The Importance of Getting A Grip

[Sukerkin]

Given that this will be my 5000th post here at Martial Talk, I thought I'd better make it one that has some bearing on the martial art that I actually practise i.e. Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iaido.

Yesterday, whilst I was helping out with instruction, I found myself going into how it was very important indeed to begin the draw with a proper grip on the tsuka and how this was in turn dependant upon several factors and had several important consequences.

If the grip is incorrect at the start, either the practitioner will have to adjust the grip mid-technique, which is never a good thing, or the technique will be executed imperfectly; which is also not a good thing.

Somewhat similar in effect to the foundations of a house, get the grip wrong and the whole 'structure' becomes off-kilter (or 'wonky' as we like to say over here in England ). A bad grip will either take the blade off-line during a cut or result in a general loss of power and control.

The surprising thing that I found myself detailing yesterday was that many of the ill effects of a poor grip devolve from not properly 'engaging' the little finger.

Normally, even those of us who have been training in the martial arts for many years still have trouble shaking off the 'Western' notion that power comes from size and muscularity. To a certain extent, this is a truism, after all when it comes to a contest between a good little 'un and a good big 'un, not many bets would be on victory for the smaller of the two.

However, altho' bigger muscles or greater height might allow you to use a longer and heavier sword, the power that is generated into the cut comes almost entirely from technique and that technique can be compromised by the smallest digit of our right hand being as little as a few millimetres out of place .

Is this just a quaint notion on my part? I certainly can detect it in my own practice, particularly for one handed cuts that are not the 'standard' horizontal nukitsuke. Does anyone have similar insights to share that can either augment or debunk my thoughts? I'm genuinely interested in hearing views from others as, if I start expounding this to people I am teaching and it turns out to be bunkum, not only will I be embarassed but I will have been teaching them badly and thus harming their development.

 

[howard]

Hi Sukerkin,

I agree with your points.

We practice a sword art that, while nominally Korean, is very heavily influenced by the Yamauchi-ha branch of MJER (our Korean teacher's teacher, Sekiguchi Komei, is the current soke of the ryu-ha), so I think I can relate to what you're saying.

We are taught that the grip on any drawing cut should orient the cutting edge on the plane it's going to pass through on the cut. So, for a horizontal drawing cut across the throat, we'd rotate the scabbard 90 degrees as we grip it, so that the cutting edge is turned outward and the blade is parallel to the ground. Then we point the butt of the handle at the neck of the imaginary enemy.

Grip is quite important in making a successful drawing cut. IMO you're definitely correct about the importance of the little finger. Do you also teach to use the last three fingers primarily in the grip, using the index finger really only to guide the cut?

In our horizontal drawing cut, the little finger and wrist combine to snap the point of the blade into the cut. The objective is to accelerate the point by snapping the wrist. As you say, it's not a question of strength or brawn, but of technique.

Hope this makes some sense... thanks for that informative post.

 

[Sukerkin]

Hi Sukerkin,


Grip is quite important in making a successful drawing cut. IMO you're definitely correct about the importance of the little finger. Do you also teach to use the last three fingers primarily in the grip, using the index finger really only to guide the cut?

Afternoon, Howard. Thanks for adding your thoughts to the mix :tup:.

As to the grip 'level' of the fingers, aye, we too teach that it is a descending scale of strength of grip as you move 'along' the hand from pinkie-to-index, such that the index finger is not actively gripping much at all, even when tenouchi is applied.

What you say about the index finger helping 'guide' the direction of a single-hand cut rings true. Combining that with aiming the kashiri at the target goes a long way when teaching the foundations of a good stroke {why does that last part sound vaguely rude ?}.

 

[MBuzzy]

Normally, even those of us who have been training in the martial arts for many years still have trouble shaking off the 'Western' notion that power comes from size and muscularity. To a certain extent, this is a truism, after all when it comes to a contest between a good little 'un and a good big 'un, not many bets would be on victory for the smaller of the two.

However, altho' bigger muscles or greater height might allow you to use a longer and heavier sword, the power that is generated into the cut comes almost entirely from technique and that technique can be compromised by the smallest digit of our right hand being as little as a few millimetres out of place .

I fully agree about the effect of certain digits, but positioning your hands properly on the sword can make a big difference and help with pinky problems. I noticed a big difference as to when I would hold the sword with palms on either side of the handle and with both aligned above the handle (both palms facing in the direction of cut instead of opposing each other). That has helped a lot with my grip in general and particularly tip speed.....which has a HUGE effect on power and efficiency.

 

[Sukerkin]

Quite so, Craig :tup:. That is the core of what I was getting at i.e. that if the hand position was slightly off it had the effect of 'dis-engaging' the little finger, thus leading to a magnification of the bad effects.

 

[pgsmith]

However, altho' bigger muscles or greater height might allow you to use a longer and heavier sword, the power that is generated into the cut comes almost entirely from technique and that technique can be compromised by the smallest digit of our right hand being as little as a few millimetres out of place

I have to completely agree with you here. While you can never say never in the Japanese sword arts, it has been my experience in all the arts that I am familiar with that correct hasuji (simplified definition: correct alignment of plane of the cut with the plane of the sword) begins with the little finger. In nukitsuke, the little finger is in the lead, and is the first to tighten down. Therefore, it sets the stage for all of the rest of the action. If the placement of the little finger is incorrect, your action follows an incorrect path resulting in poor hasuji and a bad cut.