Shikaku in Kenjutsu--The "Left Side Problem"
By Ivica Zdravkovic, Shinbukan
Dojo
Term
"shikaku" (the "dead angle") is well known to most advanced
budoka. Whether in empty-handed arts like jujutsu, or weapon arts like kenjutsu,
it means the same: using proper sabaki and arm/weapon manipulation to assume
such a position (angle) where your opponent has almost no chance of delivering
any attack, while you have the opportunity of choosing what will be your finishing
technique. Being able to reach the "shikaku" is almost the ultimate
goal in marital arts. It is a general strategy in defensive as well as offensive
attitude: no matter if you are just responding to your opponent's attack or
you are actually "making the first move", getting in a safe position
and opening ways to finish your opponent from that same position is the final
point of each fight.
Many years ago, while I was still on the beginning of my instructional "career" in kenjutsu, I liked to use several expressions and explanations that had helped me in passing the "shikaku" theory onto my students. In the first place, I used the terms "active" and "passive" sides, when referring to the initial position of crossed swords. Most of us are teaching kihon waza (strikes, cuts, stabs, etc) from the position where our left side of the blade touches with the left side of the opponent's blade. Swords are crossed for about 5 inches, held in chudan no kamae, with kissaki pointed to the face of our opponent. This is "passive side" or "passive position". Why? Because we all keep our right hand and right leg in the front, and in this beginning position, our sword is practically pushed to our right side, and so we are disabled to cut those protruded parts of opponent's body. In order to get to the "active" side, we must draw a small circle around opponent's kisaki, perform short harai waza by pushing the opponents blade to our right side, and finally get in the position where our swords are touching with right sides of the blades. Now, both kenshi are in position to perform fast kote uchi to the protruded right hand of the opponent. This is active side, and is much ore demanding than the passive (initial) side. While we often us the passive side to rest for a while, when on the active side there is no time for that. The simplest reason is in ability of our opponent to cut our right hand, or right leg. But, there is still more to expect.
While active side immediately calls for higher attention, this is still relatively safe position, compared to what I used to call the "dominant position". This "dominant position" is achieved when we push and press down the opponent's blade far to the right, bringing in the same time our blade over the opponent's and making a small irimi to the left. From this position, we are able to perform powerful horizontal cuts (right yoko kiri, suihei kiri, or do kiri), and still, we are is such an angle where our opponent has very small chance of making any successful attack. This is "shikaku". My old expression "the dominant position" served the purpose. It matched with famous theory of "stepping onto the opponent's blade" (ken o fumu), presented in the Gorin no sho, and it also matched with the kiri otoshi theory, where instead performing light and quick harai waza, we actually strike (cut) the opponent's blade, lowering it and placing our own blade on the top of it.
So, from these very superficial explanations of "active" and "passive" sides and the "dominant position" it is also visible that most of my early teaching relied on the fact that it is was very hard to wound your opponent's left side. Eventually, the "dominant position" always referred to the position where we keep our opponent on our right side, and are opening ways to cut his right arm, or his right leg, or to cut him horizontally to the head or over the chest. But, the dominant position (or, we shall cal it the right name now; the "shikaku") is also possible on the left side. with simple "push-yield-press" tactics, we can also cover our opponent's blade with the mune of our sword, pushing and pressing his weapon far to the left. During that action, we perform small irimi to the right, and finally we get in an ideal position for left yoko kiri or kesa giri. This "trapping" of the opponent's sword under our blade, while mowing forward and out from his line of attack, is the finest example of "shikaku" in martial arts. If we remember it more often, even the strikes to the left kote of the opponent will not be so rare any longer. In fact, by keeping all this in mind, we get to the simple conclusion: there are no 'active' and 'passive" sides, there are no safe "initial" positions, there is only a hope that our kensen (movement of kissaki) and our "shikaku maneuvers" will be better than the opponent's.
(Please, visit the website of Zdravkovic sensei at the Shinbukan Dojo )