Ryuseiken Battodo

Japanese swordfighting

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First time cutting targets

I tested the students from the middle & highschool class on Tuesday out in the field at the back of CFHS. It was a cold afternoon and we were racing for time against sundown, but everyone got their chance. Only one student, Reed, actually cut for a test and did well. The three others had their first chance at cutting after about 2 years each of studying.



It's especially relevant for younger students--these guys started at age 12 or 13--to practice swinging only a bokken for a… Continue

Added by rawnshah on December 18, 2008 at 4:30pm — No Comments

Tsubamegaesh and variations

There's no complete documentation on what the historical "tsubame-gaesh" technique is like, although there are stories here and there. Number 9 feels hard to translate into practice but not impossible.



I’ve successfully performed most of these variations except for #6, 7b, 7c or 8. I tried but failed on 6 and 8. I have not attempted #7b or 7c yet.



I’ve seen all of these pulled off successfully by at least one sensei or another (all but 9). I’ll have to find those videos on… Continue

Added by rawnshah on December 17, 2008 at 4:46pm — No Comments

More testing for the middle & highschool students

This week I tested two new students to the rank of 6th Kyu, and they did quite well: Ilan, and Nazar. They have both learned the 1st kata quite well in a short time, and show the spirit of the kata properly.



I also rolled up some dry goza and let them strike at the targets with their bokutos. Most students who start cutting have never experienced the impact force of taking a good swing and hitting a target. This comes as a surprise sometimes. It is different then when you actually… Continue

Added by rawnshah on December 10, 2008 at 10:47am — No Comments

Sasaki Kojiro and Tsubamegaesh

Sasaki Kojiro was a famous swordsman who studied under Toda Seigan, founder of Chujo ryu, acclaimed at the turn of the 17th century for their Kodachi (shortsword) techniques. As partner to Toda Seigan, he became very proficient with the katana, eventually leaving the school and starting his own school, Ganryu (“The School of Rock”).



Sasaki Kojiro is most remembered for his duel with Miyamoto Musashi. At the time, Kojiro had become the swordmaster for Lord Hosokawa by… Continue

Added by rawnshah on December 2, 2008 at 10:30am — 2 Comments

Kanawa Goro's technique and Kata Nihon-me

There’s an interesting historical anecdote that strikes me as very similar to our kata nihon-me (#2). In the excellent biography, Miyamoto Musashi: His Life and Writings, by Kenji Tokitsu, there was a particular sword adept at the end of the Edo period who was known for this. This is during the time when samurai fought for real, and any technique that was successful counted.



Kanawa Goro won most of his duels by picking up dirt and throwing it at his opponent’s face and then strike… Continue

Added by rawnshah on November 29, 2008 at 10:04am — No Comments

Battodo classes are in full swing again

The battodo classes at various locations are on again:



- Kodenkan on Saturday's 3-4:30 pm, Kodenkan of tucson, 250 N Pantano Rd.

- UofA classes on Friday 6-7:30, UofA Rec Center on 6th St & Highland Ave

- Catalina Foothills High School (you need to be a CFHS or CF school district student to register) on Tuesdays.



I'm always glad to see folk returning. I won't be able make many of the classes this month or in October because I'll be traveling first on vacation… Continue

Added by rawnshah on September 15, 2008 at 9:11pm — No Comments

That tonfa/sword guy in Hellboy I

In the first Hellboy movie, there was a villain who used a pair of swords held like a tonfa. If you haven't seen a tonfa, it is very much like a modern police baton: a stick slightly longer than an arm, with a perpendicular handle about a quarter of the way from on end.





A tonfa and police… Continue

Added by rawnshah on July 16, 2008 at 2:47pm — No Comments

How to make ballistic gel - for target cutting

Okay, I have not yet tried this but it works for guns so a gel block should work for swords too. If you haven't seen demos on MythBusters or Fight Science, Ballistic Gel can be molded into any form and a certain thickness block will accurately replicate muscle density. It has comparable density to animal meat, but none of the connective tissue, viscera, bone bits, and bloody mess. You can add other components to replicate bone structure too such as 1/2 inch bamboo.





For… Continue

Added by rawnshah on July 5, 2008 at 9:15pm — 1 Comment

Party on 4th of july

I'm throwing a party at our place to watch the fireworks from the pool and leaving an open invitation to all battodo, japanese sword and martial arts students, practitioners and enthusiasts (any school really).







We built the pool to face the panorama of Tucson, especially where they shoot the fireworks from (A-mountain). Here's a shot of what the pool looks like at night. The fireworks shoot off towards the left edge of the… Continue

Added by rawnshah on June 23, 2008 at 11:00am — 3 Comments

Some Videos from 6/7 uploaded

I've uploaded three videos of Bianca, Monica and Steve sempais. Take a look at how you did on June 7th. I slowed down some of it where relevant and left the audio commentary in of tips.The videos and information is for your benefit; don't feel bad about hearing where you can improve.



