My Thoughts on Honte and Gyakute

 

(Note from Jodojo Team: This discussion was prepared for selling with the Kihon video produced by Nishioka Sensei, and is the first time it has appeared as an English version.)

 

In a writing by Professor Eishi Matsuoka of Tokyo Gakugei University, there is a small section dealing with Honte and Gyakute, the name of which is “Japanese and Chinese Kanji” (Kanji are the ideograms that are of Chinese origin). I read this with deep interest. However, I found that in regards to the practice of SMR Jodo there was a lack of explanation.

 

This writing describes the terms “Junte” and “Gyakute”, and in Iaido the corresponding terms are “Juntou” and “Sakatou”. In Jodo we have “Honte” which corresponds to “Kirite” in Kendo. These words are different for each art. There are 3 ways to take Kamae (or stance) with the hips: front on, side on, and in between. These stances naturally have their own names as well.

 

Particularly in Jodo, there are two ways to grip things - Honte and Gyakute. To understand Honte and Gyakute, one must perfectly explain these things, internalise these techniques, and put them into practice. So even if you understand these words, it is a different matter to be able to perform them properly or not. Matsuoka Sensei wrote in his book that even when one looks up these terms in the dictionary it is still difficult to understand. Since the time I came to comprehend SMR Jodo, I realised the carelessness about these issues (both of my myself and others). Therefore, I would like to explain my style.

 

1. Nishioka Sensei demonstrates Honte.

 

2. Nishioka Sensei demostrates Gyakute.

 

In the video of Kihon-dousa, you will notice that I explain many times the points I that I think are important.

In everyday life, if you review the ways of picking up and gripping things, you will understand more about the things that you were previously doing unconsciously. Of course, unconscious actions will not be properly understood by your body. The awareness of Honte and Gyakute of SMR Jodo is exactly the same. I was thinking about these issues in my 50’s and 60’s, but I don’t think I really understood the importance of the grip in Honte and Gyakute stances until I was in my 70’s.

 

When using tools, I think we should try to think about how we hold and use them. If you watch closely the grip that people use when practicing kendo or iaido, you will see subtle differences in the form of the grip. I also found the names they use for these grips differ. In Bujutsu this is called “Tenouchi", and I think this is one of the least understood principles. One of the reasons for this is that the hands very rarely take the same shape when gripping things… in fact, they are constantly changing.

 

When holding things you have an aim, and you should change your grip to match the task you wish to perform. I think there must be countless ways to hold any object. In Bujutsu there is sword, jo, bo, spear, naginata, rifle, pistol and various other weapons. In golf, tennis, baseball, gymnastics, weightlifting, badminton and other sports there are an endless number of implements.

 

Honte is also known as “Kirite” (cutting hand), and Gyakute is also known as “Uchite” (hitting hand). Both grips are used in jodo, and usually only Honte is used for sword.

 

The Kanji (Chinese ideogram) used for Gyakute can also be pronounced as “Sakate”. However, I have only come to realise the difference of Gyakute and Sakate recently. This is actually quite an embarrassing confession to make. It took me many years of practice to understand these small things. In the basic techniques of Jodo there is a technique called Gyakute Tsuki (Tsuki means thrust). I think this technique would be better named Sakate Tsuki (rather than Gyakute Tsuki) because of the grip used. There is the normal Honte way of holding (a jo or sword), and in the case of Sakate the method of gripping is the same (as Honte). These differences are kind of puzzling, so I would like everyone to take the time to think about it.

 

3. Nishioka Sensei demonstrates Sakate.

3. Maybe it is hard to understand Sakate from the explanation in this article... The Tenouchi of Sakate is the same as Honte, but the difference is that the object (jo, knife... whatever you are holding) is reversed. The most obvious example of this is in Gyakute-tsuki. You will see in the above picture (right) Sensei demonstrating the correct grip of Gyakute-tsuki (or Sakate-tsuki). In the picture on the left, we see the kamae for the start of the kata 'Hissage'... another example of Sakate.

 

So, what is the Tenouchi of Honte? (Or… how do I grip in Honte?) And what is the Tenouchi of Gyakute? When gripping in Honte, the object you are gripping runs along the life line of the palm, at an angle from the base of the index finger. When gripping in Gyakute, the object is held in a line across the palm. For Honte the wrist is bent back, and for Gyakute the wrist is straight (or flat). Please experiment with this.

 

Usually, people are not paying attention to the difference of Honte and Gyakute in their everyday activities. There are two main ways of holding things, and these ways have different advantages which people are not aware of. How do you hold your chopsticks? Or brush? Knife, fork, spoon, hammer, saw? There are a limitless number of objects, so the object you use will depend on the intended purpose. There is probably a correct way to use each of these objects, and it is doubtful whether people really understand the correct way.

How do drummers hold drumsticks? How does the shamisen player hold the pick? I would like to ask a specialist in these areas. I wonder if they are teaching two ways of holding things. Maybe after a lot of practice such specialists may have found these things by themselves.

 

Only recently I have realised these things, and I think that there are many people who don’t clearly see the difference between the Tenouchi (gripping method) of Honte and Gyakute. For example, when taking Gyakute seigan kamae (a stance with the jo pointing to the eyes, being held in Gyakute grip) I have seen people who have the front hand in Gyakute, but are holding the jo in Honte with their rear or main hand. Even highly ranked and very experienced people are doing this. Also, in the case of Honte-uchi and Hikiotoshi-uchi there are many people who have the front hand correctly in Honte, but it surprises me that their rear or main hand slips into Gyakute. For Hikiotoshi-uchi, at the first moment of gripping the hand is in Gyakute, and at the final moment of hitting or cutting the hand should probably be in Honte.

 

Since I realised about Honte and Gyakute, I see that the Honte grip of people who use the jo is not perfect. It astonishes me that the Honte grip, even of experienced practioners of kendo or iaido, looks like it is not determined. It surprises me that many people are cutting with a sword using Gyakute grip.

 

In conclusion, I think there are basically two methods of gripping (Honte and Gyakute), and there are no other ways to grip. In Japanese language, the characters used for Gyakute and Sakate are the same, but in actuality they are completely different so we need to be careful. We must also be very clear about the position of the wrist in these grips. The practical differences of Honte and Gyakute can be found from the experience of swinging, hitting, pulling, pushing or cutting… your body can only come to understand these things through Keiko (practice). Even if you can do it one or ten times that is not enough. You need to put in great effort to be able to do a technique with the same result every time. However, one can never say one’s basics are perfect… there is a reason that it is said that one has to practice for their whole life.

 

I repeat, in SMR Jodo the first three basics are Honte-uchi, Gyakute-uchi and Hikiotoshi-uchi. The usefulness of this knowledge is not limited to SMR Jodo, but can be applied to all other things.

 

Kiri-otoshi and other discussion - Jodojo Nov 04

 

Interview with Nishioka Sensei - Jodojo Sept 04

 

My Thoughts on Honte and Gyakute - A discussion by Nishioka Sensei. Jodojo 11 Apr 04

 

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