Sanmi-no-Kurai “How to Stand”
In Tenshinryu, there are three basic ways of standing. These three types are collectively called ChikuSyaRoboku (竹斜老木), Sanmi-no-Kurai (三躰の位), and Sanmidachi-no-Kurai (三躰立の位). When actually using a sword, use the kanji for “三躰太刀の位.” Each of the three ways of standing has its own characteristics, but in actual combat, there is no one way that is the best. It is necessary to use different ways depending on the situation. So make sure you have a good balance of practice.
Robokudachi 老木立
Robokudachi is also called Kyokubokudachi(曲木立) or Kodendachi(古傅立). In Kenjutsu when wearing armor is generally called Kaisha-Kenjutsu(介者剣術). Robokudachi is said to be derived from the standing style used in Kaisha-Kenjutsu, and that is the standard for standing style in Tenshinryu. Keep your feet wide, both knees bend deeply, and your hips low. Bend your knees to lower your hips and lower your body’s center of gravity. Roboku(老木) means “old tree” in Japanese. Kyokuboku(曲木) means crooked tree. The name “Robokudachi” and “Kyokubokudachi” come from the posture of bent knees and bent hips, just like a tree that has been bent for a long time. Koden(古傅,古伝) means “old lore,” from before the Edo period. In other words, Kodendachi means “a way of standing used in swordsmanship that requires the wearing of armor in repeated wars.”
The width of the front and rear feet should be about one fist’s length as measured between the heel of the front foot and the knee of the back foot when the back knee touches the floor. (This is just a guideline.) This Robokudachi is a very painful posture at first, and it also makes it difficult to move around. However, as you become more proficient, you will be able to maintain your posture more easily and your footwork will be more flexible.
斜木立 Shabokudachi
Shabokudachi is also called Edodachi(江戸立) or Yokyokudachi(謡曲立). Edodachi is used as an antonym for Owaridachi (尾張立), which will be discussed later. In contrast to Owaridachi (Chikubokudachi), which was mainly used by the Owari Yagyu family(尾張柳生家), Edodachi means that it was mainly used by the Edo Yagyu family (江戸柳生家). It also means that it was mainly used in Suhada-Kenjutsu (素肌剣術) in the Edo period, when there were no more wars. The literal translation of Suhada(素肌) in Suhada-Kenjutsu is “naked body,” which in this case means not wearing armor.
Yokyokudachi is derived from its similarity to the foot and waist stances used in Nohgaku (能楽 The Japanese classical drama). Yokyoku is the vocal part of Nohgaku.
Shaboku (斜木) in Shabokudachi means a tree that grows at an angle. Like a diagonal tree, the knees are slightly bent and the upper body is tilted forward, but the knee flexion and forward lean are more gentle than in Robokudachi.
The width of the foot should be slightly narrower than Robokudachi, so that the heel of the front foot and the knee of the back foot are in a straight line when the back knee touches the floor.
・竹木立 Chikubokudachi
Chikubokudachi is also called Chokubokudachi (直木立), or Owaridachi (尾張立), or Tsuttachi (つったち). Chikuboku (竹木) means to stand straight like a bamboo without bending your knees or hips. The name “Owaridachi” comes from the Shinkageryu (新陰流), which was handed down to the Owari Domain (尾張藩) by Yagyu Toshitoshi (柳生利厳)gon, the grandson of Yagyu Sekisyusai (柳生石舟斎). Yagyu Sekisyusai was a swordsman who studied under Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, the founder of the Shinkageryu, and inherited the Shinkageryu lineage. This lineage was later called Yagyuryu (柳生流) and Yagyu-Shinkageryu (柳生新陰流.) This Shinkageryu of the Owari Yagyu clan was commonly called Owari Yagyu (尾張柳生), while the Shinkageryu of the Edo Yagyu clan of Yagyu Munenori (柳生宗矩) was commonly called Edo Yagyu(江戸柳生). Toshitoshi adopted the Tsuttatsutarumi no kurai (直立たる身の位 Stand in an upright position.) as the basic way of standing in accordance with the Gennaenbu (元和偃武.) With the fall of the Toyotomi family, the era changed from Keicho to Genna, this saw the end of war and the arrival of the true peace period, so the upright stance was symbolic of Owari Yagyu. In “Yukansyo (悒貫書)” a Shinkageryu biography that is said to have been written by Yagyu Jubei (柳生十兵衛, the eldest son of Yagyu Munenori), it is written that the “thing to do in the beginning” is “Tsuttatsutarumi no kurai no koto (つ立たる身位事 Stand in an upright position.”) Similarly, in Tenshinryu, it is said that Chikubokudachi is the best way to learn upper body movements for beginners.
Stand with both feet about shoulder-width apart and both knees slightly loose. The width of the front and back feet should be about a foot wide (from toe to heel). Raise the heel of the back foot slightly when the center of gravity is forward. From this Chikubokudachi, by bending your knees and lowering your posture, you can cut into the far distance, thus creating a spacing advantage.
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