How to Hold a Bokken
The bokken is a practice sword--made of wood with rounded edges where the edge of the blade should be--that has been passed down through the ages as a tool for improving sword-fighting techniques. Before learning to use a bokken, a fighter must learn how to properly grasp the bokken and address an opponent with it.
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Instructions
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1
Stand with your feet just wider than shoulder-width apart, with one foot in front of the other toward your opponent.
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2
Turn your front foot to face your opponent, and your rear foot perpendicular to your front foot.
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3
Bend your knees slightly. You still want to be mostly upright, but you do not want to fully straighten your legs as it will limit mobility.
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4
Place your non-dominant hand on the bottom of the grip, and your dominant hand directly above it.
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5
Hold the bokken upright in front of you, so that the shaft of the bokken is vertical.
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Comments
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erejacob
Oct 03, 2009
I would come to a slightly narrower stance. Keep the back foot pointed more forward, like a hook, not perpendicular, also keep the back leg straight, but not locked out, and put slightly more weight on the front leg. Always right hand on top and left hand on bottom (because your sword would traditionally be carried on your left side). The meaty part of the thumb joint would cover the top of the tsuka which allows you to put power behind your cuts---if only the thumb is "backing", the grip is too loose for impact. In chudan (seigan) the sword would be pointing at the opponents throat. Of course all this probably depends on style. -
wonkystik
Sep 10, 2009
[Step 4] says to place the dominant hand directly above the non-dominant, however the picture above shows a gap between the hands. Isn't the tsuka, the handle, often three hand-heights long, and some Aikido techniques rely on grabbing the opponent's bokken between his/her hands, so I'm guessing that the correct way to hold a bokken it to place the non-dominant hand on the bottom third of the tsuka and the dominant hand on the top third, leaving the middle third of the tsuka open. I'm no expert, but I believe holding the bokken this way also gives you more control of it.
