Niten Ichiryu Musashi-Kai

Traditional Kendo is not a sport, but rather a mental discipline conditioning one's self to face a life or death confrontation. Kendo is a martial art; in order to defeat an apponent (who is also a disciplined swordsman) one must concentrate and focus their mind to defend an attack with innate skills that have been developed through daily practice.

Musashi-kai kendo was started in 1600 by Miyamoto Musashi, however, is still taught and practiced today. Kendo is not merely the knowledge of swordsmanship but it is how we should develop ourselves to be more human in our hearts, spirits and mental attitude in our every-day living.

A lapse in concentration, fear, or a moment of doubt can bring a swift defeat. A true swordsman is one who does not think of survival but rather has prepared themselves for death. If the swordsman's thoughts were of self-preservation, then they will be distracted. Therefore, kendo or the art of swordsmanship, is not a physical activity, but rather it is a mental discipline.

--Sasaki Hirotsugu



Technically, Niten Ichiryu Musashi-Kai isn't one of the koryu that exist in Japan. but since they have direct links to Miyamoto Musashi himself, I found it fit for this article to be put here.

Miyamoto Musashi as you all know was a master swordsman proficient in two-sword fighting and also the arts like calligraphy. He founded Niten Ichiryu in around the 1600s. Even though some other schools have employed the use of the two swords at the same time, it was Musashi that honed and developed the art in brutal efficiency. In Japan he is known as Kensei (sword saint). In 1643 he wrote the Go Rin No Sho (五輪の諸？）or the Book of Five Rings shortly before his death in 1645. The book was his advice on Niten Ichiryu, life, swordsmanship and philosophy.



Niten Ichiryu over the course of history then split into many lines, amongst them being Hyoho Niten Ichiryu and Noda-ha Niten Ichiryu. The Noda-ha line split from the main line, Hyoho Niten Ichiryu, after the third soke (grandmaster). It has genuine links to Musashi. The 16th soke of Noda-Ha, Matsunaga Nobuyuki, set up an offshoot of the line; which is Musashi-Kai.

Musashi-Kai deals with Kendo and only Kendo (very good Kendo!), using Noda-Ha's teachings to cement their techniques and mental attitude. The Musashi-Kai is a non-profit organization based in Japan that seeks to standardize nito-ryu Kendo. They incorporate the principles of Noda-Ha while strictly following the rules and guidelines of the All Japan Kendo Federation. The head sensei of Musashi-Kai is the 17th soke of the line, Nakamura Tenshin.



Born in 1968 in Utsonomiya, Tochigi, Japan. Trained kendo under his father as a child. When he was in elementary school he entered the late Ogasawara Sabura School of Kendo. After graduating from high school, he entered Utsunomiya University majoring in education. While he was teaching in public high school he participated in kendo competitions and events as an amateur martial artist. In 1993, he suffered a spinal injury and was forced to give up kendo. While he was treated for spinal ailments, he discovered Nito kendo which relieved pressure on his hip and knee. Nito revived his will to recover and continue practicing kendo.

During his teacher academic breaks he travelled throughout Japan challenging nito kendo artists in their dojos. In 1994, he travelled to Nagano where he met with Araseki Fumisaburo, the Shihan of Musashi-Kai. Araseki saw great skill, concentration, and insight in Nakamura. Nakamura stayed with Araseki until he mastered his sensei's skills. In 1998 he succeeded Araseki as shihan.



Musashi-Kai do not have a dojo as headquarters, but they meet up twice a month for trainings. But their trainings last for almost a full day. One does not need to do nito in their meets; you can just join them to learn how to fight nito kendoka.

