Proving How Using Katana with One Hand is Stronger Than Two

[@rolandgdean]

Another GREAT video Shogo. Something I've noticed about Seki Sensei is that he is a very serious man when it comes to his art form and often has a serious expression on his face. However, I've noticed how he LIGHTS UP and even exposes his HUGE SMILE when he reveals techniques and teaches people. For as long as he's been doing this, to retain that level of passion for what he does is so amazing to witness. It's easy to see that he genuinely cares DEEPLY for his craft and passing that knowledge on to future generations.

[@ambulocetusnatans]

I've only met a couple of true Masters in my day, but that seems to be how they all are. Mr Seki is definitely a Master.

[@Appachoppa112]

Thats that sweet science

[@tullyontherocks]

As a longtime practitioner of both Eastern and Western disciplines, mixed handed use of a Katana becomes instinctual. Excellent vid, true practical use being demonstrated. A little Rapier Mojo there, wonderfully logical.

[@elliotmerker8539]

I was just thinking that those look like sabre ripostes! I love it even different arts all seem to identify the same bits of biomechanics.

[@TalesForWhales]

Bet he would like Radaellian sabre!

[@swordsman1062]

I have a personal fascination with European hand-and-a-half/bastard swords, that have a blade length and weight that could very well be on a one-handed arming or Viking-era sword, but are fitted with a two handed grip. What advantage does that offer? And it occurred to me the other day that the build is pretty comparable to a katana, which is what brought me here to see what insight eastern martial arts have on the matter. Pleased to see other HEMA practitioners here in the comments drawing comparisons! While I understand the value of studying martial arts in their historical isolation, I am also excited to see what we can learn from other cultures in this new global age of weapon martial arts.

[@WinnipegKnightlyArts]

The one handed fencing techniques look almost identical to how we'd fence with a langes messer, it's a very interesting combination of two handed, and one handed style, it seems very well fitted to this type of sword. The kari ashi footwork is also very similar to how we would execute 'nachreisen' (chasing after): when an opponent attacks to you, you use the front leg to kind of push yourself and you sway back a little so that the opponent misses, and then you go forward with the hands, and extend the leg that you pushed with to step forward (so that it is only one step that rocks you back and then goes forward) and Indes (immediately/instantly/without hesitation) attack to their opening.

[@earthtoastro8349]

Remember that the design of Sabers and Katana are very similar for a reason, they're both one sided blades that have a blade alignment because of the weight. That means they can both adopt similar styles that the other use in combat efficiently as well.

[@earthtoastro8349]

@@jaketheasianguy3307 Very true, just wanted to shoot an example of something similar to "convergent evolution" between styles. Even though the Katana and Sabre were invented in entirely different areas around the world (while most of the lands between them still preferred double edged swords in combat) they still have similar philosophy in one armed stances. However the opposite rings true the second you're putting two hands on either or. I'd also argue Katanas lose their stabbing or fencing power with two hands for the sheer reason of pulling your katana out of an opponent is much harder than persay a rapier or another very thin style stabbing/piercing European blade. Stabs and pierces definitely work on a katana but your need of accuracy increases tenfold because it can only be pulled out of an opponent effortlessly in one direction. Otherwise, you're cutting bone and that slows you down in real combat.

[@matiasdelatorreoverton3612]

I know right? You can see many simillarities in different fighting styles. Some Indian Saber techniques look very similar to European Saber styles. Figures there are only so much ways the human body can move so optimizing your technique and weapons for the job is what makes the differences.

[@WinnipegKnightlyArts]

@@matiasdelatorreoverton3612 Yeah, I'd say there are only so many good ways to do it. There are nearly an infinite number of ways that get injured or double, but the number of attacks that prevent your opponent from hitting you cut the number of viable actions down quite a bit.

[@B..B.]

Not a katana user myself but there's always things to apply over, now I can improve my saber skill even further. Thank you

[@LiShuBen]

This is crazy. Alot of details aren't mentioned but are still very much on display. This is truly a battlefield art! Thank you for sharing so openly!

