Giho 50 Kan’na-Dachi Brush-up 2/ 神無太刀ブラッシュアップ 2
This is the second part to 神無太刀 (kan’nadachi)’s brush-up.
Important point #4: cutting down
As one crucial thing when cutting down, people in many cases tend to open up their right armpit. To prevent this, we want to drop down our right elbow on a vertical line when cutting down.
Doing so will enable us to cut down while keeping our elbow close to our chest and thus our armpit closed.
Please look at your posture when you’re cutting down and make sure there is no open space beneath your armpit. If you’ve ended opening up your armpit, you can’t just close it afterwards either. Instead please make sure to keep your armpit closed from start to finish and to twist your body to the right. This is extremely important.
Now I’m going to explain the left hand’s positioning. When performing the tsukauchi, we let our left hand slide down towards the tsuba, but when cutting down, we let it slide back up towards the kissaki. It goes around the 物打 (monouchi).
As for those who have trouble sliding up and down, please practise this natural sliding motion of your left hand by repeating the hitting up and cutting down from this posture.
Also, for those whose wakizashi’s tsuba get into their way, that is because your timing of twisting your body and cutting down is off. By twisting your body to the right first while cutting down, the wakizashi’s tsuba won’t interfere with your right arm, so you’ll be able to cut down smoothly.
About the footwork
Please watch me while paying special attention to my lower body. This time we’ll start from 閉足立 (heisokudachi).
Go into 馬上立 (bajoudachi) during the battou and cut to the side.
Bend your left knee and twist your body.
From that posture return to the inital 馬上立 (bajoudachi) while letting the sword stand up, then bend the right knee this time and perform the tsukauchi.
Now from there bend your left knee, twist your body to the right while you cut down and assume 青眼の位 (seigan no kurai). This was the footwork in one sequence.
Now please watch from the side.
About the hand shape
Please have a look at 鉋手 (kan’nade) which is used in 神無太刀 (kan’nadachi).
Draw your sword and support its back with your left hand.
This is what we call 鉋手 (kan’nade – lit. “(a carpenter’s) plane hand”).
When a carpenter puts on their plane, they support it with their left hand.
This is where the name 鉋手 (kan’nade) for supporting the sword’s back with your hand comes from.
This is also where the technique’s name 神無太刀 (kan’nadachi) comes from, using the homophonic 神無 (kan’na) (i.e. same pronunciation but different spelling).
Battou with the sousho 離 (ri)