Sword practice always begins with about five minutes spent working on fundamentals – stances, cuts, and footwork. The various fundamentals are then packed into five drills that are rotated over the various weeks. In addition to working on technical skills, solo practice allows us to work on the less obvious requirements of good swordsmanship – seeing, relaxing, breathing, etc.
Stances
- Gegan (lower-level)
- Chudan (middle-level)
- Jodan (upper-level)
- Ryote-age (both hands raised)
- Hasso-no-kamae (upper side posture)
- Wakigamae (lower side posture)
Cuts
- Men-uchi (vertical cuts to the head)
- Shomen-uchi (vertical cut to the front of the head)
- Hidari-men-uchi (vertical cut to the left side of the head)
- Migi-men-uchi (vertical cut to the right side of the head)
- Kesa-giri (angled cuts)
- Do-uchi (horizontal cuts)
Footwork
- Okuri-ashi (sliding)
- Ayumi-ashi (stepping)
- Hiraki-ashi (angled steps)
- Tsugi-ashi (connected steps)
The Drills
- Vertical Cuts from the Six Stances
- Angled Cuts From the Six Stances
- Eight-way Cuts
- Forward-Back Footwork, Vertical Cuts from Middle Level
- Angled Footwork, Vertical Cuts from Middle Level