 Hello, my name is Shihan Abbott, and welcome to your first lesson at Learn the Sword on TGNTV. There are many viewers out there who have always wanted to practice Japanese sword, but never have had the time or opportunity. Well, that has all changed now, so let's jump right in and get started. The first thing is, you're going to need a sword. Some of you probably have one lying around, so if you can, go find it. For the others who do not have one, I want you to go on the internet and find one there. Just order a boken or a bokuto. Ah, here it is. Boken or bokuto, the Japanese terminology for wooden sword. But ordering and waiting on a bokuto could take weeks, and you want to start today. So here's what we can do. Just go over and click pause, and go around the house trying to find an old broomstick. After you've found your broom, what I want you to do now is get it ready to measure. So lay it down, and measure out about one meter, between 39 to 40 inches. After you've marked it, now cut it. For the most sword training, the student usually starts with wood. Wood offers a much safer way to begin studying the sword. Now after you've cut the length that you want, I want you to take your hands and go over some of the burrs. You could also use some sandpaper, and then take it to the other side here where the rounded edge is from your broomstick, measure down about 12 inches and mark it. Now with this length of broomstick, we're going to be able to use this as a sword until your other one comes in. Everyone has their own individual reason or want to wield the sword. Some of you want to do it for the discipline, while others want to practice the sword for self defense, while others just want to have fun in a great time doing something exotic and different. Whatever your reason or goal, over time and practice, your body will begin to strengthen its core, and you will be able to focus much stronger, like the samurai. Many of those samurai practiced, Hapogiti. Hapogiti, it is the basic discipline and foundation used by many samurai throughout the ages. Throughout the series, we will cover the various aspects of the sword, from the basic flip print, all the way to all the subtleties, protocol, and ritual seen within the sword and the art of the sword. In this Hapogiti series, we will go over the eight basic cuts, the eight basic stances, the eight basic katas, and the other fundamentals that will help you in your body's timing, rhythm, speed, and balance. And to mention, using your broom handle, i.e. sword, you'll be able to basically sweep the floor faster than anybody else, but moreover, you'll be able to take this and beat the tar out of anybody with it. And that offers some good, strong self defense. Let's start with how to handle your sword, and with a bit of practice, you will do just fine. Also note, before you start any physical activity, it is always wise to stretch and warm up first. Now what I'd like you to do is establish a strong foundation. I want you to stand up straight, with your feet together, toes pointing out at a 45 degree angle, shoulders back, and now what I want you to do is, in this V stance, I want you to step forward with your right foot, just like that. I want you to execute a chudanokamai, chudanokamai, it is a center stance with a sword positioned in front of you with a tip pointing towards eye level. Let me execute a chudanokamai one more time. I lift the sword up, I bring it around, and I make sure that the tip is basically level with my eyes. Let's talk about your grip and how to hold the sword. Did you know that gripping a sword is almost identical to gripping a hammer, and since many of you have used a hammer, let's start from that scenario first. Just like gripping the sword, if you grip the handle improperly, you won't be able to hit the nail exactly on the head, or you might hurt your hand. So, the way you line up your hand for a hammer and the way you line up for a sword are almost identical. As with the hammer and the wooden sword, a real sword has the same concept, so you bring your hands in, you grasp with the little fingers, the palm of your hand, and you squeeze around the blade. The same physics are applied with the left hand too. Now I'm back to the broomstick, which most of you are using right this second. It is already marked off at about 12 inches. The handle works really well, but here's a couple of things I want you to look at too. Make sure that your hands are on top of the wood handle, not on the side like this. A lot of times people are going to have their hands on the side. We call this monkey paws. Nevertheless, I want you to make sure that the sword is underneath the palms of your hands, so when you do lift the sword up and you do start striking, you have much better consistent strokes and cuts. These are your basic transitions for you in your first lesson. And back, sword out, sword back. Now since we've established a good base with your drawing, your stance, gripping, and sheathing the sword, let's incorporate your first cut. In your Chudan stance, now let's lift the sword above your head into a Migi Jodanokamai. It is a right upper overhead stance. I am now going to execute a cut, the first cut of your series. This is known as a Shinchoku Giri. Shinchoku Giri. The Japanese term to execute a cut from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock in a vertical fashion. And now let's execute our cut and bring the sword around again and make another cut. Over here at an angle, so you can see a better side angle of this, you'll notice when I raise this up to my head, I can find my focal point here on top. So I want you to bring your hand down and up. So the left hand basically falls along your hairline here. From here, I can easily throw the sword out and execute a Shinchoku Giri. And again, with your practice, I want you to practice over and over again until you are smooth, consistent, and confident about this cut. Now when you execute a strike, not only do you have a good strong foundation, your grip is strong, you pull the sword out, you draw the sword well, you set up nicely, you execute a cut, and of course you bring the sword back and stand right back into your strong base. If you practice in this fashion, you will be able to understand the dynamics of Hapogiri. Now let's take what we've learned and put all this together. I hope you enjoyed your first lesson here at Learn the Sword on TGN-TV. In our next lesson, we're going to take what we've learned in our established foundation and add more on to it. Until our next lesson, stay well.