How Did Samurai Fight?

in this video Antony Cummins talks about how Samurai may have moved in a sword fight. We do not really know, but we think from research that it would be a form of sidewards movement.
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[@AntonyCummins]

Please help me out by getting a copy of the Book of Bushido on either, Kindle or hardback. www.amazon.com/Book-Bushido-Complete-Samurai-Chivalry/dp/1786786052/ref=pd_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=bwCy8&content-id=amzn1.sym.0250fb24-4363-44d0-b635-ac15f859c3b5&pf_rd_p=0250fb24-4363-44d0-b635-ac15f859c3b5&pf_rd_r=WNGR9BFDQRC700GK33V6&pd_rd_wg=RMkzK&pd_rd_r=ea59c44c-ea07-4c98-b655-a4ba72f308c3&pd_rd_i=1786786052

[@IronBodyMartialArts]

Hide behind your sword.. hide behind your shoulder plates. Especially when arrows are flying.

[@recoil53]

I'd think that it's also because it's an edged weapon and you need something behind it to make it effective. Your opponent is probably armored as well and you can't quickly generate power if your sword is just straight on. But if your body is a little cocked, you can take a swing.

[@roycehuepers4325]

Reminds me of how you'd walk while pointing a rifle, actually. Makes a lot of sense when you think about it.

[@MongoPlant]

When I was getting trial lesson in Katori Shinto Ryu teacher told me about shoulders almost immediately. Hope I will have an opportunity to buy necessary stuff and to join to this dojo in the future. At least will get some control, some basics... Probably not gonna happen though! Thanks for another good video! I wish you all the best!

[@eumeswil]

Ichimonji anyone?

[@henrikaugustsson4041]

Why not?

[@gudkarma1]

If one stays away from what exists now, one can never get close to the truth, as what is being done now by schools you are purposefully ignoring here in Japan, posses information and scrolls to aid in understand combat in pre-modern Japan. Willfully ignoring information that exists is the definition of ignorance, and does no good. When someone who claims to be a researcher is publicly stating they are ignoring important sources of information...well...god help you for swallowing their ideas.

[@clemsonfitz5365]

Finally a voice of reason. I appreciate your opinion and voice lighting a better way.

[@xXjOmAmMaXx]

100% agree with this, there are a ton of 1st rate sources he is blatantly is ignoring. He seems to only engage with his circle of yes men within NotarealRyu or his other dubious martial arts projects who will feed into these delusions instead of engaging a direct source from the ACTUAL Yagyu Shinkage Ryu school who is very likely just an email away.

[@user-lq2yi8op7w]

What do you expect from a guy who can not even read or speak Japanese, who is dependent on a team of native speakers to add to his personal bias? Honestly, anyone taking this man seriously is out of their mind.

[@lukeallen4398]

In the game of death, use all your tricks from life... keep your sword fluid and you aim steady..❤ bravo Anthony.

[@Daniel_Temo]

Didn’t they have to walk in a strange way in samurai armor? I remember hearing from a historical museum video that they had this walk, and I’m not sure if it’s the same one in the video as they had one when in armor and one without. (Something about their gear would like go wrong if they did a standard move forward)

[@DarkwarriorJ]

Whilst some skepticism to modern schools is reasonable, it must be grounded in at least two things: 1. "Does it work?" Do you do HEMA/HEMA style sparring by any chance, or have a chance to reference against others who do? If you believe your style reflects some truth about how people used to do things (and that how they did things should work), then testing it and seeing if it works can give you confirmation. 2. "The modern schools descend from the past, so what's being misinterpreted, and does it work better when I undo what I believe is misinterpreted?" Don't discount modern info entirely. 3. What other info can you use to help triangulate? HEMA seems like a great source overall. These won't guarantee accuracy, but do serve as reality checks. Good luck!

[@AntonyCummins]

Yes I spare. But not often, I live out in nowhere

[@ramibairi5562]

Hi Antony ! Could you please do a video explaining how a Samurai cavarly charge was conducted ? It seems very unclear especially when we see Samurai cavalry accompanied by their retainers on foot. It would be great if you could elaborate this topic.

[@AntonyCummins]

Will do

[@ramibairi5562]

@@AntonyCummins Thanks a lot Antony

[@jeanmarc5303]

you should try "hasso no kamae" and "waki kamae" . In both stances, left foot left shoulder forward , and the orientation of the blades hides its true lenght , wich can be an advantage .

[@stuartpaul9211]

im no expert by any means, but if a system is meant to be battlefield practical, then its going to be kept very simple. I bet fencing schools of that period world wide probably came to the same practical conclusions with training and actual combat on what actually worked. Looks to western hand books of the same period using similar weapons for a comparison?

[@tiffanybatcheller-harris522]

Love the wind in the background. It’s like the element of air is behind you. 😉

[@shawnlewis1867]

Through trial and error practicing, do any of these techniques come through naturally ?

