Aikido KEN SUBURI, basic solo sword exercises, by Stefan Stenudd

Suburi, sword strike exercises, with shinken (a sharp steel blade). The Japanese sword arts have influenced the aikido techniques and principles greatly. Therefore, AIKIKEN - sword practice in aikido - is an important part of the curriculum.
Katana, the Japanese sword with the two-handed grip, takes a lot of practice to handle with some skill. Already the grip is quite difficult to get right.
Most important is to be able to cut straight, exactly in the direction of the edge. Otherwise, its legendary sharpness doesn’t do much good.
Well, there is so much to be said about how to handle the Japanese sword, there is not enough room here. I hope the essentials are visible on the video. If not, you find more information on my website about aikibatto:
www.stenudd.com/aikibatto
I use a shinken, a sharp steel blade, on the video. That’s for clarity. Practicing suburi with the katana instead of bokken (a wooden sword) is very good to understand how the sword works. That can be done solo, but of course not safely in partner exercises.
If you only practice with bokken, it is difficult to learn proper cutting moves with the sword, instead of just hitting with it. Also, the weight and balance of the katana is quite different from that of the bokken.
My book on aikibatto, sword exercises for aikido students:
www.amazon.com/Aikibatto-Swor...
My aikido dojo is Enighet in Malmö, Sweden: www.aikidoenighet.se/
For more about aikido, visit my website:
www.stenudd.com/aikido/
My aikido books:
www.amazon.com/Aikido-Princip...
www.amazon.com/Attacks-Aikido...

[@carlatkins3835]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing Sensei 👍

[@Melvorgazh]

Very good! Thanks a lot ;)

[@SaddiqRaffali]

Thank you Sir...

[@bdcochran01]

Thank you.

[@philiptruitt]

Thank you!

[@lacknerflorian7254]

Ty for share , greets

[@johnjohnson2480]

Dear Mr. Stenudd, Your videos are always very informative. This was beautiful sword technique. I appreciate your attention to detail. Our Sensei was just reminding us last week about the importance of using the little finger with the grip. Sincerely, John Johnson

[@StefanStenudd]

John Johnson, I thank you for your kind words. And I certainly agree with your sensei :)

[@PeterPeli]

What a gentle & kind way to fight.. He's barely hitting the other guy.

[@JustMe-vz3wd]

They are not fighting, dickhead Peter, it is an instructional video.

[@ArelAryanbinAshdeeSZain]

Cool!!!!

[@EPSTomcat11]

How do you keep the sword from moving after finishing the strike?

[@kavaldevereux3111]

Develop strength

[@barryb4407]

Generally You tighten your grip with the hand movement as if you were wringing water out of a wet towel, the wrists should move slightly closer to each other in the horizontal and not the vertical as you perform the motion. Also for any stike coming downwards, you combine the hand method with your elbows and upper forearms stopping against your abdomin when the sword reaches its horizontal position.

[@jaketheasianguy3307]

You don't, swing correctly and it will stop on it's own. Swing the sword forward into the opponent, not downward

[@-ShinshojiRyuhoho]

詳しく説明がしてありとても分かりやすかったです。 私も家伝で抜刀術をやっています。

[@michaeljoerns5713]

Impressive,

[@blackwolf2036]

Wow

[@gamer-hu2hs]

wowww

[@SamirZeGeek]

Wow that’s so cool! :O

[@clubkatori8638]

where are the KI KENTAI ?

[@CDRAMMartialVideoProduction]

Beautiful !

[@daviderusso1238]

Nice job. How many repetitions of any exercise? :)

[@StefanStenudd]

Quality surpasses quantity, so as many as can be done with sharp focus.

[@daviderusso1238]

@@StefanStenudd thanks.

[@kirameira425]

勉強に成ります。m(_ _;)m

[@tonyiaido2066]

strikes start before our body move???

[@StefanStenudd]

In our minds they do. For example, you can't strike before you aim.

