Sensei AJ led Saturday’s morning karate class. She is our guest instructor with expertise in Hapkido. She has also trained in two other martial artist styles, in addition to her knowledge of our style. It’s always a treat when she joins us!
Saturday, she started us out with stretches based on using the short stick. She demonstrated using the stick to deepen arm, back and shoulder stretches. You hold the stick behind you with both hands. Then, you use it to pull the left arm with the right, and vise versa. We also held the stick out in front, with both hands, and used twisting motions with one hand, which the other resisted, in order to strengthen the forearms and wrists.
After we’d warmed up a bit with stretches and simple exercises, she taught us basic short-sword strikes using Korean short sticks, if we had them, or whatever household implement we had chosen for Zoom class. (Students in previous classes had used PVC pipes, spatulas, etc. A few of us had sticks; Sensei AJ carves these sticks, and offered to make these for students who may want their own.)
Hand Placement and How Many Hands
First, she talked to us about hand placement: longer swords or sticks may require you to use both hands to feel like you are in control of the weapon. Shorter and lighter-weight ones may only require one hand. If you do need both hands, you place your non-dominant hand at the bottom of the weapon, and place your dominant hand further up so you may guide it better.
Most of us used two hands for our implements. She had us begin by holding the weapon behind our backs, as if we had a sheathed sword with its holder strapped to our backs. We pulled the weapon from behind, raised it overhead with two hands, then brought it down in front, along our own center-lines. Here’s the idea: the sword is in a “sheath” fastened to your back. As F remembers it, warriors on horseback would have worn swords in this fashion.
Simple Strikes and Blocks
In the video below, Gerard Lopez, an Aikido instructor, explains how a bokken is held. Sensei AJ gave us similar instructions, though hers were intended for various weapons:
Sensei AJ had us perform similar strikes downwards with our sticks. Like Mr. Lopez, she also told us to treat the stick as an extension of our bodies. I love his explanation, however, of
Drawing on lessons she’d had with Sensei LR, our fencing teacher when the dojo was open, she pointed out that you can also turn sideways when wielding a sword, hence providing your opponent with less area for targeting.
Sensei AJ had us practice a series of three strikes: first a downward slice, a front jab, and a side-swipe. We did these moving forward and backwards. She also covered blocks for each of these strikes, and we practiced those as well.
Finally, she taught a little turn-flourish, that each of my children could do, but not me. Students did a kind of flower with the stick over their heads as they turned 360 degrees. It was certainly fun to watch, but not so easy to do!
Extras
Here are a couple more fun videos that I found while researching bokken and katana, in an attempt to remember what we learned on Saturday.
These folks are so skilled, they’re a joy to watch!
And finally, for Samurai Moms:
and Samurai Dads:
Both of these modern weapons masters have beautiful moves.