JUNICHI HAGASSECRETS OF KENDO

Volume 2.By Terukuni Uki

Text copyright ?2012 Kendo Jidai

All Rights Reserved Junichi Haga, genius of the Showa Period. Joined Hakudo NakayamasYushinkan. Along with Kiyoshi Nakakura and Gorozo Nakajima, eventuallybecame known as Yushinkans Three Crows, a Japanese expression meaning3 top practitioners of near equal skill. Though after the war, he worked hard to keep the art of Kendo alive, onceKendo regained its place in the mainstream and gained structuredorganization, he returns once again to being a private swordsman, and focusedon honing his own skills and instructing the new generation.Before long, the group of practitioners gathered around Haga came to beknown as Haga Dojo. The Kendo and methods for practice that Haga believedin were carefully protected, and that Kendo, some forty years after Hagasdeath, is still alive today. Uki Terukuni, who received instruction directly from Haga, explains Haga s

Kendo.

Practice at the Haga Dojo

Kirikaeshi: shomenuchi is worth a thousand strikes

Kirikaeshi is an exercise combining shomenuchi and a succession of alternating left and right strikesto head. It is an exercise in which one masters the basic movements in relation to ones opponent. Anexercise that is emphasized most heavily at the Haga Dojo, it teaches how to maintain a properdistance, ashisabaki (footwork), proper use of the upper body, proper tachisuji or cutting path of thesword, and more. You take the basic chudan position, execute a shomenuchi from a distance of issoku-itto (roughly sixfeet), and after a taiatari (body check), deliver a succession of alternating left and right strikes to the

head starting from the left, take the chudan position again, and end with a shomenuchi from a distanceof issoku-itto. This is no different from the normal variation of kirikaeshi. However, at the HagaDojo, where it is standard to take a large back swing and strike, kirikaeishi is executed by fullyrotating the shoulders and making sure to firmly strike the center of the men with the shinai. Lastly,you must stay focused to the end and deliver the last shomenuchi with momentum. Additionally, the benefits of kirikaeshi can differ greatly depending on the skills of the motodachi(receiver). This is also something to which Haga sensei paid special attention. Haga sensei receivedthe attackers strike, not by allowing the attackers shinai to bounce off his, but rather to absorb thepower of the attackers strike. When receiving the attackers strike with a shinai, he allowed theattach to approach until it nearly reached the quilted padding of the men, and sometimes he evenlowered his shinai to take the strike on the men, to fully bring out the skill of the attacker.

Taiatari (body check): repeated uchikomi taiatari (strike and body check) teacheshorizontal movement

Uchikomi taiatari is a basic movement practiced heavily in order to master horizontal movement ofthe body. In taiatari from the starting position, you throw your body against your opponent followingthrough on the momentum of a strike. By throwing your opponent off balance thus, you can shake youropponents morale or upset his position and strike. At the Haga Dojo, however, we focus on taiatariin order to master horizontal movement. Haga sensei emphasized that The body must be upright when executing a strike. When executing astrike, your body has the tendency to lean forward so as to strike from as far as possible, and the feettend to get left behind. In Kendo in which leg sweeps are not employed, this can still be a valid strikeas long as the shinai hits the strike zone, but at the Haga Dojo, such a strike would result in theattacker immediately being knocked over by a leg sweep. Therefore, your center of gravity mustalways be in the center of the body; you should stand at a right angle to the ground and movehorizontally keeping your posture. Practicing taiatari repeatedly will build up your body so you willnot get knocked over. Imagine your navel bumping your opponents navel as you perform taiatari.This builds the foundation for striking from the hip.

The receiver should take a small step forward with his right foot; while tensing up the lower abdomenhe should lower his hands and pulling his left foot up rapidly, stand firm and receive the strike. In anormal practice session, we practice uchikomi taiatari seven to ten times, then move on tokirikaeshi.

