The Pivot Cut

Sept. 1, 2002

Every once in a while I make a connection between one form of weapons and another, or carry something that I’ve learned from weapons to my body techniques. The Pivot Cut is one of those. In the 21 step jo kata, at number 9, there is a strike with the jo that involves pivoting on your feet and moving the jo verically to strike behind you. This is a powerful and effective jo technique, because you can really get your hips into the strike.

While working on another writing project (Aibukido), I was describing this pivot strike when it occurred to me that the same technique would work for the bokken. I tried it out and .... it works!

Start in a left hanmi position, hips facing forward. Hold the bokken in chudan no kamae. Flip the bokken upside down, so that the edge faces upwards. Hold the handle of the bokken at your hips and pivot on both feet to face the rear. At the same time, bring the bokken up vertically in an arc until it points to the rear, also. Flipping the bokken allows the edge to cut forward at the end of the cut. At the end of the cut, you are in a good position to slide forward into a tsuki.

So why bother, you might ask? This is a very fast trasition from front to rear which brings the blade of the sword over to the rear to fend off an close attack. When the attacker retreats, you follow up with the tsuki. A similar type of transition happens when you pivot on both feet and bring the sword up over your head into jodan no kamae. From there, you can strike shomen.