Japanese Sword Stances & Techniques

Japanese swordsmanship is a centuries-old tradition of martial arts with hundreds of schools having come and gone. Virtually every school of Japanese swordsmanship has its own interpretations on the purpose of wielding the katana, the proper method of doing so and the focus of the art. However, virtually every school has common ground in the basic techniques.

  1. Five Basic Stances

    • Five basic stances are common to most schools of kenjutsu: chudan-gamae, jodan-gamae, gedan-gamae, hasso-gamae and waki-gamae. Chudan-gamae, the basic center stance, is used to prevent an opponent from closing distance by pointing the sword at his throat. Jodan-gamae is a stance with the katana held above the head ready to cut directly downward. Gedan-gamae, meanwhile, is a defensive stance intended to goad the opponent into a premature attack or convert into a quick upward cut. Hasso-gamae is a stance with the sword held off to the side. It serves the purpose of jodan-gamae, and was developed for use indoors or to compensate for ornate samurai helmets that made it impossible to assume jodan-gamae. Waki-gamae, the final stance, carries over from the period when sword lengths were variable and was intended to hide the length of a sword from an opponent by pointing the blade directly behind.

    Drawing Techniques

    • Another aspect of Japanese swordsmanship involves fighting from the draw, known as iaijutsu. There are four main parts to an iaijutsu kata, or form. Nukitsuke, the draw cut, consists of drawing the katana from the sheath at an upward angle or across the attacker's throat. Kirioroshi, the finishing cut or series of cuts, is most often a downward cut to the crown of the head. Chiburi is the act of shaking blood from the blade. Noto is the resheathing of the sword.

    Combative Distancing

    • There are three ma-ai, or distances, used in Japanese swordsmanship. The first, and farthest away, is itto issoku ma-ai: "one step, one sword." With both combatants standing in chudan-gamae, this distance puts either swordsman a step's distance out of sword range. The middle distance, toi ma-ai, has the tips of the swords barely touching each other. The closest distance, with the top thirds of the blades crossed, is chikama ma-ai.

    Defense

    • Japanese swordsmanship involves comparatively little parrying with the blade. The majority of defense is focused on footwork and positioning. A katana has a hard edge backed by a softer core and spine. Direct edge-on-edge contact with the katana is likely to chip or even break the blade, so parries are performed with the side or back of the blade. Edge parries are done at an angle to allow the attacker's sword to slide off and divert some of the force of the cut. This technique, called uke-nagashi, transitions into a common counter known as nami-gaeshi, or wave return. With this counter, the defender parries an attack from overhead and uses the downward force of the strike to provide momentum and transition his own sword into jodan-gamae. Simultaneously, he sidesteps at an angle and cuts the opponent.

    Attack

    • The most basic cut in Japanese swordsmanship is shomen-uchi, a cut from jodan-gamae to the crown of the head. Virtually all kata end with it. There are eight basic cuts and a thrust. Kesa-giri is a diagonal cut from either side from high to low, shoulder to opposite hip. Yoko-giri is a lateral cut to either the right or the left, more often to the opponent's right side to avoid hitting the sheath of the katana. Gyaku kesa is the reverse of kesa-giri; it is done from hip to opposite shoulder. Kiriage is a cut performed most often from gedan-gamae by turning the sword's edge upward and lifting. Finally, the tsuki, or thrust, targets an opponent's chest or throat.