Wearing The Sword

Wearing The Sword (Belt Positioning)

Positioning the sword on the body so that it facilitates effective and efficient deployment is tactically very important. From The carry sword method, bring the sheathed sword horizontally so that the handle to the right and the butt of the sheathed sword with the blade up to the left directly in-front of the body at the level of the shoulder. Seize the Handle with right palm up and the butt of the sheath with left palm down. This constitutes a salutation to the sword.

Next, insert the butt of the sheath directly between the abdomen and the inner-most belt fold at the left-front side using the left hand to guide the sheath into your belt. The blade edge must be up. Push the sheath deep into your belt and position the sword so that the handle is pointing forward and inward in such a way so that the inner right edge of the rim of the handle guard is in line with the navel. The sheath must slant backward, down and outward to the left rear corner.
Drawing The Sword

From kneeling or standing position, grasp the sheath with the last three fingers of your left hand. The thumb must more less be positioned at “three O’clock” and the index finger at “nine o’clock”. The sword is rotated a little to the left (counter-clockwise) in order to keep the left wrist straight. The right arm is positioned at the side just forward of the axillary line.

  1. Swing the right hand, turning the palm upward, in a circular motion toward a point about four (4) inches above the butt of the handle of the sword.
  2. Push the sword forward with the left hand until the “metal sleeve” is under the little finger of the right hand
  3. Invert the right hand (dropping the wrist) and grasp the handle. At the same time twist the sheath a little counter-clockwise and push forward against the handle guard with the thumb and index finger of the left hand to free the blade (cutting the opening).
  4. Drawing the sword begins at this point. The right elbow is tucked into the side so that the right hand is pushing, not pulling the blade forward
  5. Continue to push the blade forward until the tip of the sword has cleared the opening of the sheath while pulling the sheath to the rear
  6. Draw the blade completely out of the sheath before beginning any cutting action. Failure to observe this detail may result in cutting through the sheath and possible injury
  7. Draw the sword completely before releasing the sheath with the left hand
  8. The back of the blade should glide smoothly along the inside of the (back) of the sheath. Blade angle changes will shred the inside of the sheath and can prevent a clean draw
  9. After practice, remove the and gently tap the mouth of the upright sheath against the floor to remove any loose wood chips.
  10. The easiest way to determine the skill of a swordsman is to look at the opening of the sheath. There should be no marks from the edge of the blade.
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