[@matiasdelatorreoverton3612]

I think it falls more in the self defense/duel category since battlefield fighting, specially with armored opponents, is a lot more restrictive in where you can effectively cut.

[@LiShuBen]

@@matiasdelatorreoverton3612 I meant battlefield in the metaphorical sense. Like real fights, not necessarily formal warfare in historical japan

[@ambulocetusnatans]

@@matiasdelatorreoverton3612 That is an important point that is often forgotten. Some styles still have the older techniques for an opponent in armor, while other styles left them behind. I would be curious whch category this style is in..

[@堀高士-p5y]

いつもながら関先生・塚田先生の動き方が良く分かり、とても勉強になります。 ありがとうございます。

[@matiasdelatorreoverton3612]

As a Hema practitioner I really love and enjoy this videos. I find them really informative and instructive. I can see it would take A LOT of skill to pull of this katas. Thank you for sharing them!

[@heavybolter6396]

interesting how a lot of katana one handed techniques seems hold some similarity to what you sometimes see with saber, with the moulinet at 0:11

[@NachtKaiser666]

Almost halfway there for the sub count and we're not even done with February! Good job! 😄 I love how this art keeps considering how every slight action you make affects your next action, it truly is a form of high-speed, quick reaction chess! Of course the katas are simulations, but it gives a good idea of how a real fight could happen. Keep up the great work all of you!

[@ambulocetusnatans]

When he said that it was a basic technique in the style, I was slightly surprised, because that would be considered an advanced technique in some other styles. From that, one might conclude that Asayama Ichiden Ryu is more advanced than other styles; but that's the wrong way to think about it. The real reason is that the deeper skills must be built on the correct foundation. This is what makes it a system, rather than just a collection of techniques.

[@NachtKaiser666]

@@ambulocetusnatans i think a good analogy would be to compare it with writing. While you can pick up words out of the blue, you need a basic alphabet to write those words. At some point you learn more complex words, but you need to be able to chain them together into a cohesive and interesting story, and the genre also affects which words you choose and how you link them. ... or at the very least it made sense in my head haha!

[@addictedtoblades2]

Love your channel, always looking forward to watching more of your videos

[@unsaltedbanana1760]

These videos are so intresting and fun to watch. Thank you Seki sensei, Shogo and everyone else involved

[@reginaldwelkin]

I've always thought it didn't make sense that martial arts aimed for perpetual stability...since some of my most unexpected and fastest moves were while off-balance. It's awesome that this was recognized in Kari-Ashi!

[@LordOwenLongstrider]

It reminded me of something that I've recently been trying to teach to some of my newer fighters; I do SCA armored combat. The thought is that your feet and how far apart they are, are your base, like the base of a tall structure; the wider the base, the harder it is to knock/fall over, the narrower the base, the easier it is to knock/fall over, so a wider base makes you more stable, a narrower base makes you less stable. However, a wider base makes it harder to move, your legs are making more of an angle, more of a triangle, and you have to shift more of your weight forward or backwards if you want to advance or retreat, which takes a fraction of second longer, whereas with a narrower base, it is much easier and faster to move as your legs are straighter and more vertical, and you have to shift your weight less in order to move. There was a video I found of an SCA duke teaching a class on footwork and movement, and one of the things he was talking about was that if you wanted to advance, you essentially shift your weight forward until it gets past the balance point, and if you want to retreat, you could shift your weight back, almost as if you're going to sit down, and once your torso has passed the balance point, your body will naturally start to fall in that direction, so shifting your weight far enough, your body will naturally follow, so once you shift your body into an unstable position, it will naturally try to go into a stable position, as Seki Sensei mentioned. As you might notice in the last part of the last kata, Seki Sensei pulled his front foot up, but he was already leaning forward a bit, so raising his foot put all his weight on his rear foot, a very narrow point, and his weight was already shifted forward, so his body would naturally fall forward, which he can use to his advantage by adding more momentum to the final strike, or if his opponent maybe turned in time to possibly avoid getting hit, Seki Sensei can simply keep moving forward and change position, possibly putting his front foot back down and pivoting so that he keeps his opponent in front of him. One visual I think could be useful is to compare a pyramid to a tower; the pyramid has a very wide base, too wide, it cannot be tipped over without great effort, but a tower has a narrower base, so it takes less effort and less time to tip it over. And as I've seen in most martial arts, they have a variety of stances with different foot positions, like the Horse Stance with your feet wide apart as if sitting on a horse, or the Cat Stance I think it's called, where, if I remember correctly, your feet are closer together, putting most of your weight on the back foot and just the toes of your front foot is contacting the ground, a narrow, barely stable stance that I assume is meant to allow you to shift your weight faster and seem more agile like a cat. It would also be reasonable to assume that for the most part, ideally you would want to find a comfortable middle-point, your feet are wide enough apart to maintain stability, yet still close enough together so it takes less time and effort to shift your weight in the direction you want to go.

