Talking with Sword

When learning the art of the sword, we are often told that we should wield it as an extension of our own body. The sword’s edge and tip should exhibit all the speed, power and grace of the hand that holds it, for instance. That is a fine objective—but what if the hand has no speed, power or grace to start with?

According to one classical perspective, no student should be given sword instruction until they have first qualified themselves to learn, by demonstrating mastery of barehanded technique. In some styles of martial arts, this might require thousands of hours of study.

Narrowing the focus during these initial months, or years of training might seem to benefit everyone involved. It can, and frequently it does. However, in some cases, it will actually hinder the student’s overall progress. The sword itself is an excellent instructor, to those who will heed its lessons.

What is Biofeedback?

Biofeedback is a method of expanding conscious awareness into realms that are typically governed by the unconscious mind. The subject of biofeedback training is instrumented with equipment that amplifies, records and displays biometric data, such as body temperature, heart rate, and skin conductivity. Experiments have shown that, if a subject is made aware of small fluctuations in these ostensibly involuntary processes (i.e. with the help of biofeedback equipment), that subject can more easily bring these processes under their conscious control.

Biofeedback machines, such as an electroencephalograph (EEG) or digital thermometer, can be expensive and complex. They can also be simple and cheap. Bicycle training wheels, which allow a rider to tip over slightly without immediately falling down, provide a useful form of biometric feedback. In fact, an intelligent person can press nearly any tool into service as a biofeedback device—including their sword.

The Sword as Biofeedback Device

A sword is a natural amplifier, which consistently and impartially reflects the mistakes of its user. If the swordsman’s grip and cut are incorrect, his sword may wobble, or even ring. When the position of his wrist is wrong by one inch, the tip of the blade may be wrong by one foot. If his body movement is slightly convoluted or imprecise, a good sword helps to make that obvious; with a tassel, even more so.

According to an old Chinese proverb, “A one-inch error at the start becomes a thousand-mile error by the end.” A sword can help prevent small errors from escaping its user’s attention, and thereby train the hand that holds it, and the mind which directs it.

When the founder passed away in 1969, sword training at the Honbu dojo in Japan ceased to exist as a part of the regular curriculum. At that time sword training was only available for select high ranking students and was conducted somewhat behind closed doors. Although the taking away of an opponents weapons continued to be a part of the testing process, teaching the use and handling of sword was, for all practical purposes, suspended completely.

Since that time the controversy over whether or not the practice of sword is really an integral part of, or even valuable to, aikido training has continued to intensify. There is little doubt however that Ueshiba Morihei O-sensei, the founder of aikido, considered it as an essential part of his teaching as well as his own training. He constantly used weapons, especially the sword, to show the principles of aikido. Why is swordsmanship so valuable for understanding the essence of aikido? If we view this question from an historical perspective the answer becomes quite clear.

O-sensei, by his own declaration, was the founder of aikido, yet not the creator of aiki principle itself. This principle was recognized in the ancient sword traditions of Japan as well as in the philosophy of Japanese Shinto. O-sensei was a devout student of Shinto and spent at least several years studying Japanese sword. Among the styles of sword that the founder studied was the ancient Kashima style which dates from the fifteenth century. The foundation of that school is the concept of Shinbu, "the divine martial way" in which one wins without fighting. To accomplish this was to develop oneself, both physically and spiritually, to the level of the gods.

Shin, in this case means "divine" and Bu refers to the creative force of life, the power of musubi, or becoming one with your partner. This was described as hoyo doka, an all-embracing acceptance of even the negative feelings of others and the re-integration of that magnanimous attitude back to those who would attack us. Practically speaking this acceptance and re-absorption is the ability to receive your partners energy and unify with it in such a way that his power is reduced to zero. In aikido this is a good explanation of what we call the power of kokyu. To master the spiritual and psychological aspects of this ability was called aiki. The word aiki was also used to denote the highest level of mastery in the Yagyu sword style in which O-sensei also excelled.