Specifically, Bianca sempai the right to left kiriage is noticeably off. I think its because your hands are too far apart, so you end up bending your left elbow which then puts your hands past… Continue

Added by rawnshah on June 21, 2008 at 12:43pm — No Comments

Cutting on 6/15

It was a good session last Sunday. We had lots of time doing cuts for each person, and even one shodan cutting test for Andrew Cameron. We taped it again this time and I should probably edit and upload that video when I can find free time. The video camera I have doesn't take shots fast enough. It's pretty standard for most vidcams but what we really need is a high-speed camera that can take many shots per second in burst mode. There's a nice… Continue

Added by rawnshah on June 17, 2008 at 9:00am — No Comments

Other types of cuts

I've developed a bit of fascination with snap cuts. I don't know a better name for it; there probably is one. It is where you swing at full speed but freeze just an inch or so before the goza, guarding the target for a few seconds. From that position, you then snap your wrist quickly to cut through the goza. There's practically no room for any sort of swing and this takes a sharp sword and lots of torque to cut.



I've done it with one full goza from a kesa snap, which is the least… Continue

Added by rawnshah on June 10, 2008 at 11:30am — No Comments

Cutting yesterday and again on 6/15

Cutting went well yesterday in that the black belts got a lot of practice in. With only a few people and four stands, people can get a whole lot more practice in. It really beats the days when we only had one stand and we'd have to move everyone through it one at a time. It's when you get breaks between cutting that you start forgetting what your body was just learning. After all at this level it is more fine adjustments to get, for example, that perfectly flat suihei. With scraps, some folks… Continue

Added by rawnshah on June 9, 2008 at 7:43am — 3 Comments

Another cutting day at the park on 6/8

We're going to keep the momentum going with a weekly cutting session next Sunday at Himmel Park at 9am, east side of park (Treat Ave). I'd like to see the black belts to get good cutting time in.

-rawn

Added by rawnshah on June 4, 2008 at 1:58pm — 1 Comment

Photos from the battodo film shoot

We did some filming in my pool a week or so ago for the battodo video series. Shihan John is in the videos, not me, so I was able to take some photos while they were prepping (when I remembered). It was quite fun to do but a lot of work for the film crew and Shihan, but only a little for me. I should have taken more but you might see it in the videos



Some of the pictures are blurry; I apologize



[ Still setting up here… Continue

Added by rawnshah on May 28, 2008 at 6:33pm — No Comments

Practice in the park June 1st (6/1)

I'd like to get together next Sunday June 1st at Himmel Park (1 block south of Tucson & Speedway), northeast corner, for some cutting and kata practice. The is primarily for the black belts but others in our school are welcome to participate. The meet time is 9am and it'll probably go on until noon or so; earlier so that it's not as hot. As always bring some money for each goza you plan to cut.



We might meet again on the 8th, but if you need your practice in try to come both… Continue

Added by rawnshah on May 26, 2008 at 11:26am — No Comments

Summertime and the living's easy

Summer comes early to Tucson as always, but this year it is hard to tell if Spring weather will actually continue until the official 1st day of Summer (June 20th/21st). In any case, the Catalina Foothills High School class has only one more session of battodo left, and the UofArizona class is over.



I'm still trying to figure out if I should pay for the gym membership at the UofA Recreation center over the summer. There are a few folks still around so we might just be able to get… Continue

Added by rawnshah on May 7, 2008 at 10:21am — No Comments

The continual cutting continues

I tried the same experiment as before with my High school/middle school class. They actually did surprisingly well in terms of stamina but not necessarily in terms of cutting.



Andrew Dicenso sempai, our shodan in the class, beat my time for 99 cuts but a second. He says he practices with his shinken at home cutting 2-3 hundred times, so he's already well set for it. Many of the others however, ran… Continue

Added by rawnshah on May 2, 2008 at 1:05pm — 4 Comments

Lots of continual cuts

I had the students at UofA club on Monday "cut" quite a bit. Not actually cutting targets, but more swinging with intention to cut each time. I think we ended up with over 400 swings each over the span of an hour and half. There were several goals:



  • building stamina - lots of continual cutting will help you find where you run out of breath and energy, and how long it takes to recover
  • thinking under pressure - there were several exercises and some required a specific…
Continue

Added by rawnshah on April 23, 2008 at 11:38am — 1 Comment

Swordfighting in Indonesia

Thanks to our new member, Christopher Arendt, I found a japanese sword school in Indonesia. It's not that I'm going there but you might. The real point is that they have it available. In the US, we may sigh about the fact that we do not have a sword class near us, but think about how much harder it is in other countries where there may not be as much influence from Japanese culture as we do in the US.



I myself lived in Southeast Asia for many… Continue

Added by rawnshah on April 7, 2008 at 4:06pm — No Comments

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Web sites & Resources

Matsuri: A Festival of Japan (2008) - Phoenix, AZ, Feb 23-28, Heritage Square

Battodo Ryuseiken in Japan. Also a partial site in english.



The Kodenkan of Tucson



The UofA Ryuseiken Battodo on the ASUA site



Tameshigiri.com - where we get goza. The ordering and shipping process are given.



Hanwei/Paul Chen swords



The Knighthawk Armoury builds some interesting realistic looking goshinken. They're expensive but they claim to be pretty durable (not yet tested by us).



Folding a Hakama the proper way



Woodall's Custom Workshop makes nice cutting stands for tameshigiri.


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