It’s been quite some time since I wrote the last article for the Wobbly Wheel. October, to be exact, when the birth of my daughter tilted the axis of my world slightly. I had announced that I would be speaking of how to hold a sword, to do footwork and 5 positions that Musashi proposes. Let’s see how far we get.
How to hold the sword
In holding a sword Musashi already, in the 1600eds, tells us what we teach today. In short, hold the sword lightly, with intent and supple.
Many beginning fighters tend to grasp their sword like an axe. The wrist is in right angle to the handle, the fist is clenched, the knuckles are white.
Why? Because we big strong, western men and women have been taught that strength and control is displayed by force and physical dominance.
One thinks back to the story of Richard II, I believe, and Saladin. It probably is an urban legend, but it serves to demonstrate western ideology. Richard and Saladin supposedly were discussing the advantages of western and middle eastern arms and armor.
Richard took a helm and invited Saladin to cut it. He tried and failed.
Richard took aim, swung at the helm and clove it in two with one bold strike of his sword.
With swelled breast he turned to Saladin.
Saladin smirked and pointed out that his own knights did not wear amor, but silk and it would prove strong enough against Richard’s sword. He offered a silk scarf to Richard to invited him to cut it.
Richard swung and failed. Again and again he tried, but the silk was too strong. Either evading his blows all together or simply curling around his blade in mid-air.
Saladin drew his sword and with one swift cut, sliced the scarf neatly in half.
The point of the story, in our context, is that pure strength is not necessarily all that is necessary.
Japanese and Chinese swordsmen wield they blades like fine cutlery, slicing rather than bludgeoning. As such Musashi recommends holding the sword lightly, with thumb and index finger, leaving the rest of the finger lightly resting around the handle, ready to tighten and deliver the last quantum of the blow.
Wielding the sword in this fashion will free your wrist and allow it rotate, it will make your moves round and in the delicate fashion of leading a kite on a string, let you control the blade. In the end you will feel your arms not getting so tired, your aim to be better and the range of motions open to your blade much greater.
The most important sentence of this section I wanted to save for the end though: Even a practiced cut needs to made such as a real cut would be made. So, pay attention to your hand and sword at fighter practice and, even more so, during slow work.
On footwork
Musashi’s information on footwork is short and to the point. Use both feet, don’t favor one side and move evenly as if you are walking.
Deceptively simple, but as some of you have tried, not so easy to do while moving a sword. Tying in with what we have covered so far, you might realize that moving your sword and your body should be one. It should be what you do every day all the time, or at least as familiar and practiced.
There are exercises in the Bellatrix style of fighting that teach how to walk and strike, turn and strike, change sides while striking and walking. It is as important for tournament combat as it is for wars and can be practiced even while walking down the street.
One thing that Musashi is not talking about is where to put your center of gravity while walking and with which part of your body you should walk. Sound strange? Of course, but most people in our hemisphere tend to walk with their chest and shoulders.
Ok, Maximilian has lost it now.
Really, think of how we walk, swelled chest, squared shoulders, sucked in tummy. We are straight as a ramrod, bouncing up and down a bit as we walk. This is how non-fighters walk.
Fighters need the earth to support them, to push against as the turn, switch position and advance. A close feeling of the ground, with its unevenness, its grip and its slope is necessary to not have to look. A fighter therefore walks with his hips, using them to move his legs as little as possible, giving up close contact with the earth as little as possible. The result is a gliding walk that does not bounce, but seems as if that person is always fully aware of where they currently stepping. And that is precisely correct.
Keep in mind that footwork is what everything else is built upon. If your footwork is bad, your fighting will suffer. You can get really esoteric with energy flowing from the earth through your body and if the image helps you master this, use it. It probably is true anyway, but we can’t measure and quantify it yet. But in essence it your contact with the ground that allows you to exert full control of your body and movements.
Maximilian Ritter von Brandenberg
Back to part 5
Continue to part 7
Close this window