Giho 47 Niguruma-Dachi/ 荷車太刀
In regards to 抜合 (nukiai) which is the second 勢法 (kata) in 立合抜刀術 (tachiai battoujutsu), the version where you pull in your hind leg is called 荷車太刀 (nigurumadachi).
This stance is called 荷車の位 (niguruma no kurai – lit. “cart stance”) for which your hips have to go extremely low.
Battou with the kaisho 守 (shu)
This time I would like to explain 抜合 (nukiai) which is a 立合抜刀術 (tachiai battoujutsu – roughly “rising/standing up battou technique”).
抜合 (nukiai) in Tenshinryuu is one of the so called 勢法 (kata – roughly “force method”, do not confuse this with 型 (kata)).
Tenshinryuu has many techniques, but those that are called 勢法 (kata) are truly special. 抜合 (nukiai) is one out of the twelve 勢法 (kata) in 立合抜刀術 (tachiai battoujutsu).
It however adopts a different name depending on certain circumstances.
Now this time, out of those I’m going to explain 荷車太刀 (nigurumadachi).
In 荷車太刀 (nigurumadachi) you turn around the saya and cut vertically upwards.
There are two patterns where you pull in either your right or your left leg respectively, but for now please let me show you the right leg version.
Demonstration and explanation
Put your hand on the tsuka, turn the saya around, then slightly bend your body to the left and cut upwards vertically.
Leave your sword on this vertical line, reverse the blade and take a step with your right foot as you cut straight forward.
After that, assume 雲居の位 (kumoi no kurai) while you back off by at least six shaku (around 180 cm).
Switch from 雲居 (kumoi) to 切雲 (sekiun), and then to 青眼の位 (seigan no kurai). Then come chiburui and noutou… but I’ll omit them this time.
Turn around the saya and make a vertical cut upwards.
Important points when placing your hands
I am now going to explain some important things when placing your hands on the tsuka.
The following explanation will be analyzing the 守 (shu) movements, so there might be some deviations from the real execution. However, for the sake of giving you a proper and thorough explanation, I shall pick apart bit by bit and explain one another to you.
First, place your left hand on the tsuba, then the right one on the tsuka, however, this time, instead of reaching for the tsuka from below, do it from the side at a low angle.
Also, when you grab the tsuka, don’t stretch out your fingers, but rather straighten them in a relaxed manner.
After that, cut the koiguchi with your left thumb. Once you’ve done that, don’t leave your left thumb there but return it to the saya.
Move both hands at the same time to rotate the saya by 180 degrees. At this time, your right hand should still not have gripped the tsuka.
While you pull back the saya, gradually grip the tsuka as you draw the sword.
Important points during battou
I am now going to explain a few things you should pay attention to during battou.
If you try to turn around the saya with your hands alone, the tsukagashira will go off diagonally to the right like this instead of straight ahead and it gets harder to turn the edge up.
So, how do we do it?
When you place your hand on the tsuka, move your hips to the right and bend your upper body over to the left, and then rotate the sword by 180 degrees – this will let the tsukagashira point forward and it will consequently be easier to turn up the edge. After that, do the sayabiki and the battou.
Important points when pulling back your right foot
I am now going to explain the work your chest has to do during the battou when you pull back your right foot.
Turn around the saya and draw the sword. At this time, when you draw the sword, please make sure to to pull back the right side of your chest as well.
Pulling back the right side of your chest as you unsheathe the sword, while keeping your right armpit closed, will enable you to draw a beautiful line with a clean battou.
About the origin of the stances’ names during the battou
I’m now going to explain the stances and the leg postures during the battou.
Just now, we’ve assume this kind of posture during the battou. This perfectly resembles the posture when pushing a 荷車 (niguruma) or cart/wagon.
This posture is the origin of the name 荷車太刀 (nigurumadachi).
During the edo period, pushing carts from behind like this on main or hill roads etc. was an actual occupation called 押し屋 (oshiya – “pusher”).
Lower your body, stretch your right leg behind you and shift your balance to the front as you keep this posture.
Also, regarding the distance between your feet during the battou, up until we’ve told you for many techniques to make sure to be able to fit one fist between the heel of the front leg and the knee of the hind leg when placing the latter on the ground.
However, that won’t be the case for 荷車太刀 (nigurumadachi) where you instead pay attention to stretching out one leg behind you and moving your centre of gravity to the front.
Explanation of how to cut
I will now explain how to cut in 荷車太刀 (nigurumadachi).
What many are prone to doing is, when they want to cut/slash, they end up swinging the sword around like this.
If you cut with this method, your sword will end up being delayed.
If you wanted to cut deep, then this kind of cutting method would be fine, too, however, in Tenshinryuu we have this teaching of “do not cut deep, but shallow”.
So, how exactly are we supposed to cut then?
We also mention this during other techniques, but in Tenshinryuu we have the teaching: “cut as if you were stabbing”.
That is to say, when performing 荷車太刀 (nigurumadachi), after turning around the saya, from the koiguchi to the endpoint the kissaki would reach, it’s important to cut in a straight line to ensure the shortest possible path.
It’s important to cut like you were drawing a straight line from here, as if you were stabbing.
Please make sure to practise 荷車太刀 (nigurumadachi) with these things in mind.
Battou with the sousho 離 (ri)