[@martindib7502]

Hola, al parecer esos ejercicios no son del trabajo de Ken de Aikido, para empezar y por marcar algunos detalles tanto el bokken como la Katana están mal agarrados, el hanmi y el hito hemi son inexistentes tampoco realiza el shiboru a la hora de terminar el corte, por mucho ruido que haga la Katana que sólo es por la forma de la hoja no significa que los cortes sean correctos, bueno es mi opinión.

[@ignaciourrutia1641]

Hello Stefan. Without any harm to your knowledge and Dan level, I must say that drawing the katana from behind your head can get you kill before your opponent as reaction time doubles in front of a swift sword. I must also point out that the performance of Yoko Giri is really poor - the katana is so close to the body with your arms bended that you will have trouble to cut anything on your sides, then the body position spins in a sharp way that you lose balance and the center of control in front of you enemy. I can only recommend to review and polish any training materials you deem to share with people as it may lead to wrong positions and bad practice for untrained individuals.

[@StefanStenudd]

Ignacio Urrutia, I guess some of what you say has to do with this being suburi, and not kata. For example, in some cuts on the video I dip the sword tip so low being me, it touches my back. That's a way to practice extension of the cut and where it needs the maximum of acceleration. I am aware of how far back behind your head you should not move your hands (shortly: the left hand should not go behind the head). See at 2:34 in the video. But I do allow the tip to dip more than in some iaido schools. It has a number of advantages, for example speed, power, and precision of the cut. As for yokogiri, I use it a lot in partner exercises (with bokken, of course) and find no problem reaching the opponent. Extending one's arms weakens the cut considerably. Nor can I say that I lose my balance doing it. The risk of that would be bigger with extended arms. But mainly, this baseball style of yokogiri on the video is a suburi way of practicing getting the power of the cut with a body move instead of just the arms. Yokogiri certainly needs it. In kata it is not done with that much umpf. I really should have added some example of that in the video.

[@nonya5475]

When someone is old and fat making a living sword fighting he must pick his fights well!

[@JustMe-vz3wd]

I'd rather watch videos of Saito sensei to learn about Aiki Ken. When Saito raises the sword (bokken) and cuts the oponent, he turns his hips and slightly moves off the line of attack (basic aikido principle) and avoids a strike or cut from the oponent. I dont see that basicconcept in this clip. i do see however many aikidokas make that mistake, of not slightly turning the body off the line of the attack while doing (or trying) to cut the oponent. If the oponent just motionless stands with his bokken , tori will raise his bokken move forward (but forgets to step off the line of attack) and plunge himself straight on the tip of the bokkenfrom the oponent! Seen it many times, embarrasing! For aikiken and aikijo, pllllease just recommend Saito.

[@jluistl]

Saito es excelente para un nivel básico, tanto para aikiken como para aikijo. Otros buenos maestros, para explorar un poco el trabajo con bokken y jo son... Para Aikiken: Chiba, Kanai, Saotome y Nishio Para Aikijo: Chiba

[@EnochDark]

Not bad when viewed at 2x speed...

[@StefanStenudd]

😀

[@mielmiek81]

You make some movements look like your playing baseball🤔

[@gurodavid1]

With all respect , I was a kenshusai student of Kaozo Chiba sensei and would suggest some more focused practice and display . Mabuhay

[@StefanStenudd]

Guro david, I presume you mean Kazuo Chiba, and by kenshusai do you mean kenshusei (研修生), trainee? I never practiced for Chiba sensei, but for Shoji Nishio sensei, whose sword art skills impressed me tremendously.

[@StefanStenudd]

@Robert Curtis, I hope you find the sword art practice rewarding. I sure do, even after more years than I wish to count.

[@raphaelbonche7888]

Waow... Yokomen ushi ... go back to 6th kyu please... It is a complete shame.....

[@lolasohercules]

Jag såg svenska flaggan min reaktion var WHATT

[@Pennysyl]

Haha, samma här :)

[@raphaelbonche7888]

Left hand wrong grab... Sorry but aikikai has no competence in aikiken or aikijo...

