No.1 Tenouchi 1

Kihon (Basic Movements)
No.1 Tenouchi 1

手の内 (te no uchi) is a term that carries different meanings, but in martial arts it is used to indicate especially the way of grasping/gripping a sword or the respective hand form etc.

This is of extraordinary importance for it is the only point of contact between the sword and oneself.

Demonstration of 手の内 (te no uchi)

Explanation

This time I’m going to explain the way of holding your sword in regards to Tenshinryuu.

In a previous video we’ve introduced 竜の口 (tatsu no kuchi – lit. “dragon’s mouth”) as one of the representative hand forms used in Tenshinryuu. This time I would like to put the focus on how to grasp/grip the sword and explain 手の内 (te no uchi).

About the hand form

First, let’s talk about the hand form. Normally, when people grip a cylindrical object they form a clenched fist like this. It’s very likely for the four fingers to form a flat surface.

However, when gripping a sword, we affix the little finger, the ring finger and the middle finger at different levels, thus creating a slope.

Index finger and thumb act independently from the other three fingers and we make sure that they don’t touch any of them.

From the side the thumb and the index finger form something that resembles the mouth of a dragon, which is why we call this hand form 竜の口 (tatsu no kuchi – “dragon’s mouth”).

Demonstration and explanation

Well then, let’s actually try to hold a sword.

In Kenjutsu and the like, you first place the tsukagashira like this onto your palm. Then, you wrap up the tsukagashira to grasp it and thus make a 手の内 (te no uchi). In this case, my left hand has formed a 竜の口 (tatsu no kuchi).

Wrap up the tsukgashira and hold the sword, make sure your left little finger is detached from the tsukagashira.

Then make another 竜の口 (tatsu no kuchi) with your right hand to hold the sword whilst making sure not to touch this metal fitting called 縁金 (fuchigane).

When gripping the sword, make sure that on both hands your thumb, index finger and middle finger stay independent and are not touching one another.

Also, it’s crucial to leave enough space between your left hand the tsuba for about one raw egg to fit between them.

The important thing is the angle between tsuka and hand.

Normally, if you grip something, your four fingers become flat, so you will be holding the tsuka at a right angle.

However, when using a sword instead of that, align the tsuka with your palm’s life line so you would place your hand diagonally onto the tsuka and then grip it.

This should be the angle.

Make sure to place your hand diagonally onto the tsuka from the lower part of your wrist to the root of your index finger.

This is basically the same for both the left and and the right hand.

Squeezing the 手の内 (te no uchi)

Usually, when gripping the sword, you slightly squeeze with both hands to the inside. If you squeeze too much, you’ll end up stretching your elbows, so apart from the moment when you are doing the cut assume a rather loose posture where squeeze only a little.

Right here is a weak spot of the human body called 合谷 (goukoku) which we let go slightly to the inside when forming the 手の内 (te no uchi).

When cutting/slashing down we squeeze our 手の内 (te no uchi) more, but it slightly differs from the condition we have when simply gripping the sword, so please pay attention to that.

If your squeezing on the 手の内 (te no uchi) is too loose, both of your elbows will open up and you’ll assume a weak stance from which you cannot react on the spur of the moment. As such, squeezing with both of your hands to the inside is crucial.

手の内 (te no uchi) training method

Squeezing the 手の内 (te no uchi) like this is called 雑巾絞り (zoukin shibori – “house-cloth wringing/squeezing”). We squeeze or wring a piece of cloth like this one.

Nowadays a lot of people would wring the cloth like this, but originally you would start with both hands on the inside and then turn them outside and wring the cloth that way.

Doing so will allow you to squeeze out the water naturally without putting in any force simply through the work from stretching your elbows and closing the 手の内 (te no uchi).

Like I’ve mentioned before, the 手の内 (te no uchi) differs slightly between when cutting and when assuming a stance, but as a basic rule, if you don’t squeeze properly your elbows will open up and end up in a weak posture, so this 手の内 (te no uchi)’s work of wringing a piece of cloth is an important foundation.

The difference in regards to kenjutsu and battoujutsu

In battoujutsu, after drawing the sword, when abruptly placing the left hand onto the tsuka, grabbing the sword precisely at the tsukagashira to wrap around it is quite difficult, which is why we grab slightly closer to the tsuba.

However, in kenjutsu, only if time allows it do we leave some space between left and right hand to grab the sword in a way in which we can wrap around the tsukagashira as a fundamental principle.