Sword Taking Basics #1: Do Not Be Arrogant Before the Blade | The Premises of Sword Taking (Ken-dori / Tachi-dori)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-8vs6-b4DY

Today's video from Aikido Samsungdang (合気道三誠堂(サムソンダン)) focuses on the basics of Sword Taking (Ken-dori / Tachi-dori), which we will cover in a three-part series. In this first installment, we prioritize the absolute minimum requirements for survival—Ma-ai (distancing) and risk management—over the techniques themselves.

Based on my professional experience as a police officer, there is a premise I must establish before we begin our training. It is, quite frankly, absurd to think one can easily neutralize an armed opponent with bare hands. While many admire the flashy techniques showcased by action movie heroes, the first reality we must face when confronting a weapon is the presence of realistic fear and physical limitations.

Realistic fear does not merely mean being afraid of the weapon itself. It includes the psychological barrier of instinctively avoiding the act of harming another person. Human nature is such that the stress of having to kill an enemy is often greater than the stress of facing one's own death, a fact clearly proven by U.S. military research following the World Wars. Physical limitations refer to spatio-temporal barriers. A prime example is the well-known 21-Foot (approx. 7 meters) Rule, which represents the minimum distance an officer needs to draw and fire their weapon safely when an assailant rushes them with a blade.

I believe that the Kata (form) of Sword Taking is a process of systematically addressing these psychological and spatio-temporal barriers. By repeatedly placing practitioners in extreme situations, Kata forces them to undergo trial and error, allowing them to become accustomed to realistic fear. Just as U.S. military research led to replacing circular shooting targets with human silhouettes and strengthening simulation training to improve combat readiness, Kata provides psychological training in the same vein. Furthermore, since Kata starts with the weapon already exposed and the Tori aware of the threat, the Ma-ai is shorter than the 21-Foot Rule, but one must deeply understand the movement constraints caused by the sword's length for training to remain practical.

The most critical factor in determining the quality of training is the role of the Uke as the attacker. As I always emphasize at the dojo, a correct output can only be generated when there is a correct input. The Uke must attack with a sincere intent to strike the Tori’s crown accurately for the Tori’s practice to hold practical value. The Tori must also be extremely wary of situations where they are being cut without even realizing it and must focus all their attention on the precision of their Tai-sabaki (body movement) to prevent this.

Sword Taking practice is not just about the skill of disarming an opponent. It is the process of perfecting the most precise and compact Tai-sabaki under extreme crisis, which ultimately leads to the completion of bare-handed Taijutsu.