 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. When sparring and fighting, the need for a simple, practical, and effective stance is a very important factor. Your stance has to take you to the target, be the foundation of that attack, get you out of harm's way, and all in a timely manner. With that understood, if you practice anything fancy at this time of your training, you will become an easy target. It's that simple. Let's begin in a natural body position. Standing up straight, heels together, toes pointing off at an angle, the sword, and your hands at your side. From here, let's begin the transition into the first stance. I will give it a count of four. One, two, three, four, and a count of two. One, two, and also with a count of one. One. Let's see it on a side view, the count of four. One, two, three, four, and a count of two. One, two, and a count of one. One. Let's take a closer look at this hand and foot positioning. Your right hand is forward, as with your right foot. Your feet are positioned in the same manner as riding a skateboard, surfboard, or snowboard. Your back is straight, and your feet are evenly balanced. Next, I'm going to flip and rotate this sword forward into a center stance, also known as a chudan no kamai. Let's take a closer look at this hand transition and break it down to a count of three. One, remove your hand from the sword, put it at your side. Two, rotate and flip the sword forward. Three, grasp the handle with your left hand. Let's bring this back and do it for a count of one. One. On the side, let's do this for another count of three. One, move your hand, put it on the side. Two, flip the sword forward. Three, grasp the handle. And a count of one. One. Let's review these transitions for your first stance. We'll start with numbers, count of seven. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Let's speed it up for a count of four. One, two, three, four. Let's speed this up more for a count of two. One, two, and then finally a count of one. One. I'd like you to practice these transitions into your stance over and over until your muscle memory sets in. The faster and smoother you can bring the sword out in front of you, the easier it will be to set up for your next technique. After you have become accustomed to all the transitions in your first stance, I want you to take it over to your other side. Because if you can do the exact same thing in a mirrored position, you will become a very proficient fighter.