[@ScaryLeafz]

Can you do a video with sensei showing techniques with dual swords or katana and wakizashi

[@KateJohn2013England]

Brilliant as always thank you. 👍🙏

[@KateJohn2013England]

Sorry first time I properly looked at this video. I am doing extra work before I properly retire which I am looking forward to so I can concentrate on my Wing Chun, which I have been doing for 34 years and Kubudo which I have wanted to study since I was 10 years old. And now thanks to you and Master Seki who are bringing us things to practice ✨️ Priceless 👍 Thank you all so much. Take care. Stay safe 🙏 John and Kate. P.S. Congratulations we are now over halfway there 54.7K subscribers 👍🎊🥳 Yaaaaaaaaaay!!! 🤗

[@silver1253]

This is fantastic

[@TheCCBoi]

Kari-ashi is one of the coolest concepts I've heard in Kubudo. I can't wait to train in this art.

[@jwoltremari]

Thank You - I look forward to getting back to my Shotokan and Iai

[@DustinGhia]

That makes a lot of sense. Soro does it like this!

[@okuzanadolulucezzar]

It is insane. Learning the logic and the body mechanics was too funny. This has become my favourite video on the channel.

[@Braindazzled]

So interesting for me, a former iaidoka, and with many years of Western fencing as well. The katana always seemed equally suited to be used with one hand (dare I say "western style"?) as with two hands, and now I learn that using it one handed is not strictly "western style" at all. It's a sword with many strengths! Thank you for this! Another edifying lesson.

[@fabiangerten]

If my time allowed, I could spend the whole day practicing the numerous techniques that are made available to us via the online archive. But even so, I was able to learn a lot from Seki Sensei in just 8 weeks!

[@raymondsosnowski9717]

Very interesting dynamics! It occurs to me that katate waza (1-handed techniques) would be rather dependent on a well-balanced katana. Also, there are manifestations of kari-ashi in Tendo-ryu Naginata-jutsu - moments in unstable (I like to think of it quasi-stable) positions that are actually part of general tai-sabaki (whole body movements) to create dynamic flows of motion.

[@dsgdsg9764]

You can see the dedication each step

[@KenLives333]

I find Seki Sensei to be more relaxed in front of the camera than he used to be at the very beginning of the series. A positive influence possibly coming from the creation of the Let's Ask Yushin Sensei channel (a little bit of competition doesn't hurt! :)? Love the format of both of these channels. Farewell to everyone!

[@nafex3740]

Great work

[@Rikekahere]

Thank you so much Shogo and Seki Sensei !

[@monicab204]

So interesting! Seki Sensei is so fast. I have watched Seki Sensei's original channel for a while. I am so glad to add this channel with the English, so I can understand more. Thank you Shogo and Seki Sensei! ❤️ Note: I used to attend formal classes with swords, I did not realize I was always using the Kari-ashi technique. 😀

[@darkness.thinking8709]

Thank you Shogo and Seki Sensei. It was really interesting to watch. Also it was Informative and educational.

[@brianquint6126]

Watching Seki Sensei move at that level of skill is addicting.