[@AntonyCummins]

I think so

[@henrikaugustsson4041]

I think this matches with the information we know about Japanese martial arts in general. They have been refined, formalised, to a sort of rigid simplicity that has lost its fluid roots. Karate, for instance, was much more like kung fu when practiced in Okinawa, then the Japanese took over and made it much more rigid and formal. It’s almost as if the Japanese have a natural inclination towards fascism and order, which comes out in the form of ceremony, strict rules and rigid practice of elegant but still movement. Everything is ritualised. I don’t mean this necessarily as a bad thing, but it is a very interesting culture.

[@recoil53]

Well yes on the order. But a lot gets lost in prolonged periods of peace. In times when swords were used for real, perfect rigid forms aren't going to be emphasized. When you have generations of teachers who haven't used it for real then some of the reasons and practicalities get lost. Somewhat like dog shows. Do you need a "Working Dog" that has the textbook perfect posture, with ears and just the right angle? Or do you need a retriever that actually retrieves without eating the bird, a shepherd that works with you to keep a herd/flock together & guards them, etc? Similar thing happened to Chinese martial arts. They have become rigid and showy, abetted movies, government, and the lack of duels. We have some hint of this because the unarmed fighting styles of commandos was developed in part from Chinese martial arts. Look up William Fairbairn.

[@mailthedragon]

A nice demonstration video of basic stances. Was that a tachi or a daito you were holding? What I know about densho is that they teach principles you will need to adapt in battle. It is where you start your training, not where you master. Swordsmanship is far from static when facing an opponent, especially one who wants to hurt/kill you, not just score points.

[@AntonyCummins]

Tachi

[@tochiro6902]

Thank you very well.👍

[@iceburn5349]

Perhaps they practice with armor in mind, so they use the fists as shields because they have armour on?

[@kiyruchan9535]

That makes sense it would also make sense if your attacks are aimed at the week points in armour

[@jakkejakaali849]

leg/arm crossing is generally viewed as a bad move in most major martial arts. To me the author simply makes a note of this. how often you think samurai would realistically have had stick fights with each other? We know Musashi preferred a wooden bokken over a katana. Makes you wonder how much of that was going on back then. Honestly, you'd probably have a decent chance with a hefty wooden sword against a tamahagane sword. Here's a legit question; were bokken carried as a self-defense weapon? And no, bo sticks won't count.

[@AntonyCummins]

Why you talking about wooden swords. They would fight with real ones

[@orcsareevil]

Crossing is bad in combat until it's not. You cross legs even today in preparation for: Spinning backfists, hard sidekicks, floor dumps..."I know what I said, now just do what I tell you" -My very successful MMA coach. Very insightful, thank you Mr. Cummins.

[@jakkejakaali849]

@@AntonyCummins Because I don't believe bushi in general were all that civil.

[@jakkejakaali849]

@@orcsareevil Exactly

[@warrennass24]

Hi Antony great video interesting insight.

[@dubdeluxe6192]

kuroda sensei cross steps and moves in quite a sideways motion

[@AntonyCummins]

I think he is great

[@dubdeluxe6192]

@@AntonyCummins Astounding footwork, I asked my Kenjutsu instructor why Kurodas Hasso no kamae is so different to ours, he said it was the difference between armoured and non armoured fighting...

[@lcrow3104]

That's a quite generalized title since you only mention a scroll from a certain ryuha as historical reference, no ryuha system is wholly preserved in written form, most aren't even partly preserved on paper. How a japanese swordsman(as far as I know not all kenjutsu practitioner is a samurai) would fight is all depends on his preferences, training, physicalities, and the condition or situation he was fighting in. In shintoryu katas, a completely bladed stance can be indication of presence of heavy armor, or simply a luring posture because it's less threatening and more vulnerable, the half-bladed segan seems to be unique to YSK, but it really is just something between segan and kasumi kamae so it's also nothing unique. The real question is: just what experience from which relevent kenjutsu ryuhas you already personally studied that makes you think you knew what people "think they know"? Since I don't practice YSK, but some of their presentation which doesn't seem to be more "static" than what you did, it's probably less. For reference kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnjRe5Kgedd-gqs

[@AntonyCummins]

We are only at the start of the investigation.

[@mrmegachonks3581]

Very very exciting stuff.

[@orcsareevil]

I can only imagine that with this dynamic movement, short, powerful strikes, and the leading of what would be heavily armored hands. This could be complimented nicely with the urge to get near and bind that we see leftover in the DNA of modern Japanese sport fencing.

[@-RONNIE]

Keep up the good work 👊🏻

[@ericweil748]

"might" is not a good term when you claim to be a "soke" of a shitsu-den. To have an actual teacher to teach you these things is very apparent.