Skip to main content

5 Tips for Japanese Sword and Noto, Plus ONE Bonus Hint

We often use the sword with less formality in the Bujinkan than other Japanese schools do.  We treat it like a tool.  So even though we wouldn't use a shovel or a hammer with lots of ceremony and stylized movement, with any tool there are good and bad practices.


Noto or resheathing the katana is the source of many bad habits and self-inflicted injuries for would be Samurai.

Here are some tips for noto:
  1. Practice no-look resheathing.  You should be looking at your felled opponent or your surrounding environment.  The resheath should be so natural and automatic that you can do it in the dark.
  2. Gravity is your friend. The tip should just fall into the opening of the saya or koiguchi. You are not sticking it in the hole (insert bad joke here), it just drops in from it's own weight.
  3. Push the saya (scabbard) onto the sword; don't push the sword into the saya. NEVER force the sword. The saya could have flipped unexpectedly or be split open.  You don't want to injure your hand by distractedly shoving the sword into the saya.
  4. Do the whole movement with your legs and hips, just like in drawing the sword.
  5. Practice slow!  Slow makes good, good makes fast.  It is unlikely that you would need to resheath in a hurry anyway.  So do it slowly unless you need to flee the scene.
And the last bonus tip:  Practice Zanshin!  The time when you are resheathing can be a vunerable time when a hidden enemy is waiting to ambush.  Or your felled opponent is not as injured as you thought.  One way to resheath is with your kamae directed at any potential threat.  Keep your tsuka (hilt), pointed at the threat by turning your body and hips.  Control the kukan (space) with it.  That way you are ready to redraw into that kukan or use the tsuka for an improvised parry or strike.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Japan Report One 令和5年

Every Bujinkan trip I make to Japan feels like a gift. And I always share that with you all in my Japan reports. This trip, I decided to video a lot. Like every day. So there will be quite a few of these. The only issue is that it takes me time to edit all of this video, so these Japan reports may spread out into next year. The first video is here:  Japan Report One 令和5年 The first day of any Bujinkan trip to Japan starts with a marathon. 20 hours of travel by Plane train, and automobile. Also, a lot of walking with a heavy backpack up and down stairs, through airports and train stations, and of course to the Honbu Dojo! Because I’m crazy, I arrived at the airport and went straight to Noguchi Sensei’s class. The class was smallish, maybe 20 people. I was a little shaky on my feet so I slammed some milk tea to get my energy back up. I partnered with Mario From Croatia. Noguchi began with 中伝之捌型 Chūden no Sabaki Gata from 高木揚心流 Takagi Yoshin Ryū. He put a lot of focus into what the opp...

Japan Report Three 令和5年

Last night Paul Masse invited me and my teacher Peter over to his house in Noda-shi. While we were in the backyard swapping stories, his wife Tomoe invited us inside to a warm dinner of ちゃんこ鍋 chankonabe. She and Paul are very friendly and generous. Paul asked Peter what he found at the antique weapons market. Peter said that he was looking for 矢の根 yanone, which are arrowheads. He also said he bought a tsuba with a giant centipede on it. Paul was curious about this so Peter told us the story behind it. He told us 俵藤太物語 Tawara Tōda monogatari, the legend of Tawara Tōda. I share my version of the story on the video so if you'd like to watch the full video report, you can find it here: https://www.rojodojo.com/japan-report-three-reiwa5/ . But the short of it is that Tawara Tōda killed a giant centipede with a well aimed arrow. We had a wonderful time over dinner while swapping stories. Paul’s young boys were full of energy and were running around like crazy people. Danzo thou...

Japan Report Four 令和5年

I start off my Japan Report Four video going to Hatsumi Sensei’s house and the Bujinkan Honbu office. I do this on every trip because this is how I submit my rank paperwork for my students. In the video I talk about my “secret” route to his house. I also recall past times when I could just visit and have tea with Soke. During my walk to his house, I review some of my notes from old classes with Soke. During one class he said 自分の第六感兼ねあいうち Jibun no dairokkan kane aiuchi. This is when you make your intuition match reality. Or, more directly, your intuition is combined with something concrete such as a strike. Later in that same class, Hatsumi Sensei said 意識をさせない Ishiki o Sasenai. He was telling us not to allow our opponents to sense our intentions. Don’t put out any intention for your opponent to read. I thought it was fascinating to think about dairokkan and the use of intuition while also hiding your intentions. Hatsumi Sensei’s classes were full of subtle lessons lik...