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This is a very interesting serious. Seki Sensei giving his thoughts on foreign weapons is very fun to watch. I hope you will try give Seki Sensei 2 Chinese hook sword and see what he think about it.

What I enjoy most about this video series is seeing how similar many of the techniques are between the European arts and more familiar with and the Japanese. Yes, there are definitely differences partly due to weapon differences and partly due to other factors like clothing & how one can move in it. But for me its most interesting focusing on the similar ideas, philosophies & techniques.

My respects to the Sensei..

Use to trained with the short Jo when I was studying akido years ago, I think it's the best thing to be good in for self defense when you want to do less -letal..

When sparring, i’d say atleast 90% of my wins are done by hitting the legs

Oh I love this one so much!

There are a few leg attacks in HEMA that I can think of but you would not do them with a sword more to be utilized with a billhook or halberd or other types of pole arms.

The best of the best of the old viking (Ulfberth) swords would maybe be a interesting thing to test, there was swords from that era that was as well made as a Katana, I think it was like Damascus steel, but the interesting part would be the design, it had smaller guards than the longsword but also a shorter handle and with sides that forming a spear like shape. I think it would not be a good sword to use, but a master may det a good idea how it may been used by the vikings.

zweihander should be the next

4:00 "You can stop his swing like this" ... Okay, but holy hell the skill required to do this is insane. Seki Sensi always blows me away with how easy he makes things look. So inspirational.

for people comparing to HEMA its worth pointing out most manuals studied by HEMA practitioners are manuals going over armored combat. how you would fight vs another man in armor so overpowered they're more or less battle tanks vs how you'd fight vs an unarmored peasant etc is different. the moves that make sense in the different scenarios will be different too. to understand how extremely overpowered european armor was, there are multiple instances in history where a handful of armored knights take out thousands of opponents, we're talking like 200 knights vs 8000 peasants and the result is 1 knight stubbed his toe and 7800 peasants were killed. european warfare, its weapons, its tactics, its martial art, for a thousand year, if not more, they were unrivalled. theres battles in the americas where 200 spaniards defeat 80,000 aztecs. its interesting to see this sword masters take because of the fact its not rooted in european cultural context or the assumption of the opponent wielding armor that completely negates the viability of most techniques. however it also makes sense the way he tried to use it is not the way europeans approached warfare. its almost "honorable" in a sense how japanese swordsmanship developed, as if you expect fairness or some sort of parity. samurai armor was not invincible, the armor of knights were more or less just that though. what could harm you was very limited, so you could adapt your swordplay after that fact. and when it came to less armored soldiers, they would rarely be using swords. swords are an inefficient weapon for anyone who doesnt practice it religiously, give a man a spear and they can be an effective warrior immediately, it would take many, many, many years for someone to beat a spear with a sword without relying on armor. peasants were given polearms, because anyone can use them well. even most professional soldiers, mercenary companies, doppelsöldners, etc, would primarily use polearms, with some exceptions using very large swords catered to specific roles in sieges etc. swords were mostly for wealthy knights from martial families, they were designed around that idea. there have always been exceptions of course, earlier than the knights we had vikings, where wealthy vikings would wear swords (most would use axe and shield instead), later than knights we have age of blackpowder, where cavalry were more lightly armored (armor didnt protect against bullets) and shifted to using cavalry and officer sabres, not too unlike katanas, since that is an effective design in that situation. its unlikely the techniques of knights would make much sense to Seki Sensei without seeing european knight armor. its also worth mentioning if you wear such armor and are up against people without it you can do more or less whatever you feel like because you're incredibly unlikely to be in harms way. edit: and yes, if a european army had fought a japanese army during the middle ages the result would be incredibly one sided in favor of europe. europe was an entire continent rich in resources where every king and leader sought dominance over their neighbor. it was not just constant warfare, it was constant innovation and technological and strategy races. japan was simply too isolated and too limited in resource access to have produced comparable things. we should be happy for that anyway, japanese history is cool and their soldiers, weapons, armors, etc, all have a cool unique look to them. even if they are "worse" than what europe produced, who cares? its history, it doesnt matter if a knight would beat a samurai so easily it wouldnt even be a fight to begin with.

That is genuinely one of the nicest katana’s I’ve ever seen. I love the tombo motif, and it’s very subtle and elegant. One day I want to own my own katana for my iaido practice and I hope it looks similar to this one.

The guard can be use in a technique called Mordhau.

