What follows are my personal notes of for this excellent 3 day seminar. Many thanks to Mori-san for translating Ide sensei's comments and questions.
2. To-rei: while putting the sword in front of you the left hand is positioned about 1-2 inch/3-5 cm from the end of the saya (in Koryu different rules can apply).
3. Seiza: sit down as if the floor is fragile ("like a thin layer of ice") and can break if you make a sudden movement. Also, sit up straight / don't lean back.
4. Kamae position: look at the distant mountain and stand straight and strong as a tree. How to hold the sword during kamae: your arms are like holding a baby and your grip is like holding an egg which you intend to throw away during the cut. Or, you are holding a small bird which you will throw forward during the cut - don't squeeze it or you'll kill it - hold it softly, relax! The right hand should not touch the fuchi and will therefore certainly not touch the tsuba. Your thumb should not be straight but in full contact with the tsuka, it is bent and its position resembles the neck/head of a crane bird.
5. After Kiri-Oroshi, the tip of the sword is slightly below horizontal.
6. In standing chiburi position the heel of your rear foot is 'down', near the floor. The 'power' is in the arch of your back foot, pushing down while you stand up.
7. On chiburi: -- (1) Bringing the sword up after kiri-oroshi: The arm moves, from the final cut, to the horizontal level but with the sword outstretched away from you, then bend it towards your head. In Koryu you will hold the sword at an almost right angle from the moment you bring the sword up (after the final cut) but not in ZKR. The position of the sword before the chiburi downswing is not straight backwards but at an angle so that you can easily cut the Kesa direction. -- (2) the left hand has to counterbalance the movement of your right hand... therefore it presses actively on the saya. -- (3) possible Chiburi exercises: attach a little string to the kissaki. The movement of the string should be flowing and uninterrupted. If you perform chiburi with a wet piece of cotton at the kissaki, there should only be water drops on a single spot on the ground.
8. Body movement in tachi-iai between chiburi/noto: move forward from the hips, move backwards from the shoulders.
9. Noto: - (1) All the time during noto you should be able to react to some movement from Teki, so "keep your kissaki alive". The movement needs to flow. - (2) With continued level of practice the Noto movement should become more powerful. It is as if the saya becomes more 'sticky' - it is more and more difficult to put the sword away. Also: zanshin continues after noto, until after you bring your feet together.
10. On the position of your hands while moving: In Seitei iai, when your hands are not on your sword, they should be to the side of the body, not at the front of your thighs (this hides the movements of your hands more).
Advanced practice: The seme movement forward is not so much the body moving forward with your kissaki outstretched in front of you as it is a combined movement of furikaburi while you slide forward: the body moves in, while the sword moves up ready to strike. This is not easy but is a far more powerful threat/attack.
In forward/sideways cuts (cfr. Morote tsuki, Soete tsuki, Ganmen ate) slightly pull the rear foot up during the cut to give more power/stability to your movement.
2. Walking with the sword (after shinzen-ni rei, before sitting for to-rei): The sword is carried with the left hand, thumb on the tsuba. The tsuba is in front of the centre of your body and your right hand holds your left hand like your left is holding your sword.
3. To-rei: the sword is put in front with saya/tsuka at equal distance to you (unlike ZKR). While bowing use the full space between the sword and the body (the hands may slightly touch the sword), the elbows come flat on the floor and touch the knees.
4. Position of the sword in the obi is so that the tsuba is in the centre of the body (MJR has tsuba more to the left).
5. Grasping the sword: your hands move together, like they move together in prayer. Both hands grasp the tsuka at the same moment. Doing one before the other gives your intention/readiness away.
6. Noto: The position of the hand on the koikuchi (lit. 'mouth of Koi') covers the opening: The koikuchi is also like the mouth of a dragon ('Ryukou' in Japanese) - you don't want to show this to your opponent. Doing this also makes noto easier.
7. There are many variations in koryu, some only done by one or a few teachers so there are strictly speaking no 'right' or 'wrong' forms but know what you are practicing.
Seme: the rear knee comes forward to the level of your toes (vs heel for ZKR).
Stand up like smoke rises from the field (on a day without wind).
Generally, Shoden technique scenarios involve only one attacker per kata but this one as well as Sakate Inyo Shintai (aka. Gyakute Inyo Shintai) can be interpreted easier with two attackers.
When you step out to the rear, go to a wide stance, the sword is horizontal behind your back (you cannot see it).
At the strike, the kissaki has to move faster than the tsuka.
There are various height of cuts depending on the teacher: from a shoulder cut to 'on' the saya. Ide sensei cuts above the saya.
In the final position at the cut, the body can be either bent forward (reaching closer to Teki) or with your back straight BUT the heels are together and off the ground (toes are further apart).
In MSR, after the cut the sword is not lowered before bringing it over your right knee.
The strike aims between 2 vertebrae and is more a pressing forward cut than a 'pulling towards you' cut like in other katas.
There are different ways for the finishing your opponent, e.g. moving closer and tsuki on Teki's chest (Ide sensei does this) - the strike is from knee height and quite vigorous. Other alternatives include cutting the carotid artery.
In MSR the cut is horizontal across both of Teki's forearms (in MJR the cut is more on one arm).
Feet do not cross in MSR when moving forward.
In tachi iai your feet move with smaller steps than in seated katas, so when you move the right foot back to do noto, you stand in a much less wide stance than for other katas.
This also applies to the next 2.
When you move inwards towards your opponent your feet cross (left foot 'upside down'). You need to move the tsuka above Teki's head. Move the saya back into your obi, so that you can draw as fully sideways as possible. At saya-banare press the sword down to control Teki over the chest while you press your left hand to your obi.
When you control Teki with your sword by pressing on his chest, put your left hand on the back of the mono-uchi, pivot your feet to bring them parallel again and using both hands, press Teki to the floor in a downward movement while you are stepping back with your right foot to a wide stance. Thereby your right arm is/can be bent (left hand/arm is more stretched). (note that you are still standing in a low position - MJR at this stage already have their knee on the ground).
>From that position you move the sword in an arc via the front to the right above your head, while you move down on your left knee. In this motion the blade moves over the opponent.
You then move in, with your right knee gliding over the floor, towards Teki. You step on the sleeve of Teki to immobilise his (left) arm and strike to the left of your left knee to cut Teki's belly (not the ribcage). Cut low but do stay upright (don't bend your upper body) - there may be other opponents around - you need to be able to keep your attention around.
When the sword is drawn, pivot with saya-biki to control Teki with your sword across his/her chest/arms etc.
Cut downward to thrust Teki on the floor - swing the sword back via the left side over your head towards your right above your head and hold it there with your arms stretched. You can then move in/closer to his/her body / perpendicular and cut Teki's belly (not the chest). There is no need to move forward while cutting (!) as in previous movements, as you bring the the blade overhead, it moves over your opponent.
12-Jul-98