Christmas Eve

Just a quick note to let everyone know the Haruka Dojo will be calling off classes on Saturday, December 24th.  To end the year on a positive note, classes will be held on Saturday December 31st for those diligent practitioners who want to fit one more day of practice into 2011.

Cutting from daijodan

Cutting from daijodan with the katana seems like it should be simple enough, swing the sword straight down at your opponent. There are a number of subtle points the swordsman needs to take into account to make an effective cut. One factor to take into consideration is the footwork. The step one takes when cutting with a katana is smaller than the lunge a fencer takes with their weapon. Keeping one's balance and being able to deliver power with one's cut is better facilitated with a smaller step. Gripping the sword is fairly straightforward with the right hand near the top of the tsuka and the left hand near the bottom. The proper gripping of a sword is well illustrated in the Genbukan Ninpo BugeiBiken-Jutsu Kyukyu-Gata DVD. During the daijodan cut, the hands rotate on the tuska. This motion is often explained to students as, “wringing water out of a washcloth.” The problem with this description is that it can cause a student to over-rotate their wrists. The idea is to rotate the palms over the back of the tsuka to better transfer force into the cut. This concept and others pertaining to gripping the katana are explained well by Nicklaus Suino in his article, “Properly Gripping the Sword in Muso JikidenEishin-ryu Iaido,” from the Journal of Asian Martial Arts, Volume 15, Number 2. Oh, and while bearing all that in mind, remember to not over-think it and just make the cut.

New Saturday class time

Starting on Saturday, October 1st, the Haruka Dojo will be offering a class at 7 P.M. in addition to the 10 A.M. time.  The Monday and Wednesday classes will continue to meet at 7 P.M. as well.

Clip from 2008 US taikai

http://youtu.be/zkMvD53Z6BY
I thought I would share a link to this clip, not only because it shows the grandmaster in action but because you can see the technique Ko-Kuh or "Empty Sky," performed right at the beginning of the clip.  Later in the clip, just over a minute in, the technique Dan-Shu is shown, among many others.  These two are of note because they are both shodan (1st degree black belt) techniques in the ninpo taijustu system and it can be difficult to find them being performed properly, if at all.

Ab Exercise

While it may not have anything specifically to do with ninpo, ninjutsu or martial arts in general, this is a good exercise for anyone interested in strengthening their core muscles in an efficient manner.  The Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy published an article that looked at core muscle activation during abdominal exercises.  They found that the roll out and pike exercises on the Swiss ball were the most effective.  Check out the video for a demonstration: