Report from the Modena Seminar, 28th-29th May 2016

• Bringing peace to the world

  SEITEI is the same everywhere in the world, so people can meet together without any difference in nationality or race etc. This allows contacts and exchange of views thus contributing to world peace.
  This would not be possible if we would have national (and different) versions of Seitei.
  I would add that sport is like this, see for instance football.



• The virtues of the samurai

  The sensei told us the following story: In the time of the samurai one had to react quickly to an attack. Maybe it was not an attack but a mistake and he severely injured a person ... so the samurai first killed the victim so that he did not suffer longer, and then put an object with his family MON on the victim's body, so that he could be identified by the authorities and by the victim's family.
  He did not try to cover up what had happened and just walk away.
  (Note: the object was a razor with which they shaved their head and always had the family's MON on it)



• Try to figure out the situation described in a KATA

  We should try to imagine the feelings of a person who has been attacked. It was a matter of life or death. So only in the first two KATA should we move slowly at the beginning. Already in Uke Nagashi we cannot hesitate or stop moving.



• Always hold your sword so that you can use it

  This is often not the case when doing NOTO. We should not show a "nobi te" (dead hand), i.e. keeping our hand over the tsuka in a way that makes using the sword difficult if not impossible.
  The first example is in the NOTO by Uke Nagashi: at first the left hand is still holding the tsuka and then the right hand takes over in such a way that we can defend ourselves with a cut down-up, for instance.

• All parts of a KATA should flow one into the other

  Kata are divided into four sections: nuki tsuke, kiri tsuke, shiburi and noto.
  There is no stop between the different parts. Even within each section we do not have a pause. BUT we have different speeds!

• Four sabaki

  Sabaki means the method of using something or method for doing something.
  The sensei said that in order to execute a proper cut we need four sabaki:
  1. Ashi sabaki (method of using the feet)
  2. Tai sabaki (method of using the body)
  3. Te sabaki (method of using the hands)
  4. Ken sabaki (method of using the sword)
  It is obvious that feet are the base on which the body stands, which in turn supports the hands which themselves hold the sword.

• Four te no uchi

  • UKE TE (defending hand) used for instance in Uke Nagashi
  • KIRI TE (cutting hand) used for instance in kiri otoshi
  • TSUKI TE (stubbing hand) used for instance in tsuka ate
  • NOBI TE (dead hand) Never have this kind of hand!
  I found somewhere in a book another Te no Uchi: GYAKU TE, similar to the
  right hand position during noto in Uke Nagashi.
  Gyaku means something like "inverted".
  Another name for nobi te is SHINI TE

• Important points

  • Saya banare
  • metsuke
  • hara is the centre
  • always turn starting with the foot in front and using the ball of the foot (front part of the foot)
  
  There are four important points:
  1. metsuke
  2. ashi sabaki
  3. kigurai
  4. waza (Technique)
  
  The sensei recommended that we should not spoil our enbu with a bad NOTO.
  Yamazaki sensei told us again that the English translation for the end position of the kissaki by Nuki Tsuke for Morote Tsuki, which in the official book is "kinn", should be "jaw", so that the cutting angles can be less steep than usual. I have to say that not all sensei agree on this point ...