Shoulder Blades

[john mark]

At the USAKF Iaido NYC seminar this weekend, Kanno Sensei suggested that I squeeze my shoulder blades together during the downward part of all two handed overhead cuts, eg kirioroshi, kesa giri, etc., and squeeze them hard at the bottom of the cut. This seems to increase the eliptical nature of the cuts.

BTW -- The instruction, demonstrations and iaidoka were great. I learned a lot and met some great people!!

[Tim Atkinson]

Would this be similar to the "ringing" of the hand at the end of a cut?

[john mark]

Originally posted by Tim Atkinson
Would this be similar to the "ringing" of the hand at the end of a cut?

I'm not sure since I'm still trying to figure out the shoulder blade stuff. It is not a point that is emphasized by my teachers.

The one thing that is clear is that when I focus on the shoulder blades the rest of my form changes. I guess that's why I look so silly at the seminar.

I guess this is why you should follow only one teacher until you are an advanced student. See the posts "Uchidachi and Shidachi" under the Jo section.

Best,

[Daniel Pokorny]

John Mark,

Do you practice tameshigiri? If not, find someone teaching Toyama-ryu. You'll then understand about the shoulder blades real quick.....!


Regards,

Daniel Pokorny