Kakari-geiko: bring out your skills to the fullest within a short time span

Kakari-geiko is a training method in which those with inferior skills fight those with superior skills.Therefore, the kakarite (striker) should not be concerned about a counter attack or having his strikeevaded; he should attack and strike using all of the skills he has mastered thus far until his breathgives out. At the Haga Dojo, it is our principle to practice for a short time vigorously, but kakari-geiko is even shorter and more vigorous. The kakarite should be determined to bring out every technique he has and seek every opening tostrike the motodachi. During kakari-geiko, the motodachi assesses the calculated strikes the kakaritelets out. The motodachi should weather out or evade a labored or incorrect strike and divert thestrike without letting it hit him. Through failure, the motodachi allows the kakarite realize his mistakeand lets him master the knack of striking through correct strikes. In this way the motodachi brings outbetter strikes from the kakarite. It goes without saying that the motodachi plays an important role in instructing the kakarite how tomaintain a proper distance, give openings for a strike, evade or respond to a strike, etc., in order tomake kakari-geiko effective. Haga senseis attacks did not allow for time between strikes or breaths,so the kakarite quickly ran out of breath. It was a tough and exacting practice.

Junichi Haga Quotes Vigor in the morning, indolence at noon, and intensity at night

Photo: Junichi Haga (center) welcomed as an instructor at the Shibaura Institute of Technology KendoClub. Hanshi jyudan Yuji Oasa and hanshi hachidan Toshio Watanabe are shown third and fourthfrom the right, respectively. At the Haga Dojo, morning practice is held regularly four times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays,Saturdays, and Sundays. The All Japan Kendo Federation was established in 1953, and soon aftercourses started at the National Gymnasium in Kanda Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda Ward. At the time,morning practice took place every morning, but around 1962, when I started going there, a four timesweekly practice taught by Haga sensei alone had already become established. In this way, practice at the Haga Dojo became exclusively morning practice. Haga sensei wouldleave his home in Zoshigaya, Toshima Ward to come to the National Gymnasium for practice, andthen go to his shop for work. By vigor in the morning, Haga sensei meant that early morning was a time when anyoneif theyhad the determinationcould participate in practice. He said, As long as you have the right attitude,there is no reason you cant practice in the morning. During the day or in the evening, it is moredifficult to make the time to practice due to work. However, it is possible to go to morning practiceas long as you manage your schedule for the previous day accordingly. Vigor in the morning, indolence at noon, and intensity at nightthat is where these words probablycame from. I still recall Haga sensei laughing as he said, It is always at night when wicked thoughtscame to mind.

Practice at the Haga Dojo (2)

Ashibarai: a correction method to make you realize your crumblingposture

Ashibarai (leg sweep) is a prohibited act in the current kendo competition rules. For this reason it israrely seen these days during practice. However, at the Haga Dojo, we aim for a kendo in which yourposture does not crumble under any circumstance; thus, if necessary, we perform ashibarai in ourdaily practice as a correction method. There are basically two types of ashibarai. One way is to hook your left foot around your opponentsankle and shove your shinai against your opponents left side of the neck and topple him. The secondway is to circle to the right as your opponent leans forward to strike your men, step on the top of youropponents right foot with your left foot as if to hold it there and topple him. It is dangerous to try to hook your foot around your opponents foot to topple him backwards. There isa high possibility that your opponent will hit the back of his head hard, and this may lead to a seriousaccident. We strictly warn against such a method. In particular, we take care to call this to the motodachi or receivers attention, and for beginners, wehold on to a part of their upper body if we perform a leg sweep. By falling over, beginners graduallylearn how to fall safely, and before we know it, they can fall without someone holding on to them,

without fear of getting injured. Haga sensei disliked bad posture, and if any of his students were practicing kendo with bad posture,he would execute a perfectly timed ashibarai. However, he warned that ashibarai should not beperformed on anyone over forty.

Kumiuchi: quickly getting on top of your opponent and make them run out of breath

Kumiuchi is conducted in situations such as when a match with shinai ends in a draw, when a shinaiis dropped, or someone has been felled by a leg sweep. You can perform a reverse arm-lock, sit onthe fallen opponents body and grab his men with one or both hands and pull it up, or in the sameposition, insert both of your feet under your opponents men and twist it up to the left or right. In kendo, because of the heavy equipment, once you have been felled it is hard to move quickly andyou cannot get back up immediately. Moreover, if your opponent is on top of you, it is impossible tomove at all. Therefore, in kumiuchi, the outcome of the match depends on whether you can get on top of youropponent before he gets on top of you. Once your opponent is on top of you and executes one of theabove techniques, it is almost impossible to get back up, and you will not be able to catch yourbreath. Haga sensei would concentrate his ki or energy on one point and put all his weight on his opponentwhen performing kumiuchi and his opponent would not be able to move at all. It was as if a large

rock was on top of your body. Kumiuchi makes you run out of breath at once. It could be said that onepurpose of kumiuchi is to master how to regain control of your breath under these difficultcircumstances.

