“Among the basic ken practices left by the founder are the ki-musubi-no-tachi and the 5 kumi-tachi. Since the kumi-tachi are quite complicated, we must learn the basic 7 suburi in order to avoid becoming confused and to be able to safely practice the kumi-tachi. I formulated 7 suburi practices by selecting movements from the 7 kumi-tachi. We must practice the suburi a sufficient amount in order to execute the kumi-tachi safely.” – Morihiro Saito Sensei
When you practice buki-waza (weapons techniques) the posture you begin in is called shizen-tai, which means “natural body”, or “natural position”. Grab your ken (sword) in the middle with your left hand keeping it at an angle of 45° on your left side; your elbow should be slightly bent, your back straight, chest lifted and your heels very close together with a slight opening between your toes. Your right hand is relaxed on your right leg. You are ready to start ken practice.
The movement to draw the ken is called nuki-tsuke in Japanese. Grab the handle below the tsuba with the right hand and at the same time advance with the right foot, moving into ken-no-kamae-migi, in which the left hand grabs the ken at the end of the handle (tsuka), while the right hand grabs above, just below the tsuba; the feet are in migi-hanmi (right foot forward). The end of the sword handle, or hilt (called the tsuka-kashira) is in front of your hara, while the tip (kissaki) is pointed at an imaginary opponent’s throat in front of you.
The ken-suburi-nanahon are all performed starting from ken-no-kamae-migi.
The movement to sheath the sword is called noto-tsuke in Japanese. Follow the same movement, but in reverse. From ken-no-kamae-migi, while stepping back with the right foot and aligning it with the left, release the ken with the left hand and with the right bring the ken to your left side with the blade turned up; then, grab the ken in the middle with the left hand and return your right hand to your right side, thereby returning to shizen-tai.
Before beginning suburi practice, say the name of the series and then the name of each suburi. At the end of each suburi wait for two seconds (ni-byo) in order to control your position and then return to ken-no-kamae-migi. Perform a kiai during each cut and always maintain a martial attitude (zanshin and metsuke).
