Traditional AND Effective: SEKI SENSEI

[@polishFantasyEN]

I think Seki-sensei and Shogo make for a very good team: combining Seki-sensei's knowledge and experience with Shogo's media-savviness results in a very approachable content with optimal balance between education and enjoyment. But I think that at least as much credit here goes go Shogo for knowing how to present and edit the materials properly. Overall, really good content; from our perspective especially those episodes on western weapons are giving interesting perspective.

[@FedericoMalagutti]

Agreed ;-)

[@TheDarkDesolation]

Seki Sensei is all that is good in this traditional sword fighting word

[@FedericoMalagutti]

There is more out there, but he sums up a lot of very good aspects of it which can't easily be found all together at the same time.

[@VNSnake1999]

I dream of Federico traveling to Japan and have a long collab session with Shogo and Seki-sensei...

[@FedericoMalagutti]

It would be cool, indeed, hehe!

[@PalleRasmussen]

It is hard not to like Seki Sensei and his joyful approach to fighting combined with the skill of 40+ years of rigorous training.

[@UltimateTruthChannel]

Seki Sensei is so honest and straight forward and such a bright soul but with deadly skills and discipline. I am currently learning another style of Kenjutsu but Asayama Ichiden Ryu is definitely a style I want to learn as well.

[@davidhowell8407]

My favorite story is how Seki Sensei became the head of his school. Seki Sensei and the previous master we're in a public exhibition match and his master told Seki Sensei "I am going to attack you randomly four times and you are going to do something about it" Seki Sensei won the exchanges with the most perfect technique his master has ever seen, he retired the next day and made seki Sensei the head of the school 🤣

[@-_pi_-]

Actually true story? Impressive and watching Seki Sensei move and how he analyzes every situation I can definitely see it being true.

[@davidhowell8407]

@-_pi_- true story shogo should have a video where he tells it

[@RijuChatterjee]

Back in the day I bet all fencing masters were this good or better. Awesome skill and knowledge.

[@henryposadas3309]

specially those who actually used it in war or duels.

[@warrikata]

Seki Sensei is probably the best source of knowledge we have for any comparison between kenjutsu, iaido, kendo, and maybe more styles. He can tell you the difference between a move's details and the reasons why multiple styles would have a different way of performing a move a certain way, and then most of the time, he can tell you when it changed to be tye way it is now... It's very humbling to hear all of those varied points from what seems to be one of the most down to earth and personable instructors in the world of martial arts. He's a very interesting person indeed. And really funny, too.

[@FedericoMalagutti]

@@warrikata I never met him but, as I tend to be a little obsessed by very similar topics, I spotted what you mentioned here just by looking at the videos on the English Channel.

[@warrikata]

@@FedericoMalagutti at least a couple of us commenters in your channel are in Seki Sensei's online lessons with Shogo, and we both went to the training camp in May. Seki Sensei corrected me recently on having my ankle off the floor in one position, and then proceeded to tell me why it specifically mattered in that stance in that kata, how it differed from ancient Kobudo to modern Iaido and how the modern version came about from Kendo. And then he told us later that the difference between two styles of Iaido and how one requires that the heel be off the ground by the thickness of one's hand. I don't know of anyone that could argue the details with him, since he's a master and a national champion in all of the styles mentioned. Anyway, love the video as usual! Thank you for sharing your insight with us! I hope to pick up some longsword skills as well ✌️

[@FedericoMalagutti]

@@warrikata by looking and the Kenjutsu you are training, I can tell you the transfer in terms of technical repertoire is a good 80%. So it will not be hard anyway ;-)

[@warrikata]

@@FedericoMalagutti if sensei does a seminar in Europe near you, and I'm able to attend, maybe I can book a private lesson to get me started 😅

[@FedericoMalagutti]

@@warrikata well, it would be fun!

[@kamaeq]

Reasonable safety in martial arts tends to degrade the combat usefulness, at least using weapons, but even unarmed has safety "issues" from a combat perspective. For example, if I'm on top in guard situation in Brazilian Jiujitsu, my first combat choice is not do some fancy maneuvering and grappling to get out of the guard and into a control position, it is to damage the knee as badly as possible. Obviously, not safe to attempt to cripple your opponent in sparring. All martial arts training has this problem. Over the decades, I've hurt opponents and been hurt by opponents, both by one going a little too hard or the other screwing up. I've seen several of Seki Sensei's commentary videos on western weapons and I've found it insightful and enjoyable.

[@FedericoMalagutti]

@@kamaeq I completely agree with you. Bare handed fighting has the same problem, especially in grappling arts.

[@wakingbear2778]

Beautiful breakdown! I'm so happy to see your channel as well as other western style channels appreciating the content Shogo and Seki Sensei put out. I know they caught a lot of flack in the Budo world for opening their techniques up so publicly. It would be amazing to see future collaboration between all you guys! Seki sensei is a true master imo. He not only demonstrates a deep knowledge of how a dozen different weapons are applied practically based on direct experience and historical transmission, but also his unending curiosity for anything related to the ancient battlefield not just of Japan but around the world.

[@FedericoMalagutti]

Seki Sensei is probably the most interesting collaboration I would have the pleasure to have. I hope it will happen at some point, I contacted them months ago to ask if it was ok for them I had made certain video reactions or similar to their stuff, they answered yes and they told me that, at some point, they would teach some seminars in Europe. I hope that, when it happens, I'll have the time, and especially the money, to join the event and have maybe some video shot together.

[@josuesepulveda6850]

​@@FedericoMalagutti that would be very cool.

