"Thrusting is Stronger Than Swinging!!" ...THINK AGAIN!! 

⚔Join the Online Kobudo Training with Seki Sensei⚔ Sign Up HERE (One Lesson FREE): www.patreon.com/lets_ask_sekisensei Interested in taking lessons directly from the 22nd headmaster of Kobudo Asayama Ichiden Ryu, Seki sensei? Sign up to learn authentic samurai skills with 400 years of history with perfect English interpretation from Let’s ask Shogo (ru-vid.com). ❶ No previous martial arts experience is required; you can catch up anytime ❷ Every lesson will be RECORDED and will be available to rewatch anytime ❸ You can ask Seki Sensei questions about the techniques and samurai culture/history ❹ You can join even if you belong to another Ryuha style ❺ You can receive OFFICIAL DAN RANKS by taking exams online (and opening a DOJO in the future) 🛍Purchase the Equipment You Need for Training: tozandoshop.com/letsaskshogo🛍 🗡Iaitō (training katana): tozandoshop.com/collections/habahiro-heavy-weight-iaito/products/byakko-tenryu-semi-custom-iaito?variant=34479502164101 *🗡Bokutō (wooden katana) with plastic Saya (scabbard): tozandoshop.com/collections/iaido-bokuto/products/the-nyumon-iaido-beginners-set 🥋Dōgi and Hakama: tozandoshop.com/collections/kendo-uniform-sets/products/basic-synthetic-kendo-uniform-set-1?variant=39417538216069 🥋Inner Obi (any color): tozandoshop.com/collections/iaido-obi/products/cotton-kaku-obi?variant=34282096230533 🥋Outer Obi (must be WHITE): tozandoshop.com/collections/aikido-obi/products/white-aikido-obi?variant=34120442413189 🦯Short Jō staff: tozandoshop.com/collections/polearms/products/4-21-shaku-jo?variant=39604823195781 🦯Long Jō staff: tozandoshop.com/collections/polearms/products/5-shaku-bo?variant=34073586106501 🧐Frequently Asked Questions About Our Online Lessons: Q❓: I have no experience with katana. Will I still be able to catch up? A💡: You don’t need any previous katana martial arts experience to participate in our lessons. Seki Sensei, the instructor of the online lessons, will carefully give you instructions on how to handle the katana regardless of your level. You will also be able to access all the videos of the past lessons, so you can watch what every other student has learned in the past. You can also send us videos of your progress, and Seki Sensei will be happy to give you feedback. Q❓: What is the right length of the Iaito (zinc alloy training katana) I should use? A💡: Please purchase an Iaitō that is at least two blocks longer than the standard length. The standard length for Seki Sensei is about 177cm, so he should use a 2.45 Shaku long katana. However, he uses a 2.6 Shaku-long katana that is supposed to be used by someone 190cm tall. If the katana is too short, it becomes too easy to draw, which is not good for training. Q❓: Can I join even if I belong to a different Ryuha style? A💡: Yes, it’s not a problem at all. The Seki Sensei himself has trained in more than five styles and various other weapons. If you don’t want others to know that you are participating, you can join the online lessons with your camera off. To have the Sensei check your progress, you can send us a video of you practicing. 🗡Join the Online Iaido Training with Seki Sensei🗡 Sign Up Here (One Lesson FREE): www.patreon.com/sekisenseiiaidotraining Interested in taking Iaido lessons directly from the 8th Dan Iaido Master with 40 years of experience in Musō Shinden Ryu, Seki sensei? Sign up to learn authentic samurai skills with perfect English interpretation from Let’s ask Shogo. ❶ No previous martial arts experience is required; you can catch up anytime ❷ Every lesson will be RECORDED and will be available to rewatch anytime ❸ You can ask Seki Sensei questions about the techniques and samurai culture/history ❹ You can join even if you belong to another Ryuha style 💻Seki Sensei's Official Website💻 sekisensei.com/ 🎵Original Opening Theme Song "Hyakuren"🎵 Performance: Hanafugetsu (Singer/Suzuhana Yuko, Shakuhachi/Kaminaga Daisuke, Koto/Ibukuro Kiyoshi) Compositions & Arrangements: Suzuhana Yuko Mixing & Mastering: Watabiki Yuta ❓What is Asayama Ichiden Ryu? / Who is Seki sensei?❓ ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2aBKmWmJpJw.html 📱Instagram📱 instagram.com/lets_ask_sekisensei/ *Please ask us questions through the DM here ♪Music♪ elements.envato.com/audio otowabi.com/category/material/japan #katana #iaido #kenjutsu #kobudo #asayamaichidenryu

As said by Rodolfo Cappoferro in his treaty, “a thrust, even though it is devious and deadly, can be moved with the force of a child.”

