 Welcome to Street Smart Samurai. I'm Dana Abbott and I will be your guide throughout this video series on Kenjutsu, how to wield a Japanese sword. At the beginning of any endeavor, one must have a plan of action to follow and abide by. To become proficient, focal points are used as a guide. Focal points help set up and execute the various techniques. There are many focal points to choose from, but to keep it simple at this time, I will only demonstrate the ones that will help you fight better. The first focal point to taking consideration is the triangle. The triangle is based off of your hips when you first bring the sword out and transition into any of your stances or technique. From this triangle, it allows you to easily and effectively go down, front, or even upward without telegraphing. How I want you to look at this is if I put my elbow to my hip and I bring my hands together, forming a triangle this way. A lot of times when you don't have a triangle and you reach for the sword or the stick, you have a tendency to come over here to this side, which leaves this whole shoulder area open. If you maintain the triangle, no matter what way you're going to execute a technique, you will always be on target easier, sooner, and faster. Here are some other focal points to taking consideration. When you lift the sword above your head and execute technique from here, it is very ambiguous as far as the striking and the reason why is a lot of times it isn't consistent. To be consistent, a focal point is a plus. Remember, if I lift this above my head and I swing down and I lift it again above my head and swing down again, chances are the same angles won't be seen. To help perfect this, we created focal points. So if I want to start my cut from here off the side of my head, I make sure my focal point here is my temple. If I look up over on the top of my head, how high should I lift the sword? Lift it about a fist distance up and that will be your focal point. When I get ready to strike down onto the target, where do I strike or how do I do that? Well, of course, there's many ways to train, but if you bring your hand up to your nose with this focal point and then bring it straight up, it will be always consistent because most of the time when people grab the sword, they usually come this way one time, this way another time, this way another time. Therefore, you can even see yourself that cuts and the strikes won't be consistent. How about a focal point to your opponent? Usually, if you keep the sword right at his throat, this is a very good strong center mass focal point. Another focal point keeps you from following through too far. Of course, when you cut, you have a tendency to come down and hit the target, but a lot of times people use too much pressure and they bring the sword down so far where the tip hits the floor, the back of the blade is to the opponent opening you up. What I want you to look at, if you use a focal point here, I want you to throw the sword out, but by the time the tip comes down to your opponent's knee area, right where this is, this will stop your sword from over adjusting and putting you into difficulty. Let's review some of these personal focal points again. Focal point, the tip of the nose. When you do lift your hand up to the sword and grasp the handle, make sure it passes over your nose and touches it every time to be consistent. When you lift the sword above your head, either on the right or left hand side, have your thumb go into the temple area and bring it up that way. Just to make sure that if you're doing a right or left downward diagonal cut, it will be consistent. Another focal point to remember is the fist above your head. If it stays a fist above your head, you'll be able to cast consistently all the time. Your triangle is another important focal point I want you to use. Moreover, if you see your personal focal point coming down below your knee or your opponent's knee, remember that you'll overshoot your technique and be put into difficulty. From these personal focal points, I want you to practice until your muscle memory sets in and then you will become more consistent in all your techniques.