The basic nito-ryu kamae is called joge-tachi (up-down sword position) and involves the positioning of the daito at a diagonal line across the forehead in a position similar to jodan, with the shoto pointed out in front at the opponent's throat, like in chudan. Footwork is like regular kendo, using suri-ashi whenever possible. In nito kendo, you can hold the daito in the right hand, called sei-nito, or left hand, called gyaku nito. You can also position your feet with either foot in front. You can also hold the daito and shoto anywhere you prefer on tsuka. In these respects, nito is very flexible.


gyaku-nito


Footwork and body position are likened to a kabuki actor's body movement, called "Namba Aruki." In Namba Aruki, the hand and legs of the same side move together. This is relevant to nito in that you must keep your hips square when you strike. For example, when striking men from sei-nito, there is a tendency to turn your hips to extend your shoulder. Instead, you should turn your left hip forward in conjunction with your right arm in order to keep the hips square as you strike.



Perhaps the most important point for striking properly from joge-tachi and with nito in general is to observe the principle of chushin, or the axis of the shinai. In itto, the axis is located at the base of the tsuka. The sword rotates on that axis. In nito, however, the axis of the daito is above the tsuba. In striking men with nito, from joge-tachi, one should lower the sword toward the opponent's mune and then straighten it out to strike the men. One should not swing the daito over the shoulder or to the side of the body.

The kihon kata in Musashi-Kai are all done in sei-nito (right nito), and each set is itto vs. nito. Musashi-Kai's kata are done to teach practitioners how to strike properly according to AJKF rules. Most of the sets are done by using the shoto (short sword) to suppress an attack and using the daito (long sword) to counterattack. In the ninth set kata the kata is performed with a shoto attack. Specifically, a shoto strike can count as a point if made with full spirit and big motion while the nito player's daito suppresses the itto player's shinai. The Kata are explained in Musashi-Kai's book.



As described in the Rules of Kendo Shimpan and Shiai, the sword which will be held in the left hand is drawn first, passed to the left hand, and then the sword held in the right hand is drawn second. The reverse is true for osame-to, where the sword in the right hand is first put away and then the sword in the left hand. At no time should a nito sword be pinned under the arm during osame-to. Instead it should be held by a hand at all times.

Shoto strikes should be large and powerful. The Musashi-kai teaches striking with the shoto without bending the wrist. The wrist should remain straight and the arm and elbow moved in a large cutting motion. In nito, kihon doh strikes are made to the datotsu-bui on the same side. For example, the kihon sei-nito (right hand) doh target is the opponent's left side doh, or gyaku-doh.

They also emphasize that, in nito, you must try to use the two swords together as much as possible. For example, when practicing men-kaeshi-doh, one should try to strike the opponent's shinai with one's shoto at the same instant one hits the his or her do. This principle is always in effect, whether performing kihon shikake waza or oji-waza.



Musashi-Kai also teaches how to fight against nito kendo. There are two kamae often deployed by itto Kendoka to fight nito: kasumi-no-kamae and hira-seigan-no- kamae. Kasumi-no-kamae (crossing right hand over left, and raising and pointing the shinai to the left) has the potential to really befuddle a nito player. It hides many targets yet still presents the opportunity for the kasumi player to strike the nito player. The same is true for hira-seigan where the shinai is pointed in a flat trajectory toward the chudan player's right side.

Primarily, the itto player must realize that a nito player's suki are protected as long as the nito player does not move. It may be possible to hit doh or kote, but in general a nito player in the proper joge-tachi kamae is very well protected. Therefore, the key is to attempt to break the nito kamae in order to create a suki for ippon. This involves slapping away the nito shinai, attacking from multiple angles, and launching multiple attacks as often as possible. All these techniques can cause the nito player to move, attempt a counterattack, or otherwise compromise their kamae. Once an opening appears, it must be struck quickly. Therefore, a high tempo of attack and sharp control of the itto player's kensen is key to defeating a nito player.

Musashi-Kai visit numerous countries worldwide in order to promote Kendo. Hope for them to come to Malaysia.




Sources: Baltimore-Annapolis Kendo
Kendo-World forums
This is Kendo, J. Sasamori and G. Warner