IAIDO SEMINAR AMSTERDAM
August 1996
Saturday 10
Hasegawa with Ishido sensei
Ishido sensei and Nakamura sensei
My main reference for Hasegawa is the book "MUSO SHINDEN RYU IAIDO (CHUDEN-HASEGAWA EISHIN RYU) Tate Hiza no Bu" from Jean-Pierre Reniez. I have yet little experience with this series so the comments are sketchy, just some points where something was different from, or not mentioned in the book (as I remembered it).
Tora isoku:
Draw the sword forward and slightly down, then let it drop like a pendulum to the block. Don't cut off your toes doing this. You bend slightly forward while drawing, and straighten up and rise while dropping the blade. The result of this complex manouver is that the sword rotates around its center, and draw and block can be done in one smooth motion.
Inazuma:
In the book nukitsuke is a cut to the wrists from below. Here it was shown as a cut from above, more like the first cut in morotetsuki. It can also be a cut to the kataguchi (the point where neck and shoulder meet) if the opponent is closer.
Yama oroshi:
Sensei shook his head to me and said I should cut the other guy, who was laying _there_, and not *there*. I noticed while throwing teki, the left hand can move towards the tsuba on the mune. In the book it said the hand should not move.
Uki gumo:
It's important to turn well towards the opponent, since you must draw the sword behind his back. After throwing him, raising the sword is in unision with dropping to the knee.
Iwanami:
In the book the fingers of the left hand assist the blade from the saya on, through some dangerous manipulations. Here you just turn left, point the sword and place left hand on the mune perpendicular to the blade. Stab, and stomp with right foot on drawing back.
Taki otoshi:
Turn and shift the left foot towards teki before stabbing. Lifting the right foot while stabbing should not be exaggerated. There is a variant where you stab horizontally, with the ha pointing up. Use the hips (you don't step forward during this stab).