Hello everyone. Thank you for reading this article. I’m Shogo from Let’s ask Shogo, the interpreter of the online lessons and owner of this website.

1. What is This Video About?

This is a video where we introduced how we train free sparring at our dojo with the Fukuro-shinai. Seki Sensei, Tsukada-san, and I fought each other. Fukuro-shinai, meaning “bag bamboo sword,” is a training sword made by splitting the end of bamboo into eight and putting a leather bag over it. It is made for free sparring training, as it only hurts about getting hit by a plastic baseball bat. However, if you hurt your fingers, it ends your life as a swordsman, so we always wear Naginata gloves to protect our hands.

2. Why Should You Absolutely Watch it?

In most of our videos on Let’s ask Seki Sensei, we introduce the Kata (forms/drills) in our Ryuha. Many people have been saying to us in the comments that Seki Sensei will not actually be able to fight with someone because he only trains these forms, which won’t work in real life. The truth is that Seki Sensei has been training Kendo since he was three years old and has done it almost every day when he was in his 10s and 20s. By watching this video, you can see how calmly he fights and how he fully controls the distance with the opponent and knows when he can and cannot attack. Anyone training in katana martial arts or a sparring sport must watch this to learn something new from Seki Sensei.

3. What are Some Points NOT Discussed in the Video But Shared Here?

Tsukada-san and I don’t have much training in competitive martial arts. and we are both not so aggressive when we train free sparring with Fukuro-shinai. I must say I feel as awkward as I feel fear fighting with Seki Sensei, because I’m just not used to trying to attack a superior with a sword, let alone the headmaster of Asayama Ichiden Ryu. But some dojo students would try to tackle Seki Sensei and throw him to the floor when they train free sparring with him. There is one video on the Japanese channel of Asayama Ichiden Ryu where Seki Sensei was tripped, and he beats the student back instantly, if you’re interested please check out that fight too.