Tsubazeriai

[Enfield]

This comes from a thread in the aikido forum about tsuba or lack there of on bokuto used in aikiken.

Originally written by Toby Threadgill
In TSYR a tsuba is really required as tsubazeriai is frequently used.
I have to say that this surprised me. I study kendo, and now a little bit of iai when I can, and I had assumed that tsubazeriai was an "artificial" kendo item that was only practical because of the rules of kendo matches: no grappling, no sweeping/tripping, etc. It now seems that I was wrong in this assumption.

So my question is this: how common is tsubazeriai in "real sword" arts? And how does one avoid the fight switching from a sword fight to a wrestling match at this point?

- Kent

[John Lindsey]

IMHO, the locking of swords via the tsuba is a very dangerous situation. Victory or defeat is separated by only a few inches of sword movement, or body movement.

The paradox is that one might have to maintain (for a very short time) the situation, since attempting to separate away from the opponent CAN lead to a quick death if the opponent knows how to react to it. In a real fight, I can't see this situation lasting more than a few seconds if any one of the opponents has a clue to what is going on.


Thus, the kata I have seen involve body movement to quickly move the sword edge enough so as to be able to deliver a cut.

Dang,

You know it's bad when you get quoted from another board.

By me :)

"In TSYR a tsuba is really required as tsubazeriai is frequently used."

John is very correc t in his assumption/description. Tsubazeriai in the kata we practice only occurs for a split second. In several of these kata the tehniques do end in a throw. TSYR is a jujutsu style with a considerable number of weapons kata. Principles of taijutsu throws are also employed to throw a swordsman while weilding a short sword or tanto.

Interestingly the "Ken Tachiai Omote no Waza" sets include kata where the taijutsu exponent is uchite and is cut down by the swordsman. I was told by Takamura Yukiyoshi that this specific set of kata is very unorthodox. I am not aware of many ryu that have kata similar to this.

Toby Threadgill

[John Lindsey]

Toby,

I am wondering if a longer tsuka would help in this case. Me thinks it might :idea:

John,

I must admit that a longer tsuka does come in handy here. Boy there are some slick tricks you can pull in close with a long tsuka. Very nasty :)

Tobs

[Karl Friday]

Originally posted by Enfield
I study kendo, and now a little bit of iai when I can, and I had assumed that tsubazeriai was an "artificial" kendo item that was only practical because of the rules of kendo matches: no grappling, no sweeping/tripping, etc. It now seems that I was wrong in this assumption.

So my question is this: how common is tsubazeriai in "real sword" arts? And how does one avoid the fight switching from a sword fight to a wrestling match at this point?

There's no way to be certain about any questions about specific techniques, like this one. But my best (reasonably educated) guess is that tsubazeriai were probably reasonable common in battlefield situations, in which the swordsmen were armored and didn't have to worry about getting cut. The cause here is the same one that produces tsubazeriai in modern kendo matches and clinches in boxing matches.

Tsubazeriai with live blades while fighting in civies seem unlikely to me for the same reason (in reverse). Nevertheless, several ryuha have techniques for tsubazerai. Maniwa Nenryu and Kashima-Shinryu almost specialize in them. My theory, though, is that these techniques were revived and adopted from battlefield swordplay for use in matches with bokuto or shinai.

Here again, the risk of getting cut disappears. On the other hand, good tsubazeri techniques are a real plus in matches and duels. Remember the scene in "Seven Samurai" where the two swordsmen argue about whether their match ended in a tie or not? This sort of thing is hard to avoid when you use striking/cutting techniques, but easy to eliminate if you pin or throw the opponent instead.

Seki Humitake once used a jojutsu technique with his shinai, to lock and pin an opponent in a taryu-jiai. The technique involved switching ends on his shinai. The opponent cried foul, arguing that one can't grab a sword blade like that. Seki countered that he was using a shinai, not a sword. The opponent then argued that it was a substitute sword and should only be used exactly like a sword. Seki then offered to redo the match using live blades. The other guy declined . . .