YouTube: Aikido - Sword and Naginata Variations

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[Mihaly Dobroka]

Here is a video on Weapon Techniques, practiced in the Hirosaki University Aikido Club.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG3mlnnzw7s&index=1&list=UUksUlSPmWMWgkqAobsoXRkQ

What are your thoughts on this video?

Mihaly

[Michael Hackett]

Nice video production. Very stylized and flowing. A lot of fun to watch. I won't even approach the martial aspects as this is a demonstration video. All in all, I enjoyed watching it.

[Erick Mead]

... won't even approach the martial aspects as this is a demonstration video. That's hardly fair. He asked for our thoughts not just polite approvals. It seems strange to me to ignore the martial aspect in making invited comments on a martial art demonstration.

That said, I see the following, which is meant to be constructive, and can be incorporated without altering the flowing aspects, which are nice, I will say.

1) In the several waza before 00:30,shidachi has almost no structure behind the sword while entering uchidachi's attack. Shidachi's wrist is bent and his forearm almost parallel to the tsuka, which is extremely weak. The tsuka and the forearm should ordinarily be at almost right angles to to each other (jūji), especailly in single hand work. As it is, uchidachi could simply cut or beat past the sword (which has almost nothing backing it up) and strike shidachi easily, if not disarming him into the bargain. (In these, the same push-pull mechanics of this same individual's entry in ordinary kotegaeshi in the prior video (http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23954&goto=newpost) are in evidence again.)

2) After 00:30, a number of waza has shidachi entering with a naked extended hand -- just begging for a te-giri draw cut. Several of these, both right and left, have the same basic issues.

3) And at 2:22 -- Nobody outside of silverscreen Hollywood spun their six-guns into the holsters in Tombstone, either.... Seriously, one ought to just chiburi and noto. Lots of nifty chiburi to choose from without adding the sword flipping. Flash is for photographers.

[Gerardo Torres]

The very first thing you do at 0:01: nage's sword goes over uke's sword while nage's elbows and shoulders are lifted really high. Why lift your elbows like this? A style thing? You can easily suppress uke's sword, go over, cut and continue to your kotegaeshi while keeping your elbows (and shoulders) down all the way.

I liked 1:06 - 1:29. I've seen one of my aikido teachers go through some of those drills while teaching sword and empty-hand relation. Is this Nishio influenced perhaps?

It's hard for me to say how tall you guys are, but that naginata sure looks tiny in your hands. You might as well have done that demo with a jo instead. Nice flow though.

One thing I noticed is that nage tilts his head sideways a lot, especially during transitions and at the end of techniques. Might be a personal style thing but I find it unnecessary -- especially with weapons involved.

Thanks for sharing.
-G

[phitruong]

That's hardly fair. He asked for our thoughts not just polite approvals. It seems strange to me to ignore the martial aspect in making invited comments on a martial art demonstration.


i am with Michael on that. my thought was "ooooo that is so cute!" and stop all my other thoughts on it.

if i have to look at that in a martial sense, then i would have to use another video, like this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs8RQlk2oyY, to point out the OP problems. OP's ukes are kinda dead weight. naginata has a sharp end at the end of the stick. why hold it in the middle and shorten the reach? kinda silly at that. i would like to be in the next county and poke the guys with sword and say "shish kabab!" but if this is kabuki, then i would go back to "ooooo that is so cute!"

[Inushishi]

naginata has a sharp end at the end of the stick. why hold it in the middle and shorten the reach?

Well, because a naginata has two ends. One sharp(blade), one pointy and heavy(ishizuki).
We in katori shintô ryû also hold the naginata in the middle because this way we can attack with the blade and defend/control with the ishizuki.

for reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l7FXMDDN6U
different ishizuki:
http://worthopedia.s3.amazonaws.com/images/thumbnails2/1/0410/12/1_bfd45df32ee0e65b0f9fe0f0db60ed25.jpg
http://worthopedia.s3.amazonaws.com/images/thumbnails2/1/0410/05/1_7c1658ab92361378a6fc3103765cef29.jpg