The joy on Sensei's face while He is teaching is beautiful to watch.

There were many similaries with fencing from this video since two of the three classical weapons in fencing (the foil, epee, and saber) are thrust only. I will be using fencing terms and using square brackets to designate the fencing term. 1:56 is an example of an [attack on the blade] against a [thrust attack] via [parry through expulsion (which is very rare to see in fencing)] followed by a [thrust riposte]. 2:44 is an example of a [beat parry] against a [beat thrust attack], followed by a [cut riposte]. Anyone that think a [beat], which is another [attack on blade], in a [beat attack] is undefeatable have never faced against a [beat parry] with a [cut riposte]. It is so simple to learn that we do not invest much time to studying this unless you request a private or plastron lessons to get gud with [beat parry riposte] against a [beat attack]. The tac-tac sound is very memorable. 3:15 is an example of a [compound attack], which is different than a [simple attack] that we've seen so far. Often than not, a [compound attack] is multiple attacks, and the likely intention for a [compound attack] is deception. The deception can be manifested as a [feint], which is a simulated [offensive action] to elicit a [parry] so that in the time of their [parry] the one deceiving can make another [attack] to land the hit. Interesting enough, the first [attack] is not a [feint] but a deceptive action since by definition a [feint] elicits a [parry] but not a [parry riposte], and the intention for the deceptive action is to elicit the [parry riposte with a thrust] (and to add on that, an [angled step], a type of [footwork] to go off of the [line of direction]) so that one can do a [circular beat parry] and not a [lateral parry], which are different types of [parries] due to the trajectory of the blade when defending. TL;DR, [compound attack] to elicit a [parry riposte with a thrust] and [angled step] for the subsequent [circular beat parry riposte with a thrust]. I have to mention the [circular parry] in light of its importance in this kata. 4:13 is an example of using a [counteroffensive action with a thrust] with [evasive actions] against a [compound attack]. A [counteroffensive action] is an [attack] that simultaneously offend and defend compared to a [parry riposte] that defend then offend. [Counteroffensive actions] use one [tempo] compared to [parry riposte] that use two [tempo]. [Counteroffensive actions] are highly situational and high skilled since if someone messes up the [angulation] for the [counteroffensive actions] with [blade opposition], a double hit can ensue, which is very bad. Because a [compound attack] can take more than two [tempo] compared to a [counteroffensive action] which can take one [tempo], logically the [counteroffensive action] has better [economy of motion]. This is not a technique recommended for beginnners; get gud at defending first before you try this. 5:57 is an interesting case since the [parry] forces the opponent to do a [cut] since any [disengagements] around that [parry] will be too big. This is also a case of a [delayed riposte] since it is normative for the [riposte] to be immediate right after the [parry], but like all things in combat, they have tactical reasons. TL;DR, against a [compound attack] that starts with a [thrust attack] and forced to do a [cut attack] due to the [parry]'s blade geometry, [delayed cut riposte]. It should be reminded that even if you know these kata, you must practice these kata else you will get defeated by the very same attack that your katawere made to defend against. Kata and drills teach you fundamentals so that you don't do stuff by rote; don't be a robot swordsman! also, on god the analysis with fencing term

There are so many philosophical masters of any martial art, but practical masters like Seki Sensei are rare gems. The complexity comes from the simplicity of the moves. I truly wish I spoke Japanese so I could learn directly from him. Love this video.

Thanks for the videos! As a Toyama ryu practitioner that frequently spars, seeing these techniques are very eye opening for the times I do gekken.

Eishin Ryu has a technique against thrusts. It's called 'Suigetsuto'.

In sparring i've found that yes, thrusts are quick and often "deadly" when you can accurately do them. Yet if you miss (I often miss), you just give up the center of the blade and at least half of your body is exposed to a counterattack just as seki sensei displayed. Also, when you thrust, you should try to do it with a guard to avoid the latter. Edit: forgot to mention that your guard should be facing your opponents sword with the strong side of your blade, or the edge in the case of the katana. Great video as always!

Notice how Sensei use the other side to parry/block to avoid damage the blade, then quickly switch back the blade to cut the opponent. Currently I'm practicing on this, and I can say it is not easy, maybe it'll took tons of practice to do it as fast and as accurate as Seki-sensei.