[@Cucucumberpie]

I actually really love this duo ❤️🇯🇵

[@addictedtoblades2]

Awesome moves guys, had to watch this one again

[@variable1179]

I very much like your channel and wish to learn more about Asayama Ichiden Ryu. Will you be releasing comprehensive training videos in English anytime soon? Will there be tests, ranks to be earned? Thank you!

[@shlamimk4664]

Everyone in this man's presence should be grateful that he allows them to live.

[@daarkdocumenter]

I like how everything is shown to be based on body mechanics and reason, even if it's traditional. I hope you meet your subscriber goals soon! I've added myself to the count.

[@Oppetsismiimsitsitc]

5:36 moulinets are awesome.

[@Vekren]

Woah you looked hardcore at 1:03, like you were in a battle to the death when you did the sword draw, great technique. I admit I am no where near that level, I am still trying to get comfortable with two hands and even learn how to draw properly lol. My katanas handle is not curved so it's not a true katana, its the other one. My one handed technique is worse than two as I feel less control than with two hands on my sword. Also P.S I love your videos due to the camera work, the multiple angles is so good for learning. Thank you guys.

[@CashewNuts0]

The one handed techniques reminded me of european saber fighting.

[@wilowhisp]

I'm loving all these videos! Thank you, Seki Sensei and Shogo.

[@forest992]

I am so grateful for this channel

[@softboardgames]

This is so cool. I feel like I'm watching a real samurai train. Thank you Seki Sensei!

[@jimanHK]

Simply beautiful

[@sparklepawz1185]

3:50 I think there's a similar "fool's guard" in HEMA that baits the opponent by tricking them into thinking you're exposed only to counter when they step in to attack. I'm not an expert in HEMA or a practitioner of it though so I could be wrong, I just remember hearing about it.

[@matthunter9562]

Six Sensei always amazing 👍🏻

[@addictedtoblades2]

Very nice technique guys, awesome moves, love your content ❤️ 👏 😀 👌

[@richt63]

Great video. I always thought that samurai use only two hands. Never thought you could use one. Thank you for sharing this.

[@goldenbroom7842]

I would be very interested in the disadvantages of this technique

[@davefletch3063]

More beautiful movement and concepts

[@thanhtinnguyen7236]

Can you please ask Seki sensei about moves in “rurouni Kenshin the final” of Enishi and kenshin please? Are they possible? Effective? Powerful?

[@thanhtinnguyen7236]

I’m currently practicing with their moves and really curious if you guys also. I would love to know your personal ideas!!!

[@seb9310]

Thanks for the teaching great video

[@naruomi9477]

All of the technique is astonishing, it is very obvious that Seki sensei is very experienced. ( I would also like to know seki sensei’s kanji for his name )

[@cptnstylez]

This continues to be amazing.

[@VolkXue]

There is an old samurai film. In the US it's called The Sword of Doom. In it the guy does a move like this stance alot but he lowers the sword In front of him and leans in some. Good flick for some amazing sword fighting scenes

[@Yuhisern]

Man there is so many to learn , may GOD bless them for teaching us self defensive moves

[@xhibitionism]

Unbelievable skills!

[@CarlDWardJr]

Most insightful.

[@vlogmakinesi]

Really interesting tecnique!

[@collewis6681]

Thank you lesson

[@Socially_aquard]

Again the intro is a banger, whats the song name?

[@faytelcloud9396]

I found this one especially interesting, mainly due to the fact im 6'3 but incredibly fast so to me the Katana is an incredable weapon, i get to take advantage of one handed use to a greater extent on almost every example, just from the length of my arms. Def adding to my training. THX

[@cherrybramble]

I was so confused by the han getsu kata at first, before I realized how Seki Sensei had moved out of the opponent's reach. If this had occurred in a sparring match, I would be completely bewildered. In my area of general practice, I practice something similar to the "reaction" of letting go with your left hand in order to quickly attack the opponent, and flicking the katana; when moving from two-handed to one-handed grip, one would run the left hand down the length of the handle, either with the palm or the fingers, to "throw" the handle, and quickly change the position of the weapon as well as give it a burst of heavy momentum.