The really incredible achievement of the founder was to apply these principles to barehanded training in a new and unique manner. Why was this not accomplished in those ancient times? Every sword style contained its own interpretation of grappling or jutsu forms. This was necessary on the battlefield in case a warrior lost his weapon in the heat of battle. To be able to take away another mans sword when you had no weapon was considered the highest achievement in the Yagyu style.

It required the great spiritual vision of O-sensei to see barehanded training not as grappling but rather as sword without a sword. Even the great Kano sensei, the founder of Judo, declared aikido to be the art he had been searching for all his life. O-sensei through his own spiritual practices realized that we could use our hands, or even our mind alone, like a sword, to cut through our partners attack or defense. Combining his spiritual vision with actual sword training he realized that it was possible to extend the influence of our ki, or intention, beyond our fingers in the same way that our movement and reach is extended when holding a sword. Ki extension is the essence of muto or "sword without a sword" and that is no better exemplified than in the practice of aikido.

In studying sword we learn to control the kensen, the line that the kirisaki, the tip of the sword, draws in each cut. Eventually we are able to draw that line with our minds eye alone. This ability is one of the secrets of aikido practice. It enables us see the invisible form within each technique and to send out energy precisely to the correct place in our partners body. This ability takes many years to realize; without sword training, the student is much less likely to discover it.

Cutting with the Japanese sword is an expansive motion in which the tip of the sword must be unified with ones center. The basic diagonal cut, called kesa giri, may be equated with ikkyo in barehanded aikido training. If one truly masters this one cut, he or she has already realized shin shin toitsu or body-mind unification. Within kesa giri is the secret of natural spiral movement. The sword falls by its weight alone and the weight of the body comes to ride on top of its free fall. The turning of the hips and the subtle connection between your own center and the tip of the sword create effortless power and speed. Just as in aikido, this basic way of cutting with the sword is dependent on a continual expansion of our feeling; in fact, that is the life of the movement itself.

In addition, the footwork and total overall movement of swordsmanship match that of aikido exactly. Every move in aikido, correctly understood, is a cutting motion. After all, the sword was created to fit the natural movement of the body and not the other way around. Herein lies one of the major differences between aikido and any of the various schools of jujutsu. The nikkyo, sankyo, and yonkyo of aikido, for example, are performed as expansive cutting motions rather than as contracting wristlocks.

Aikido is an extremely subtle and difficult art. It requires a lifetime of dedication in order to grasp its essence. Because of its difficulty, aikido is quite often misinterpreted and practiced either as a form of jujutsu or merely as aerobic exercise. Practicing in either of these ways lacks both martial and spiritual content. Aikido techniques are designed to be ineffective until one has grasped the essence of expansive spiral motion and proper use of ki or internal power. They cannot therefore be effectively used in the same manner as jujutsu techniques, which depend largely on contracting motion for the purpose of breaking the partners joints.

Combining the study of sword with barehanded techniques we are able to discover the complementary antagonism of flexibility and relaxed power together with sharpness and precision. In the words of the founder, "In barehanded practice you should move as if you had a sword; when holding a sword you should not depend on it but move as if you had none." Studying this mental kamae, or stance, keeps us focused on the reality of a martial situation and at the same time allows us to remain flexible and relaxed. To unify these opposites is to discover aikido principle: yin and yang as one, movement and rest as one, irimi-tenkan as one, the unification of all opposites in a kind of dynamic monism.

This article is, of course, a large overview, and the many similarities between weapons and barehanded training can only come to be appreciated through proper training with a qualified teacher. It will not suffice merely to repeat sword kata as fixed forms without discovering their strategy and content. Each student, under the supervision of a qualified instructor, must take up the forms of both sword and barehanded training as parts of a whole, and through continual research and analysis, strive to refine his or her own individual practice to higher and higher levels of expertis

Bill Gleason

Woods for Training Weapons

The qualities that define the character of Bokken, Jo and other traditional Japanese wooden weapons, rest entirely on the integrity of the material itself. There are hundeds of wood choices overall and many regional varieties worthy of consideration but as we shall see in this section there are actually very few that are well suited for all situations that martial artists encounter in their weapons training.