Photo: Haga senseis kumiuchi Kendo is a match of skills using swords, so it is not particularly recommendable to practice kumiuchiheavily, but it is something that you should master as a means to protect yourself.

Short and vigorous: bring out everything you have in each practice session

At the Haga Dojo, we aim to bring out everything we have during each practice session. It is not thetype of practice in which we say, Lets call that a day. We bring our entire ki to practice. Duringpractice, we strike continuously with barely a moment to confront our opponent, so we quickly run outof breath. At our dojo, practice is held in the morning on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.Morning practice is before work, and there is no point in practicing in a way that would interfere withour work later in the day. We have a short but intensive session and go to our jobs after working up agood sweat. I believe that is the significance of having morning practice. In order to have such a morning practice, it is important to exert all your power, but this is not easy todo with a half-hearted attitude. It is essential to concentrate your ki and try to bring it all out duringpractice through your techniques. Practice with Haga sensei was exactly the type of practice in which you run out of breath; he dislikedlong-winded practice more than anything. He would close in on his opponent and turn out men, kote-men, katate-men (single-handed men) strikes and so on without even giving his opponent the time toassume a position. His grip was very flexible and he could strike twice, even three times in a row. There was a sense of professionalism in each practice session, and you never felt like you didnt haveenough when you requested a practice session with Haga sensei.

Junichi Haga Quotes Counter in your mind but permit the strike and praise the others technique

Photo: participants at the Ikkenkai Haga Dojos Yamanashi summer camp held on August 26-27. As can be seen in traditional sayings such as the ten virtues of kirikaeshi or the eight virtues ofuke, the motodachi also plays an important role in kirikaeshi. It goes without saying that the abilityof the motodachi greatly sways the level of improvement of the one who requested practice. When you are the motodachi, you must be prepared to fight for your life. You must not complain nomatter where you are struck. If you are struck, it is because of your inexperience. This is how Haga sensei explained the mindset of the motodachi. He especially disliked listlessaction when practicing with an inferior swordsman and said, As long as you are against an inferiorswordsman, stay on your toes. When your opponent gives a good strike, respond to the attack in yourmind, let him strike you at the last moment, and make it a practice in which you can praise youropponent. This is easy to say, but hard to put into practice. Haga sensei always conducted practice in a way tobring out his students motivation. Even if they ran out of breath during practice, he never did anythingto dishearten them. At the Haga Dojo, we hold a summer camp every August. It is an opportunity for all of us to gatheronce a year to eat at the same table and hold long conversations about kendo. We take plenty of timeto train as well, and I always keep in mind Haga senseis mental attitude in serving as motodachi.

The Haga Dojos Form of Swordsmanship

Holding a real sword brings a sense of seriousness to practice Everything at the Haga Dojos kendo leads to the act of cutting. That is why the firsthalf of practice is iai, and the latter half is practice with a shinai. All the swords usedare shinken (real sword). We never use model swords or iai-to (a model sword usedto practice iai), and even students and beginners use swords with a dulled edge kept atthe Haga Dojo for beginners. I joined the Haga Dojo at the same time I entered university. That was when myparents bought me a real sword for the first time, and I can still remember thesobering feeling it gave me. In Japanese, we also use the word shinken to describe aserious effort without any fooling around, and it goes without saying that taking ashinken into your hands brings a sense of seriousness to practice. Originally, the scabbards of samurai swords were made to break easily in order toallow samurai to strike with a sheathed sword and still cut down their opponent whenfaced with an emergency that did no afford them the time to even draw. Therefore,when sheathing your sword or during nukitsuke (the first strike after unsheathing yoursword), if you are not careful, the scabbard will break and you may seriously injureyourself. It is necessary to constantly stay on guard and be attentive to yoursurroundings even during practice. Haga sensei disapproved of listless practice and at the heart of his disapproval was thefact that we used shinken. How you handle a shinken is reflected in how you take careof your shinai and your kendo equipment, and you will naturally start handling themwith care.

