David Scott © 2016

 

Go No Ken

Clip 9. Go No Ken

 

This starts in the same way as Yon No Ken and is the same up until and including the tsuki by oshiete and defence of this by manabite parrying omote while stepping back into right hanmi.

Manabite then executes a tsuki to oshiete’s right ribs by using the ha of the weapon and moving the bokken in a spiral into the opening under oshiete’s right arm and over oshiete’s bokken to control it. Manabite achieves this by turning the right palm down as they change hanmi by stepping forward on their left foot. The blade of the bokken is turned roughly horizontal to the floor as if to penetrate between the ribs. **

**  Sugano Sensei originally taught another way to make this tsuki to the ribs in Go No Ken by first turning the right hand palm up and dropping the blade on top of oshiete’s bokken and using the mune to effect the parry. The tsuki is then executed by turning the right hand palm down and turning the blade as before. Both methods invite oshiete to fall forward continuing in the direction of their previous tsuki. The earlier version, if used when practicing with a real sword, would be more likely to break the blade because the back and the sides of the Japanese sword are considered to be relatively weak points. I suspect that it was in recognition of this that Sensei changed this practice.

Oshiete, in right hanmi, steps back on the right foot into left hanmi and parries the attacking tsuki by releasing the grip the left hand has on the hilt and dropping their kissaki allowing the right hand to adopt the shape of nikkyo. The left hand will be open and facing palm up with the hilt in a vertical position between the thumb and index finger.

Clip 10 – Go No Ken, Manabite executs a tsuki to oshiete’s right ribs

 

Both manabite and oshiete will “move back” and make distance as they each go back initially into hanmi (“chudan gamae”) and then into jodan. Manabite will move first with the intention of drawing in oshiete’s attack to their left wrist at jodan. So manabite will arrive in the jodan position before oshiete.

After going up to jodan and making distance (which has to be great) both oshiete and manabite are in left hanmi and therefore (apart from the fact that they are not engaged) could be considered to be in ai hanmi.

Oshiete attacks kiri tsuke through manabite’s left wrist at jodan by changing hanmi and stepping in on their right foot. Do not move the left foot to the side.

Manabite steps in across the line of attack on their (back) right foot, bringing their left foot with it across the line and executes a cut kiri tsuke (in right hanmi) ura to “kill’ oshiete. Manabite does not prepare for this move by moving their left foot. 

Picture 15. Go No Ken – Manabite cuts on ura side

 

What is Go No Ken about and what does it add to the No Ken sequence?

The final move of Go No Ken is about directly crossing the line of attack and necessitates a sophisticated appreciation of the distance, direction and timing required. The distance must be correct in order to affect the final move. The practice is effectively “Issoku no Irimi” and is similar to the physical form of the body movement in shiho nage. It also illustrates the timing required in irimi nage. This version of the final moves in Go No Ken is as Sugano Sensei originally taught this bokken sequence to a class in Alice Springs in the year 2000.

The tsuki to the ribs is not on the central ken sen and therefore (depending upon the distance) necessitates a wider parrying move from oshiete when protecting their ribs. Nevertheless my preference is to practice keeping the point of engagement (crossing point of the ken) as close to the centre line as possible.

Like San No Ken, Go No Ken has changed over time. Initially, we went straight back into jodan rather than punctuating the practice with the move of both participants back into hanmi. As with San No Ken, I suspect this change was introduced by Sugano Sensei to ensure that people moved back to a sufficient maai to allow the final move and also as a way to punctuate manabite’s practice of the second strategy.

 

Alternative finish on Go No Ken

When manabite and oshiete both make distance and assume hanmi, manabite steps back on the left foot into right hanmi and then moves to jodan and finishes the movement by executing the old Number Three striking kiri tsuke on the ura side. That is, manabite moves the back (left) foot off the line of attack and to the left and then slides the right foot across in the same direction and forward and in toward oshiete to strike them with kiri tsuke on the ura side

 

Another option to finish Go No Ken

Another option would be for manabite to have moved back in the same hanmi (that is, left hanmi). Then as they practice the second strategy (raising the bokken to jodan to offer their wrist as a target through which the kiri tsuke will be struck), they move the left foot to the left and step across and in on the right foot into right hanmi to make kiri tsuke on the ura side.

It is possible that this version was what Sugano Sensei wanted us to practice when he last taught us Go No Ken in Australia.  Most of the class appeared to be doing it this way but unfortunately, I did not get to see Sensei do the manabite side of this sequence.

 

 

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