Fascinating techniques. I study and practice Italian rapier. Thrust-centric fencing is indeed complex and difficult to master, even with a specialised thrusting weapon. Very interesting to see similar ideas applied to other types of swords. Is the Kasumi(?) stance a good guard from which to thrust against a potential downward cut?

Brilliant 👍 Thank you Master Seki, Shogo and all for all you do. Hope you all have a happy golden week and next Saturday goes well . Wish we could be with you. Sorry will not see you Friday we are working 😢 But look forward to archived lesson and following week. Take care. Stay safe John and Kate

I have a problem dealing with my classmates' stabbing attacks with their bokken. Thanks for the explanation and lesson.

Hi Shogo, This was the exact situation I have wanted to know about. Thanks very much for asking Seki Sensei to teach this kata to us! I must get a partner to safely practice this move with me. I really appreciate this lesson very much. As things happen in society; the more we will need this knowledge to protect family and friends in situations like this. Thank you again!

Ahhh those first two techniques tickled my olympic fencing brain so much! Nice to see similar techniques being used with another weapon. That deep parry with the cut was really cool too! I like seeing how a katana would implement cuts afterwards where I would angle in a controlled riposte with my epee! Love that you are translating the content! I have watched a bunch of the non-translated videos trying to gather what I could from them!

The principles seem the same or very similar to European swordsmanship but are applied in a very different, distinct manner. Very interesting and the presentation is flawless.

Seeing this done so elegantly makes me really appreciate the time it must have taken to get to that level of proficiency. I can barely push a broom with any accuracy, let alone handle a razor mid-flight with any skill.

Great video. Sensei's Tai sabaki combined with the use of the sword structure to redirect the opponents attack is truly beautiful to watch.

Watching Seki Sensei's technique, I wonder why he is not consulted in Japanese movies involving the sword. His movements are so honest and effective, but they have an elegance that really show well on screen. Imagine the fight choreography he could create. Amazing.

In longsword fencing we have a lot of techniques that make thrusting both safe for the attacker and difficult to parry for the opponent, but our swords are different to the katana, we have quillons, straight and usually longer blades. It's interesting to see how the shape of the sword shapes the style.

Very well done with subtle movements, bravo. Especially how Seki Sensei controls the space between the Uke and himself

Using the whole body behind the blade is most effective. The Master is correct and joy in his heart as he teaches. Unsurpassed. A simple tsuki with katana can penetrate armor. Look for the “openings “. Beautiful.

Oh my god!! How I didn't know about this channel!! Shogo many tanks for bring us Seki Sensei. There's not many quality content here in youtube about kobudo. Seki Sensei thanks for be generous with your knowledge and share it with us. I wish you good fortune. Many thanks from Chile 🇨🇱

Last demo is straight up anime :) Thank you so much!

Great post. I think the matter of surprise is the ultimate defense and offense in any situation. These katas are just ways to respond.

the beauty of the sword movement is amazing

Thank you for the continued videos. I hope the online course does well. Cheers

Fantastic video guys I never imagined using the structure of the katana to parry like that 😮 wow!

Reach is important which is why, at the grossest level, a tachi has an advantage against a tanto until you are at very very close range and why the spear, not the sword, ruled the battlefield including in Japan. But as you say that isn't the entire story. The saber, for example, was still very popular on the battlefield up until WWI for many of the same reasons you point out

Greta stuff.nice to see the use of the curvature to good effect. sense is movement is outstanding

Considering the question about sheathing the katana, I saw your video posted on the mini katana channel. I don't know if that was a coincidence or an immediate response, but either way, I highly appreciate your effort to make these videos. It helped me a lot. 😢😢😢😢😢😢

Love this, also love how you always reexplain his explanation in English for further clarity while showing lots of angles.

I absolutely love learning about all this kind of stuff. I took capoeira for a while years ago and my favorite part was our sensei would give us a little bit of History before each class.

Love the videos with Seki sensei! I my friends and I practice frequently and these videos are easy to absorb and offer answers to some great questions. Thanks Guys!

as always, thank you for your efforts and thank you for the lessons thank you seki Sensei and shogo.

To quote Frank Herbert “Killing with the point lacks artistry, but don’t let that hold your hand when the opening presents itself.”

Thats fantastic tricks to learn. Thank for u and the master.

Would love to see Seki Sensei defend/counter against strikes coming from the side as well. Most of the time the strikes come straight down so a simple step is enough to dodge, but what can you counter with when you can't move side to side? Love the videos keep it up!