Iai: kendo is the main art and iai is a hidden one; the two paths are two sides ofthe same coin.Shinken: everything at the Haga Dojos kendo leads to the act of cutting.Holding a shinken in your hands brings a sense of seriousness to practice.

Haga sensei received instruction from Sensei Hakudo Nakayama and trained atYushinkan. The iai taught at the Haga Dojo now carries on the style that Haga senseilearned and mainly incorporates the Omori style and the Eishin Hasegawa style. Iai training requires not only the hands and feet, but also the knees and hips to movein a consistent manner. It is important to exercise the entire body habitually, andpractice so that you can use the sword as if it were a part of your body. Haga sensei stated, Kendo is the main art and iai is a hidden one. Other than the actsof nukitsuke or sheathing your sword, iai is kendo itself. From the viewpoint of iai,he considered striking with a shinaiin other words, the present day kendoas apart of iai. And, from the viewpoint of kendo, it can be said that iai is a part of kendo. Enbu (demonstration) is not a sword dance; at the foundation of enbu, there mustalways be an awareness that you are cutting. Therefore, it is important to take care notto let the sword make a noise when unsheathing it during nukitsuke. A sound is anindication of strain, that the movement of your two hands is not balanced, and you arenot performing hikite properly. The basic sword swing at the Haga Dojo is horizontal and at a right angle. This too

is based on the foundation of cutting, and differs from present day iai.

Confirm your kendo techniques through the experience of cutting

At the Haga Dojo, we confirm our techniques such as whether the sword is firmlygripped or the swing of the sword is correct, by actually cutting something. This is thepurpose of performing tameshigiri or practice cuts, which we practice now twice orthree times a year such as during the summer camp. There are sword shops that sell swords made for cutting straw posts or tatami mats,but we do not use such swords at the Haga Dojo. We use swords that are the same asthose that used to be used by samurai, not just to cut straw posts and tatami mats.Therefore, if there is fault in your grip or the momentum of the swing, it is very hardto cut the straw post. For tameshigiri, we must first start by making a straw post. In the past, there was notrouble in finding material for straw posts, such as straw rice bags, as they werereadily available. However, now I feel the need to pass onto the next generation howto make straw posts by rolling straw matting. We practice two methods of tameshigiri: kesa-giri, in which we cut diagonally, andsuemono-giri. Kesa-giricutting from the upper right to the lower leftcan beperformed relatively easily, but ura-kesa-giri (backward kesa-giri), in which you cutfrom the upper left to the lower right, is more difficult. Cutting a straw post with a diameter of about 15 cm is said to resemble the feel ofcutting a human torso. If you perform a tameshigiri, you would immediatelyunderstand that if you do not have a firm grip and your swing does not have enough

momentum, you cannot make the cut.

Junichi Haga Quotes How you handle a shinken reflects on how you take care of your shinai In October 1954, Haga sensei re-established the old kendo equipment shop Umedagoand opened shop in Kanda Tamachi, Chiyoda Ward. Since he was the kind of personto run a kendo equipment shop, he had great love for kendo equipment. I recall that all of his shinai around that time were of the Kuniyoshi brand, madedomestically. In those days they were not readily available as they are now, and Hagasensei took very good care of them. I mentioned that at the Haga Dojo we used shinken for iai, and for this reason as well,Haga sensei placed great importance on taking good care of equipment. Improperhandling of a shinken could lead to a life-threatening injury. He taught us that we mustpay the closest attention in order to make sure that we did not injure ourselves orothers practicing around us. He also maintained that handling your sword with carebecame reflected in the way that you took care of your kendo equipment. We are given the privilege of practicing the kendo that we love on a daily basis.Therefore, we should use the best equipment we can afford and would take good careof. Kendo equipment is said to have been born around the Horeki and Meiwa eras (1751-1771), and was refined to become close to the form they have today. Because of histrade, Haga sensei was considerably knowledgeable about kendo equipment, and hehoped that aesthetically pleasing, inexpensive, sturdy, and easy-to-use kendoequipment would be devised in todays culturally evolved society. I also still recallhow he hoped that this was not left up to kendo equipment makers and shops, but thatwe kendo aficionados would also participate in coming up with such equipment.