[@dylanjames7901]

I came here because of shadow fight 3

[@potatogaming4663]

You're a man of culture I see

[@takumi04]

Iaido-ka who watching this 💀💀💀💀💀

[@jjs3890]

Kenjutsu/ Iaijutsu instructor watching this. 💀

[@jluistl]

Aikidoka and Iaidoka watching this 😔😓😭💀

[@seangentry74]

As a student of Iaito... we can start by saying your katana's tsuka was waaaay to short. Please do not learn Iaido from an aikidoka...

[@hamishmchargUK]

Black belt here. These are bad teachings. Wrong!

[@uberkacarda8887]

🤦🏻‍♂️

[@yoshimitsu72]

You are teaching a method of sword that is NOT the way of aikido. O’sensei told: itsumo hanmi desu, forever in hanmi position (so also while you practice with a katana), but you are not in hanmi, so you are not practising aikido. I think you are wrong.

[@StefanStenudd]

Yoshimitsu72, straight chudan kamae instead of hanmi is most definitely what is taught in kendo and iaido as well as other Japanese swort arts. It was also Nishio sensei's initial stance in his sword techniques as well as his taijutsu. As for Osensei, I have seen him start in straight kamae in several videos. What is your source to the Osensei quote?

[@martindib7502]

Totalmente de acuerdo! No hanmi And o'sensei video it's not for learning. I'm training whit students of o'sensei. These are not Aikido buki.

[@markshagal8605]

Bad Kamae ... Do not learn from this video about the sword. See Kendo katas to stady sword techniques and Good Kamae.

[@eazystreet5507]

FUCKING SAD

[@houariAmazigh]

Suburi sans saya n'a aucun sens.. le Katana n'est pas le bokken . Le bokken n'est pas le Katana. Les deux sont différents.. .. ....................... Suburi without saya makes no sense. Katana is not bokken. The bokken is not the Katana. Both are differen

[@StefanStenudd]

I agree that the katana is needed to learn proper cutting etc., but not necessarily a saya. Bokken suburi is mainly aimed at partner exercises, where the katana is not suitable, for obvious reasons. Partner exercises with bokken is the common practice in aikido, which is why I call the video "Aikido ken suburi." It is comparable to kendo using the shinai. In iaido, though, there is little use for the bokken.

[@houariAmazigh]

hello. thank you for your answer.. the katana is suitable for couples of the same gender as the bokken. there are katanas made for that. just like for the bokken. the sensei simply do not understand the meaning of the katana. the bokken is good only for the beginnings, but after it is necessary to pass to the Katana with sya to be in the affirmative direction of the teaching. when a student learns the bokken, then switches to the katana, he no longer understands the meaning, his bokken technique does not represent the affirmative meaning of his technique. holding a bokken is not the same as holding a katana.. with its saya.. it's the mistake of all sensei.. unfortunately

[@houariAmazigh]

hello. thank you for your answer.. the katana is suitable for couples of the same gender as the bokken. there are katanas made for that. just like for the bokken. the sensei simply do not understand the meaning of the katana. the bokken is good only for the beginnings, but after it is necessary to pass to the Katana with sya to be in the affirmative direction of the teaching. when a student learns the bokken, then switches to the katana, he no longer understands the meaning, his bokken technique does not represent the affirmative meaning of his technique. holding a bokken is not the same as holding a katana.. with its saya.. it's the mistake of all sensei.. unfortunately

[@houariAmazigh]

@@StefanStenudd ...hello. thank you for your answer.. the katana is suitable for couples of the same gender as the bokken. there are katanas made for that. just like for the bokken. the sensei simply do not understand the meaning of the katana. the bokken is good only for the beginnings, but after it is necessary to pass to the Katana with sya to be in the affirmative direction of the teaching. when a student learns the bokken, then switches to the katana, he no longer understands the meaning, his bokken technique does not represent the affirmative meaning of his technique. holding a bokken is not the same as holding a katana.. with its saya.. it's the mistake of all sensei.. unfortunately

[@funnybunnystecher3173]

Ok -I practise Iwama Style Aikido - this is NOT Aikiken - no Hanmi Stance - looks like Iaido.....Morihiro Saito - we miss you!