The Japanese have always used their native evergreen white oak (Shiro Kashi) for most training weapons used in paired practice where there is likelyhood of impact with a partner's wooden weapons or armor. Kashi isn't generally considered a "fine" wood but its tough, reliable, relatively dense character is well suited for impact tool handles and martial art equipment. Many other materials and wood species are available in Japan. Unique weapons of unusual construction and materials, including several superb tropical varieties, are produced but only intended for settings appropriate to their scarcity, cost and appearance. Centuries of practical wisdom support this distinction between the utilitarian and the formal as it relates to martial art weapons.

The extension of the Japanese martial arts to other parts of the world, where no native tradition exists in the manufacture of related practice equipment, fosters attempts to produce traditional wooden swords and the like without the benefit of any accumulated local wisdom or reliable material from local sources. Because of this, there has been a tendency of non Japanese to overlook a distinction which is taken for granted in Japan - the role of materials suitable for routine practice and that of materials which are appropriate for presentation and ritual. Instead, many foreign practitioners view all equipment on a purely "qualitative level" and perceive the value of one's practice as being influenced by the degree of beauty and precision of the weapon - a notion generally discouraged by both Japanese and non Japanese masters and one, I think, that remains an obstacle in the development of weapons training. The following section is intended to guide the reader to an understanding of various materials and their appropriate use.

For both the utilitarian and refined, the wood is the weapon. Its strength, density, stability, color and texture are the potential for quality. Although a mediocre weapon may come from an exceptional piece of wood, it will always have within it the possibilities dictated by the the quality of the material. No amount of artistry will make a good practice weapon out of a mediocre piece of wood.

As it turns out, there are very few kinds of wood that are suitable for wooden weapons, especially ones longer than two feet or so where density and shock stength are important. Most hardwoods, especially the dozens of commercial species including native oak, maple, cherry, walnut etc. have mechanical drawbacks and most modern synthetic materials are not esthetically or historically appropriate to the traditional martial arts. It is little surprise that the materials chosen in this situation are not often seen in common woodworking where so many other readily available options exist.

The descriptions and information here include factual data concerning wood selections based on the production of thousands of wooden weapons for Japanese martial arts, published information and actual tests of hundreds of wood samples subjected to the stresses expected in paired practice.

It is necessary to categorize information and the following study, like all others, combines individuals of a species as if they were one but actually reflects an average of many unique members. In the case of natural wood there are significant differences within a species and the reader should consider the diversity: For example, American Black Walnut in general doesn't have suitable shock strength or dent resistance for this application and we would be tempted to unequevically extend this judgement to all Black Walnut. Under some (rare) conditions however, an individual tree may produce lumber that will produce a servicable and perhaps an excellent practice weapon. Several of the true hickories from a specific region (which will be discussed later) yield excellent quality lumber in general but an individual piece may be weaker than unusually good piece of material from an "inferior" species.

James Goedkoop

Weapons

Weapons training in aikido traditionally includes the short staff (jō), wooden sword (bokken), and knife (tantō). Today, some schools also incorporate firearm-disarming techniques. Both weapon-taking and weapon-retention are sometimes taught, to integrate armed and unarmed aspects, although some schools of aikido do not train with weapons at all. Others, such as the Iwama style of Morihiro Saito, usually spend substantial time with bokken and jō, practised under the names aiki-ken, and aiki-jō, respectively. The founder developed much of empty handed aikido from traditional sword and spear movements, so the practice of these movements is generally for the purpose of giving insight into the origin of techniques and movements, as well as vital practice of these basic building blocks.