker]

Sounds great, Daniel! Small things, and really just to fill your head with spelling corrections, but I think you'll find it's "Tenchi" (meaning "heaven-earth", and implying a vertical action from high to low), rather than "Tenshi", although that couldn't be ruled out either. Might want to double check on that. "Ishimonji", on the other hand, is absolutely "Ichimonji", which refers to the written character (monji) for "1" (ichi), which is a horizontal line, indicating a cut along a straight horizontal angle.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Sounds great, Daniel! Small things, and really just to fill your head with spelling corrections, but I think you'll find it's "Tenchi" (meaning "heaven-earth", and implying a vertical action from high to low), rather than "Tenshi", although that couldn't be ruled out either. Might want to double check on that.

I haven't seen it spelled so you are probably correct.

"Ishimonji", on the other hand, is absolutely "Ichimonji", which refers to the written character (monji) for "1" (ichi), which is a horizontal line, indicating a cut along a straight horizontal angle.

That makes sense. It sounded like he said ishi, but he said that it is called that because the cut looks like the Japanese number 1, which is of course, ichi.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Still in class and still loving the class. I learned enpi nukiuchi and gyaku kesa giri nukiuchi, and two new kamae; gyaku tonbo and a high guard and mid guard kasumi, but they don't call it that. I did get the name that they use for waki gamae; kage tonbo, which means essentially hidden or shadow dragonfly.

More good stuff to practice!

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Too late to edit, but the name that they use for kasumi is shaki. The mid guard version is called chu shaki. Also, we learned gyaku tonbo, in which the sword his held in tonbo on the left, but with the ha facing backwards.

 

[Chris Parker]

Cool. The reversing of the ha for Gyaku Tombo is interesting... Kukishinden Ryu Kenpo does the same for it's Hidari Hasso no Kamae, but I hadn't come across many other systems that do the same thing. Nice to know another one!

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

There is another kamae called enpi. Enpi is essentially waki on the left side but the wrists do not cross and you reverse the right hand so that the palm is on the same side of the tsuka as the ha, so there's a little tenouchi going on.

 

[Chris Parker]

Here's an interesting detail...

The term Empi/Enpi (used in Karate to refer to an elbow strike, as well as a particular kata) means "flying swallow". Could provide some clues as to the usage, or the feeling of the kamae itself.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Picture holding the sword in seigan as if you were Kenshin Himura having flipped his reverse blade sword, so that the ha of your (not reverse) blade is pointing upward. Bring the sword down to your left side so that it is pointing down and back towards towards your left foot.

Enpi is also the name of the fifth nukiuchi that I was taught, and is done by drawing the sword and cutting diagonally upward from left to right.

 

[Chris Parker]

Interesting... honestly, I'm having trouble picturing that without crossing the forearms/wrists, though. There isn't a picture/video that you've come across that shows it?

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

I cannot find one. I will do it later today and get a picture.

The best that I can do for decription is this: hold the blade in seigan in just your left hand. Roll your left hand counter clockwise and lower your left hand to about waist level, palm facing outward. This should have the ha pointing forward and the kisaki pointing down and back. Then take your right hand and grip the tsuka where you would normally grip, but with the palm facing outward. This will have your right thumb pointing towards the back of the blade instead of towards the edge.

Holding it this way will have your left arm bent holding the tsuka near the kashira and your right hand holding the tsuka up near the tsuba and your right forearm ahead of your left hand by about an inch or two. The right arm is relatively straight.

 

[Namii]

Wow, I disappear for awhile and you find yourself a new class! Glad you're enjoying it!

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Wow, I disappear for awhile and you find yourself a new class! Glad you're enjoying it!

It was time to stop playing with the greasy kid stuff and get real. I still teach geomdo for my hapkido sabeom as an adjunct to her hapkido classes, but I took all of the 'kumdo' and kitchen sink Korean kenjutsu and iaido out of my kendo classes and use only Japanese terminology.

After I found myself federation-less (happened last June), I was picky about finding a place to train personally. When a good friend connected me with Bushikai, I visited and introduced myself and watched a class, then signed the traiining waiver and began training.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Interesting... honestly, I'm having trouble picturing that without crossing the forearms/wrists, though. There isn't a picture/video that you've come across that shows it?

Here is a picture of me in enpi kamae. I am at home and in casual clothes, so please excuse the background.View attachment $IMG_0293.jpg

 

[Aiki Lee]

If you mirrored that image I would swear you were in to sui no kamae. Btw I saw you and Chris throwing around the term "kiriotoshi" which looks to me to translate as "cut drop", what are you guys referring to?
Daniel I'm glad you found such a great school to train at! It sounds like its a lot of fun!

 

[Chris Parker]

Ah, cool. Thanks, Daniel! I was picturing something with the kissaki pointing back, rather than to the side, so didn't see how that was achieved on the left without crossing hands.

Himura, Tosui no Kamae is a fair bit different, although the tactic looks similar. Kiriotoshi refers to, as you said, a dropping cut. It is closely related to Kiri Oroshi, a killing cut, and has a slightly different meaning in different systems. Ono-ha Itto Ryu, for instance, uses the term to refer to a tactic where you basically cut "through" the opponents sword on the way to continue to cut them down themselves.