[@marcopuente7514]

Great video

[@iansoule8756]

Had to find this video because some fool was arguing katanas are absolutely not meant for one handed strikes so thank you for proving them wrong with minimal effort on my part

[@lawrencemckeon6802]

Very interesting. Becoming unstable purposefully, similar to drunken kung fu forms. A wave looks unstable too before it crashes. Chu Shin Ryoku.

[@thomasturner4253]

Thanks

[@williambrown1095]

Fantastic!

[@oakpuncherlast2672]

So wonderful

[@pedroham6150]

hopefully this gets seen. how about every so often, we see seki sensei and his students do an unscripted duel to show how different techniques are used in an actual combat scenario.

[@MultiOhioman]

Spectacular.

[@itskarl7575]

5:43 "If you're doing it with two hands, you're killing the speed of the katana yourself by holding on to the handle" Only if you don't use the second hand to help the movement. Two hands can always make a sword change directions faster than one hand. You have the weight distributed over two hands, so you don't have one hand dealing with all the momentum, and using two hands the tsuka becomes a lever. If you find it faster with one hand, it is only because you haven't learned to do it properly with two. This is seen demonstrated not only in the majority of kenjutsu schools, but in all schools of European longsword as well. Using the katana one handed is an important skill, but one should always be careful not to fall too much in love with a new idea. There's a reason why the common techniques are common. The swordmasters back in the day knew what they were doing.

[@FFXI_Addict]

I was actually practicing a few things the other day, and there's definitely some merit to swapping out to single-handed. Though I think simply referring to speed alone isn't completely accurate intrinsically. For some tachi stances, you hold it like an Italian rapier with the sword arm towards the opponent. The range accessible by a single outstretched arm is longer than double-handing with the sword centrally aligned with the naval. That small extra range gives additional room for the blade to accelerate. However, I would definitely agree that you can adjust the position INTO that one-handed stance more efficiently by using the other hand to get it there, as opposed to using absolutely only one hand.

[@itskarl7575]

@@FFXI_Addict Absolutely. And if you look carefully at the one-handed part of 5:43, he is actually using the second hand to help start the momentum - much the same way as he explains in 6:26. To me, that still counts as two-handed, even if the second hand releases its grip after it's done its part. Whether or not that hand rejoins depends on reach and positioning. Because, like you said (and like this video points out), you get more reach one handed. That's the big advantage.

[@Appachoppa112]

Bruh did he just pull counter with a sword?! What a mad lad

[@Druid_Ignacy]

Very logical. Last kata is basically saber. Do we know time period from which these kata come from? Too bad this style can't be done in kendo. On the other hand, now chanbara's choken free seems more conected to tradition.

[@WhoDaF0ok1sThatGuy]

For the stance demonstrated in the second part, it looked familiar and I’ve heard it called Moon stance from a couple games but never heard it called a Half Moon. That’s actually really cool, I wonder if there’s another variation or other stance that would resemble something familiar that I’ve seen before like Water Stance in Ghost of Tsushima. My knowledge is quite limited so this is very interesting to me.

[@Mortablunt]

The desire to talk philosophy, arts, and life with Seki-dono makes me want to learn Japanese. To just be good enough to have a polite convesation with him for a single hour with tea would be an honor.

[@alfredpaz1506]

That Shamisen entrance is fire

[@alexanderkstrauss9943]

Phenomenal. Hontōniarigatōgozaimashita

[@aldrichfireguard2170]

Han-getsu kind of look like a odd anime-ish pose, but now that you explain it I can sort of see how it works

[@MadDogRyan]

How do you make precise cuts with one hand seems difficult

[@atom8248]

like you would with any one-handed sword

[@MadDogRyan]

​@atom8248 I only practice a bit of kenjutsu I'm still very new to it so I wouldn't know how to get a stable cut with any one handed sword

[@loganwolfram4216]

Katana is such a fascinating blend of saber and longsword. From, you know, a European perspective.

