Iaido Explained, part 1: Metsuke
Iaido isn't exactly your average hobby. Most of my friends don't know anything about it other than the fact that it's got something to do with swords. The usual reaction is "Sweeeeet!". That's usually about as far as the interaction goes. If I played football, golf or tennis I'm sure people would come up with all sorts of interesting jargon-riddled chit-chat. Most people know, to some extent, what "off-side", "handicap" or "back-hand" mean. Well, martial arts too come with their own jargon. I'll try to explain a key term/concept on something of a regular basis.
Metsuke, or 目突, is an essential concept of many martial arts. It's not to be confused with 目付. That particular kind of Metsuke refers to some kind of government official back in the Tokugawa era. The one I'm referring to translates roughly as "eye thrust", and as such it refers to making eye contact and making sure your gaze is locked onto your target. This is not as easy as it sounds. When you're pairing up with someone, it's easy enough to keep an eye on them. When you're doing solo kata however – which is most of the time in iaido – things get a bit more complicated. Looking at something that isn't there isn't easy. Looking at a moving target that isn't there is down right hard. The distance has to be right, the timing has to be right. If you look to the left while cutting to the right, something is definitely wrong. These kinds of mistakes aren't as obvious as making a wrong step or cutting the wrong way, but they're still mistakes. Knowing where your enemy is and what you're doing to him is at least as important as being able to make nice cuts.
It's said that advanced iaidoka can not only visualise their own imaginary opponent, but also those of their students. Who knows, maybe one day...
Regensburg seminar with Esaka-sensei
I recently spent four days in the rather picturesque Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany. Not as a tourist or anything work related, thankfully. The only thing on my mind during those four days was iaido. Four days of training under the all-seeing eye of Esaka-sensei and some of his senior students.
My group (Ikkyu up to Nidan) was placed in the very capable hands of a man whose name I never quite got, although Niishima-sensei seems to come to mind. Not sure how old he is, and it would of course be rude to speculate, but let's just say that if I ever live to be his age I hope to be half as fit as him! He took a while to warm up (literally, quite likely, 't was chilly), but once he reached boiling point there was no stopping him. He corrected me several times, mostly on relatively minor points, but those corrections alone made the seminar worth the trip. When Esaka-sensei corrected my footwork, I could almost forget about the ridiculously overpriced hotel with crappy beds.
Doing nothing but iai for four days in a row is a great way to improve. I didn't learn anything I wasn't already supposed to know, but the sheer number of repetitions combined with viewing things in a different light made my iai progress rather nicely. Definitely worth the trip!
Some interesting things I learnt:
- The Japanese find it quite puzzling that we Westerners have such long femurs. For some people this means that the "Tsuka one fist from the Hara, Tsuba by the knee"-adage is simply impossible.
I had the Metsuke and footwork in Ukenagashi completely wrong. Now that I've got it right, the rest of the Kata feels much more natural. - Esaka-sensei may be old, but he can draw his sword in the blink of an eye without seemingly moving a muscle. Practice makes perfect, I suppose!
For some reason I've still not received any pictures from the seminar. A lot of people took a lot of pictures and I'd expected to find some of them online by now. No such luck, however. If and when they do appear on the interwebs, I'll be sure to upload some of the more flattering ones. Mental note: bring a camera next time.