Hanshi - The path to 8th dan: Tanaka Sanae Hanshi Part .1

“Just like an act of God, you have to move the hearts of the judges.”

                                           -Tanaka Sanae

When we see shiai these days, as soon as you hear ‘Hajime’ both individuals move slowly in while guarding until they meet in tsuba-zeriai. Though it may be the way a shiai is structured in the minds of the competitors, it creates an uneasy feeling. Tanaka Hanshi explains the reason for this unease as he spoke.

              Ota Hanshi had once believed that even if you were struck with the shodachi, you could always turn around and gain it back with the next strike. However, Hanshi 9th Dan Morishima 健男 Sensei said to him, “In kendo, If you are cut down once with a katana, it’s all over.” From then on his kendo changed so that he no longer went in to strike without thought, but that he would devise his seme as he carefully moved in to strike. This single point carried over into gradings so that if he were struck from the shodachi he would feel that it was already over.

              When you think of kendo as a sword duel where someone will be cut down, even if guarding it is not easy to close the gap between you. If you apply this process to the shodachi with this feeling of tension, then you will approach the air and quality of the higher dan levels will be born.

Hanshi - The Path to 8th Dan

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