Thank you so much for these videos! This is so interesting!

Wow the moves are so subtle. Seki Sensai really is a chess master with swords.

These turns of the katana after parrying are amazing.

Very good lesson. Thank you.

As George Silver said in the 1500's, there is no "perfect fight" without use of both edge and point.

Thank you again. The lesson is very educational and edifying. 🙇🏾‍♂️

Thank you 🙏🏼 Sensei !!

The katas here are the most amazing ones I've ever seen from any ryuha! I'm floored and will spend lots of time to study it. Thanks for posting this. Seki Sensei's proficiency with the katana is unparalleled. I hope you can post kata on how battoujutsu works for the tachi if there are any such techniques in kobudo or kobujutsu.

I like his kobudo.. i did notice most of what he shows is drawing his opponents in while he places himself on a superior position. What if we need to be the aggressor due to time and positional constraints.

Love the body mechanics, couled with using the design of the katana itself. Very cool to watch!

That is absolutely beautiful video, what an awesome display of skill

When you're not young anymore you will start to appreciate the raw mechanics. By then you should realize winning the fight is more critical than looking cool.

I bet you have to train a lot to execute those moves! Great video

Seki Sensei is a magician... makes it look so easy

Good stuff 🔥

Great training thanks

What a coincidence. I just thinking about the thrust tactic and how it would be countered using Kenjutsu. This video showed up right on time.

I really like that last one. For HEMA the only real difference is targeting the wrists as they come down instead of the body.

Learning how to counter-attack from stabbing is the most useful thing in real-life situation. Most criminal cases involving knives usually happens by stabbing.

Fantastic video; especially the techniques that use the curvature of the blade. I will definitely try to put those in practice.

Hey congrats on 100K subs! You guys easily reached your goal before the deadline!

We love Seki Sensei!

Good .

The rolling and flipping connection between jo nihonto naginata etc stops people from chopping wood and really feeling what they are doing, which stops fear. That's what higher training is doing.

I'd like to see these used in a film. Fascinating!

Very good demonstration, love the elegance of the movements. I'd like to see it against western style one-handed thrusting weapons. The reach is much different, the body of the attacker is farther from his target.

Well.. Thrusting can be mikiri coutered

Thank you!

Advanced Kenjutsu, long time no see.❤

Seeing the connection between rhe footowork and the structure of tbe sword is fascinating. I mever saw that. befoee. Thank you.

Rapier entered the chat to remember 1582 Cagayan battles

@3:29 I noticed the stance shift also removes a lot of your body profile from the adversaries optimal strike zone. Good offense and defense at the same time.

If I'm facing someone like Sensei, I'm never stabbing out of fear that he might Mikiri Counter me like in Sekiro.

Good video. Haven't seen most of these counters!

Shogo, Could you and Seki Sensei do a video on the history, differences and benefits for different zukuri? For instance, the most common zukuri design would be the shinogi style, but I prefer the shobu style due to its better penetration potential (at the expense of being more fragile). The way I understand it, the shinogi was replaced with the shobu specifically to address the Mongol threat and be better for penetrating their armor.

Awesome!!

I love the similarities between longsword and katana

Another thing my own teacher would say about thrusting is that it narrows the danger area of the attack to a tiny point, but doesn't really reduce the profile of your weapon for parrying or require drastically changing the basic movement of the parry. You can parry a thrust with very similar movement to a swing. Thrusts are faster and have better reach, but they're smaller in all the bad ways and none of the good ways.

I enjoy the videos! Does Seki Sensei train Jiyu Kata? Not-prearranged kata? I have heard this is a very old method of training that is not practiced much these days. Keep up the good work!

Simply beautiiful.

the key here is knowing what your opponent gonna do !!!

Thank you Shogo and Seki Sensei for your amazing videos and the camera person as well. Let's give props to Seki Sensei's partner, his form is really good. I would think if they were a novice the attacker would do many horizontal strikes, if trained I suppose they would do a down cut. What about diagonal strikes, from the low position and from high to low like X cuts, when could we do them, should we ever do them? Oh I see you have a video on diagonal cuts, I'll go watch it now.

Excellent thank you!

Amazing

I think stabs are favoured just because they are much harder to defend, you need precise timing to parry a stab while to defend from a swing you simply put something in the way and it's done (unless it's a swing from a heavy 2-handed weapon then you will never block it unless you have a shield).