[@subjectline]

It was brave of them to do this and I hope they reach their 7,000 students goal!

[@UltimateTruthChannel]

Seki sensei is the reason how I found your channel and why I subscribed to you. Your insight into HEMA is interesting but your insight into Kenjutsu is even more interesting because I agree with everything you say. I can see both you and Seki sensei are very open minded, candid, and reasonable people.

[@FedericoMalagutti]

Thanks! I’m happy you are enjoying the channel!

[@ChrisOToole89]

I was fortunate enough to meet Shogo in Kyoto at his samurai experience, and only after did I find out about his channel. Would love to have a HEMA/Iaido exchange and spar with them

[@jackmak2980]

Woah I'd love to fence Seki Sensei

[@FedericoMalagutti]

Me too ;-)

[@warrikata]

​@@FedericoMalagutti@jackmak2980 same! I attended his training camp this year, and while there wasn't sparring, he has an incredible presence.

[@FedericoMalagutti]

@@warrikata cool! I bet you had a great experience ;-)

[@MairsMate]

Love the crossover. One of the big reason why I wish more people were into pikes (and that a company actually makes take-apart pikes). The crossover potential between different arts would be astronomical.

[@suatkuran5323]

Owari Kan Ryu Sojutsu is using Pikes as Spears so I would recommend looking at that. They also do spar and teach Kenjutsu, Nodachi and other weapons.

[@B..B.]

9:03 this is exactly what I feel about training. I do my wushu and my saber fencing and my spear stuff cause is somewhat special to me. I don't think of superiority, it is working and worth so I train

[@gorbalsboy]

Much kudos to you sir, you have a habit of getting to the heart of martial training much as seki sensei has, it shows a real maturity and understanding of what is a martial art😊all the best from sunny Troon Scotland

[@FedericoMalagutti]

Thanks for your kind words ;-)

[@xantiom]

Seki Sensei's accomplishments and the expertise on several schools of japanese swordfighting, and being also the national champion more than three times, he is the closest thing to a living national treasure.

[@TheCCBoi]

Amazing video! I love watching Seki Sensei spar - it's great seeing kata elements being used under stress and he makes it looks so easy.

[@torquevonthorne948]

Seki isn't just a sword master. He's a sword saint: he can learn how to use weapons he never tried very fast and effectively. Dunno how his lessons are.

[@davidtwchan4925]

Thank you very much master! A very good video!

[@FedericoMalagutti]

You are welcome!

[@syys5640]

Bro chill he aint sleeping with you lol smh

[@Davlavi]

Amazing video thanks.

[@Seppleberry]

Thanks for sharing!

[@FedericoMalagutti]

You are welcome!

[@samimakiwara8584]

Hello from algeria and OSS

[@josuesepulveda6850]

Great comentary.

[@FedericoMalagutti]

@@josuesepulveda6850 thanks!

[@guy2982]

Hello Federico. I'm wondering if you were able to fight the copyright scam from a year ago? Thanks.

[@FedericoMalagutti]

@@guy2982 yes, thanks for asking. I went for a relatively harsh approach, I deleted most of the videos involved and I remade the most interesting of them. In total I had to delete (or cut parts of) 10-12 videos, I was able to save other 4-5. I remade 4 of the deleted ones.

[@_Green_Onions_]

Pardon me, sir, What video is that first clip of seki sensei fighting the red haired man from? I assume it’s from their official ryuha channel that’s in Japanese , but I can’t find it. I struggle to read kanji. If you could help me find that video I’d be very grateful.

[@ninjutsudojo]

Low level kenjutsu

[@FedericoMalagutti]

OFFE COURSE!!!!!

[@ninjutsudojo]

@@FedericoMalagutti Your commentary makes it seem like he's very skilled 🤔🤭

[@FedericoMalagutti]

@@ninjutsudojo I think he is. I was a little ironic. Jokes aside, what’s an example of what you consider higher level Kenjutsu which I may observe on the internet?

[@ninjutsudojo]

@@FedericoMalagutti There's some content on my dojo's channel. This one's not bad: kzbin.infogzmN50Oo9Ko?si=lpsLnV-yq4DkQLS6

[@ninjutsudojo]

@@FedericoMalagutti This one isn't bad: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n521mnSjqtNjnLssi=_wc2W-HLvaSNrwdb

[@Bourne246]

This may seem out of context but since you mentioned Tradition several times and how Seki Sensei seems to have found the balance in both Tradition and open mindedness to other weapons and techniques. As fan of Bruce Lee as well, i know he hated Tradition, he felt limited him from honestly expressing himself. Hes correct in certain aspects and i know that is up for debate.

[@FedericoMalagutti]

@@Bourne246 the story of Bruce lee and the various masters he had to deal with it it’s a very specific context. Maybe one day I’ll talk about it.

[@Bourne246]

@@FedericoMalagutti that would be great!

[@josuesepulveda6850]

​@@FedericoMalagutti please do it.

[@UltimateTruthChannel]

I respect Bruce Lee and agree with his philosophy but you have to know the rules to break them. Even Bruce learnt as many arts as possible. He learnt Kung Fu, Karate, Taekwondo, Ju Jit Su, Boxing, Fencing, Eskrima Kali, and a lot more. He cross trained and became the world’s first true Mixed Martial Artist. And then he developed his own style known as Jeet Kwon Do. So even he learnt all the styles that was available to him. He did not believe in “one style is better than another style.” He believed that there is something to learn from every style and based on that you have to make your own style. That was his philosophy towards the end of his career (life). This is why every MMA fighter sees him as the Father of MMA.