[@StefanStenudd]

Funnybunnystecher, Iwama style has no monopoly on aikiken, nor is hanmi gamae a must. For example, I practiced for Shoji Nishio, who always started in a straight kamae and had good reasons for it. As for iaido, I do practice it and doubt that there is any better way of learning to handle the katana. Still, I agree with you that we miss Morihiro Saito. He was a tremendous aikidoka.

[@funnybunnystecher3173]

Saito Sensei always insisted on the importance of hanmi both in aikiken and taijutsu! For what i know O-Sensei did not teach Aikiken or Aikijo in the Hombu dojo - in fact he wasn´t teaching there on a regular basis anyway - for AIKIKEN hanmi stance is VITAL! Of course, you are free to teach your students what you want (Iaido or kenjutsu)and call it aikiken - Its not about monopoly - its Aikido History - In Hombu is not much weapons training - thats why Nishio and all the others looked outside......

[@StefanStenudd]

Funnybunnystecher, relax. Aikido is not a religion, and Osensei had many students. Do not take for granted that one of them was his sole representative - or that your understanding of Saito is unquestionable.

[@funnybunnystecher3173]

Or maybe.....you´re wrong!

[@StefanStenudd]

Wrong about what, exactly?

[@Porzuc_Ateizm]

this is 2018 !! and there is everything bad on this video! Training it leads to bad habits. If you would like to learn how to fight with katana-this is bad video to this.

[@yoshimitsu72]

Oh my god! Please, don’t call ‘aikido ken suburi’ these movements because they aren’t aikido movements. Please don’t teach these movements, you don’t know Aikido bukiwaza!

[@Vatras888]

Many styles of Aikido have diverent forms of weaponds

[@yoshimitsu72]

Vatras888 there are suburi of another school of sword, but they aren’t aikido’s movements

[@kellypurdue1990]

@@yoshimitsu72 do you practice any weapons?

[@yoshimitsu72]

Kelly Purdue I practice aikiken and aikijo. Not in other styles, for example Katori Shinto Ryu, but bukiwaza that the Founder tautght, and Saito Sensei after him. This is Takemusu Aikido.

[@kellypurdue1990]

@@yoshimitsu72 The Aikiken of Saito is the style I first was exposed to. I also have benn exposed to what I think is Yagyu Shinkage Ryu. Tissier studies Katori Shinto Ryu, which is the style that O'Sensei watched in his dojo. I think that there are lessons within all Ken styles that are applicable. One that informs my Aiki practice is the term Hoyo Doka, which translates as Acceptance and Resorption. I find this probably the most important thing I have gleaned from Ken practice. Thanks for your comments. Keep Practicing!

[@ryszardmazurkiewicz5048]

Stefan GD how you hold katana....but the worst thing is you teach this wrong Way others ..and later it is really hard to change behavior for good ones in innocent Uke

[@StefanStenudd]

@ryszardmazurkiewicz5048, so what is wrong with how I hold the katana? You have nothing on your own KZbin channel, so there's no way of knowing what you mean.

[@jmickels6575]

Dude hes not japanese sonot going to do this plus he is sloppy

[@jjs3890]

Nationality has nothing to do with proper movements. But I have to agree with the sloppy movements.

[@robertanderson3320]

wouldnt advise lessons from this video,no flow,no ki,no form..

[@12345shipreck]

Don't trust anything from martial artists that are fat, pudgy, or only do slow movements. You don't see any fat BJJ practictioners, even when they get old.

[@jjs3890]

I’m not sure what your point is but thank you for the ignorant, BJJ jock style harassment. It was entertaining. Maybe go back to your playfighting games of grab ass channels.

[@robcubed9557]

"You don't see any fat BJJ practictioners" I train BJJ and have rolled against a few "fat" blue and purple belts. Those guys were insanely strong though, deceptively agile. and knew how to pace themselves. Not all "fat" people are deconditioned.

[@jasonjames6870]

Ricky Hatton is fat

[@LiveWithMe804]

All wrong and I even know that. I practice kendo