Thank you for your generous teachings. Could you please show handling and kata with Jo? Im curious how that would differ from jo within aikido.

Man...That was cool!

very similar to "chambering" in european sword technique

This is amazing

I always thought I was great at BJJ, until I did an army combatives course at papa joe gormans BJJ dojo. Papa Joe Gorman

One more important point is that, yes, people will generally swing rather than thrust in high-stress situations with lots of adrenaline coursing through their veins. I think there's a point about it in the book "Swordsmen of the British Empire" or similar, there's a video on it on Scholagladiatoria's channel. Namely, the British officers noted how hard it was to train people to thrust on the battlefield, as even experienced swordsmen who were taught to favor the trust for years would often end up swinging wildly as their fine motor function degraded and instinct took over. You see this even with boxing, where tired and hurt opponents will start to throw wider and sloppier power punches instead of straight ones when the stress is high, or they get frustrated with an elusive opponent.

After this, watch some HEMA or Kendo fights. I think you'll see that... although this clip is not incorrect, things tend to go a bit differently when you face a resisting oponent of relatively equal skill level.

If you look closely at any attack, its either a thrust or some sort of cut. However, when you attack, need to make sure that you cut or thrust while you are covered. None of these cuts or thrust performed by the attacker are safe! No one cut or thrust like that :) This is the same problem with all martial arts that doesn't pressure test. 😒

You cannot prove it if you do not test the technique with more protecting gear, since the attacker will not stab sensei with full power.

Love this channel and your other one. Am interested in hearing if Sensei or you have any thoughts or connections with people who have handicaps and practice Iaido, Jodo, or Tanjo. My left foot doesn’t work because of a firefighting accident. Am shodan in MSR here in Los Angeles. Would like to learn more for myself, but also to share with other people around the world who practice or want to practice Iaido. Thank you.

Trying to "well, actually" a literal master of a martial art in an online comments section is the most 2020s internet thing I've ever heard. x)

Superb.

The one big issue I have with your videos is that like almost half of those kata you show would create a situation were both fighters are dead. That's not what I would call a valid defense technique or offense technique. Doesn't matter really who hits first, only the one who doesn't get hit will survive. So this makes it rather hard to grasp the concepts fully and how they are applied in sparing/combat.

I can be hokage with this channel.... Damn

Okay...a food for thought here. What Seki-sensei says is correct. But here we are dealing with a simple action-reaction approach. This is not exclusive to a defended only, because as an attacker I can also "chamber" my opponents reactions. For example feint thrust, and as soon as the opponent goes to parry my weapon, I disengage the weapon under their blade and engage again from the inside, it's a small twist of the wrist, that would put my blade back on the inside, safely pushing out the opponents blade outside ending up in a similar position as at 4:30, except the attacker would be standing therefore very safely and easily stabbing the opponent. Also the assistant does follow blindly into a trap. He does a motion, gets countered/deflected, and then without any thought for defense or cover makes another step forward. This is an invitation to get stabbed, and if the opponent does such a thing what Seki-sensei does is a perfect follow up to such a situation. But now raise the level of our assistant, a swordsman's plan cannot be "I will attack and I will succeed", because it limits your ability to react to the changing of the flow in combat. A more appropriate thinking is developing a stratagem such as: "I will attack with a cut to my opponents left shoulder so that he may block, if the block is late or he does not, I will succeed in my cut, if he does block, upon feeling the contact of the blades I will immediatelly pull the blade back to cut at the opposite side of my opponent to his right shoulder, but I will also step to my left so to create a better body position to defend a possible attack from my opponent, and I will do so, by cutting to my opponents right shoulder and then continue the cut and stop it in such a way that my blade now is located between my body and my opponents blade, which was on their left side because that's where they were blocking, insuring my safety after a successful cut." In short just like in chess you need to have at leasts some idea for about 3 moves ahead. Otherwise move by move just leaves you open to counters such as the ones demonstated by Seki-sensei

that last move was cinematic :DD

There's a even more fundamental problem of using a thrust it counter a downward cut, before you consider any counters, even if you are successful the opponents sword is still swinging towards your head and your sword is stuck in them. Unless they die instantly, which is unlikely, you will die too

Thank you for very educating video. I have one more idea and question. On last kata attacker did thrust but made quite long move to return and do swing. However, seems to me naively, he could turn cutting edge to defence party and do cut on back movement instead. Maybe, not to do winning strike, since there was blocking katana, but to create pressure on defence party and for occasional cut. Is this possible situation? What would you do to defend against it?