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MattSeymour
25th September 2003, 07:45
I was recently introduced to an older method of footwork, and am curious. Apparently the weight of one's upper body is put ahead of one's base and so stepping becomes more efficient, allowing one to move faster - the legs do not move and then weight shifts, but rather the legs "catch" your weight.

Now I have not seen a lot of koryu, but the only other person that I can remember seeing move in a similar way was Kuroda Tetsuzan (only on video). I'm curious - does Kuroda Tetsuzan utilize this type of stepping?

A friend of mine was reading a book by Kono Sensei (can't remember his first name) who was describing a similar/parallel method and mentioned Kuroda Tetsuzan's name as an influence of his.

It was implied by the sensei that showed me this that it is the older method of stepping, utilized in koryu.

Is this common for koryu? Or only certain koryu practice this?

Thanks for any comments!
Matt

renfield_kuroda
26th September 2003, 01:49
We tend to keep the body centered over the hips, but we also keep the upper body moving with the hips, not counter.
Imagine that as the right leg moves forward and the right hip moves forward, the right shoulder (not the left) also moves forward.
The idea is to utilize the power of the hip movement in the upper body by not countering it.
Try this:
jodam kamae, left foot forward. Now as soon as the right foot starts moving forward, imagine the right foot, right hip, right shoulder, and kissaki are all connected, and move them all at the same time. That is, don't step out with the foot and then use the arms to bring the sword out. As soon as the right foot starts moving so is the kissaki. This way you can use the right hip power to move the sword with little arm strength involved.

Regards,

r e n