[@bartangel4867]

interesting video

[@RoninTF2011]

The techniques look rather similar to sabre-fencing. Interessting

[@TheMisterGuy]

I switch to one-handed for some strikes, because you get more angular freedom and better range from certain angles, which can open up footwork and distance choices that aren't there in two-handed. But you don't cut as well as two-handed, and you have less choice about what happens when weapons collide. It's definitely not an "all the time" way to use the katana, more like something an advanced user can mix in.

[@daijoboukuma]

Suggested video: A day of being an "uke" for Seki-sensei. Forgive me, I know the senpai acting as uke for Seki-sensei has been introduced before. I am impressed at how well he works with Seki-sensei, helping to make the demonstrations of techniques and their underlying principles.

[@TalesForWhales]

Hey its the moulinet from the thing!

[@surawuti]

Amazing This style use same dynamic as Thai sword.

[@christianmilia3631]

Super, c’est beau c’est propre c’est classe … domo arigato gozaimashita🙇🏾👺😻😼🇫🇷

[@8-bitvibing814]

You should get Seki Sensei to review techniques and form from game cinematics which use weapons like the Katana or a staff. Games like Devil May Cry 5 or Metal Gear Rising I believe would be a good start!

[@jthele]

Half moon stance reminds me of Ghost of Tsushima stances 😮 I wonder if Seki sensei could perform them?

[@D-AFDK]

I have a question what do you call the long one where the distance between the two hands are like 4 inches

[@rinysk7878]

Does One hand style katana have any disadvantage over 2 hand?

[@captainsoggz4619]

Hey Shogo, I know it wasn't voted for as much "which is ironic Considering how many people fall under this category." but in the near future, could you do any left handed any left handed techniques with your sensei? I understand the left-handed Practitioners were taught right handed anyways but I also don't know the full Story and You explain everything so good so regardless it would be a cool vid! keep going good, we all love it!

[@TatraScrambler]

Shogo, please ask Seki Sensei why Asayama-Ichiden Ryu doesn't use chiburi. I've seen tests where various chiburi techniques proved to be ineffective for getting rid of the blood - you'd still need to use a wipe to get rid of it. Is it for this reason that Seki seems to never utilize any chiburi techniques? Or perhaps for actual every-day carry, samurai would use some different, less expensive saya that they didn't mind if it gets dirty inside?

[@TheBoatPirate]

didnt Musashi use both katana and wakazashi at the same time, one handed? i really like to see these unconventional forms shown by someone adept in the art. domo arigato gozaimashita

[@woops8866]

would u be able to do Iaido when one-handed?

[@GGG_gaming]

you pop up in my feed some times but, i would say the last 2 examples were poorly worded or used like it still made sense just feels like it would be to easily misunderstood when speaking of the using the force against them to make your own speed also i feel like these demonstrations should show you a full speed just to show the actual usefulness/practical the form is with the slowed down one to show the steps of it (and yes i know its to also prevent ether member from being hurt in practice)

[@TristanMorrow]

Long-wakizashi kata? Nice reach and speed.

[@gabby-jean]

I didn't quite get the explanation for the 半月 training move. Did you mean that it is an impractical move. It does look very dangerous for the user, he only misses being cut by the opponent by a small margin.

[@letsasksekisensei]

Thank you for leaving a comment! Dodging attacks by the minimum distance is a basic method in all martial arts. It’s for you to use the least amount of energy and to be able to attack back quicker. If you can imagine a boxer dodging a punch it might be easier to understand.

[@trenwilson6613]

I wonder if Seki Sensei would be interested in doing some kind of cultural exchange, the cultural exchange would be between Seki Sensei and Guy Windsor. Guy Windsor is very good at a European sword style from the Italians, some times referred as the Armizare, some of the technics show remind me of starting positions of the Armizare.

[@Larper64]

On the subject of one-handed fighting techniques, I remember reading a year ago about Saito Hajime. A lot of fiction written about him depicts him as left-handed and using left-handed and one-handed techniques so much so that it also has entered into historical discussions as well. Are there any such techniques utilized in your ryūha, or is that too unusual/unnecessary of a technique to be worth training?

[@soloplay-jm4ys]

bro that blade was so close to his fac ei thought he was gonna be decapitated💀