Can you ask the master master to try a New Zealand Maori Taiaha. I would love to see how hed handle my traditional weapon. ❤❤❤

The blade motion really reminds me of parry/repost in european historical martial arts or fencing, although significantly flared up and exaggerated in comparison

If the attacker follows through, youre screwed.

Lost me right at the beginning. He doesnt know naginata.

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I need to check our their band now! And congratulations to 200K now, only 4 months later!

I am currently learning atarashi and would be very interested in learning about the 15 kata! I would also be willing to share any tips in handling naginata as well from my own experience in training with naginata!

Aww, playing tricks on Seki Sensei!

It would be great to see the techniques demonstrated by one of the masters you showed briefly at 02:40 as a guest.

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Another great Shunjo kata. In one lesson, Seki Sensei demonstrated how this kata works/ variations with other weapons.

I can never find the background music :c

There you have it, (somewhat) katana half-swording.

I've training katana by myself about 3-4 months. These type of videos show me what my issues and show how can i fix it. These videos are great.

Thought touching the blade with bare hands was abad thing?

The guard is this long to catch a sword and bring it closer to your hands. That way you can push it away easier and get an opening for an attack. You can for example push the blade of your openent up and get a thrust in by comming closer

To your question about leg attacks, yes, there are leg attacks in hema, but they are usually risky to pull off against an expirienced fighter

I have a special place in my heart for the Bo-staff. There is something about the weapon that, from the moment I picked it up, it began to improve my martial arts over all. I would love to see the similarities between the 15 Kata Naginata Techniques and the 15 Kata Bo techniques that I have learned. If Seki Sensei would be so kind.

White pants needs to work on his footwork desperately! With some practice he could be much more successful. Red pants seems more experienced based on his more solid footwork. Fun video!

What about weight ? A real long sword are difficult to handle with one hand, it's also why the handle are so long. Why not trying with a real one ?

I always thought Ukemi was just practice with not only with aikido and judo but with Ninjustsu. You learn something new everyday. Great pose❤

Thank you so very much. This is a man whom has achieved a state of grace.

I love watching old kata. If Seki Sensei can perform them, even without proper guidance, it would still be a great source of wisdom about the style.

Against a more foil-style rapier, hitting with a strong attack might actually be detrimental to you because you may cause the 'blade' to recoil off and whip back and forth, maybe you get hit by an attack you initially blocked. Although I have brought 'casual' swordfighting to a fencing club, I was immediately asked not to do the movements I was performing against my friend in a sparring match. That being said, the whipiness of a rapier seems to be its strength, being able to 'charge' swings by holding the tip of your sword and gain extra momentum from the nature of the metal as you lunge forward. However, you are using one style of rapier in this video. There are 'rapiers' with blades similar to a straightsword and with them, you rely on finess more than the durability of the metal (at least in my case) in order to feint and attack. But how one person uses a weapon is vastly different than another, who may incorporate the anticipation of weight of attacks or even consecutive attacks, a thin rapier would not be able to parry reliably, thus making you rely on your ability to dodge, and then also changing your fighting style.

Seki Sensei - yes, please show the naginata kata! It would be wonderful to have these documented online by you, sir.

It's more similar to a halbard than a spear, for the spear you had the Yari (I believe that's the name)

Sanada is trained in Kendo, Shorinji Kempo and Kyokushin Kaikan Karate.

When I was studying naginata, the reason I was told it became the prefered weapon of women was that men have a height and reach advantage and that the length negated this.

Most excellent display. 🙇🏾‍♂️

As someone who prefers staff or pole arms, this is really exciting to see!

I was curious to know what the long sword was made of. It seemed extremely light to me in the video. And from what I remember about the weight of this type of sword, it is that it is not very agile. In fact, I always believed that a swordsman with a long sword does not have much mobility. Using the excessive weight and very long length of the sword as strong points. Depending on the weight of the long sword used in the video, I wonder if the techniques used with a katana, much lighter and agile, would be possible to be used with a sword many times heavier than the katana.

Yes please more naginata, show us correct techniques. This would have great value for all martial arts practitioners. I love your videos! Deep respect to you Sensei

Are you sure in this footage he stabilizes with the right hand? Because it looks to me as if he stabilizes with the left hand and mainly thrusts with the right hand. I could be misunderstanding though.

Lol..in a real fight, your adrenaline would be pumping, and youd be choking the handle, lol. Practice as in combat.

Yes on the theory, but if itcwascever real, you must also react to blade resistance, impact, and even your blade getting stuck. All would happen.