How Would a Katana Swordmaster Fight with a Halberd? (Seki Sensei's New Favorite Weapon)

*The content of our videos is based on the teachings of Asayama Ichiden Ryu and personal studies/experience | There is no intention of denying other Ryuha styles, theories, and cultural aspects

⚔️Join the Online Kobudo Training with Seki Sensei⚔️

❶ No previous martial arts experience is required; you can catch up anytime
❷ Every lesson will be RECORDED and will be available to rewatch anytime
❸ You can ask Seki Sensei questions about the techniques and samurai culture/history
❹ You can join even if you belong to another Ryuha style
❺ You can receive OFFICIAL DAN RANKS by taking exams online (and opening a DOJO in the future)

🧐Frequently Asked Questions About Our Online Lessons:
Q❓: I have no experience with katana. Will I still be able to catch up?
A💡: You don’t need any previous katana martial arts experience to participate in our lessons.

Seki Sensei, the instructor of the online lessons, will carefully instruct you on how to handle the katana regardless of your level. You will also be able to access all the videos of the past lessons so you can watch what every other student has learned. You can also send us videos of your progress, and Seki Sensei will be happy to give you feedback.

Q❓: What is the right length of the Iaito (zinc alloy training katana) I should use?
A💡: Please purchase an Iaitō at least two blocks longer than the standard length.

The standard length for Seki Sensei is about 177cm, so he should use a 2.45 Shaku long katana. However, he uses a 2.6 Shaku-long katana that is supposed to be used by someone 190cm tall. If the katana is too short, it becomes too easy to draw, which is not good for training.

Q❓: Can I join even if I belong to a different Ryuha style?
A💡: Yes, it’s not a problem at all.

The Seki Sensei himself has trained in more than five styles and various other weapons. If you don’t want others to know that you are participating, you can join the online lessons with your camera off. To have the Sensei check your progress, you can send us a video of you practicing.

🗡️Join the Online Iaido Training with Seki Sensei🗡️

Interested in taking Iaido lessons directly from the 8th Dan Iaido Master with 40 years of experience in Musō Shinden Ryu, Seki sensei? Sign up to learn authentic samurai skills with perfect English interpretation from Let’s ask Shogo.
❶ No previous martial arts experience is required; you can catch up anytime
❷ Every lesson will be RECORDED and will be available to rewatch anytime
❸ You can ask Seki Sensei questions about the techniques and samurai culture/history
❹ You can join even if you belong to another Ryuha style

💻Seki Sensei's Official Website💻

🎵Original Opening Theme Song "Hyakuren"🎵
Performance: Hanafugetsu (Singer/Suzuhana Yuko, Shakuhachi/Kaminaga Daisuke, Koto/Ibukuro Kiyoshi)
Compositions & Arrangements: Suzuhana Yuko
Mixing & Mastering: Watabiki Yuta

❓What is Asayama Ichiden Ryu? / Who is Seki sensei?❓

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*Please ask us questions through the DM here

#katana #iaido #kenjutsu #kobudo #asayamaichidenryu

[letsasksekisensei]

⚔Join the Online Kobudo Training with Seki Sensei⚔

❶ No previous martial arts experience is required; you can catch up anytime
❷ Every lesson will be RECORDED and will be available to rewatch anytime
❸ You can ask Seki Sensei questions about the techniques and samurai culture/history
❹ You can join even if you belong to another Ryuha style
❺ You can receive OFFICIAL DAN RANKS by taking exams online (and opening a DOJO in the future)


🧐Frequently Asked Questions About Our Online Lessons:
Q❓: I have no experience with katana. Will I still be able to catch up?
A💡: You don’t need any previous katana martial arts experience to participate in our lessons.

Seki Sensei, the instructor of the online lessons, will carefully instruct you on how to handle the katana regardless of your level. You will also be able to access all the videos of the past lessons so you can watch what every other student has learned. You can also send us videos of your progress, and Seki Sensei will be happy to give you feedback.

Q❓: What is the right length of the Iaito (zinc alloy training katana) I should use?
A💡: Please purchase an Iaitō at least two blocks longer than the standard length.

The standard length for Seki Sensei is about 177cm, so he should use a 2.45 Shaku long katana. However, he uses a 2.6 Shaku-long katana that is supposed to be used by someone 190cm tall. If the katana is too short, it becomes too easy to draw, which is not good for training.

Q❓: Can I join even if I belong to a different Ryuha style?
A💡: Yes, it’s not a problem at all.

The Seki Sensei himself has trained in more than five styles and various other weapons. If you don’t want others to know that you are participating, you can join the online lessons with your camera off. To have the Sensei check your progress, you can send us a video of you practicing.

🗡Join the Online Iaido Training with Seki Sensei🗡

Interested in taking Iaido lessons directly from the 8th Dan Iaido Master with 40 years of experience in Musō Shinden Ryu, Seki sensei? Sign up to learn authentic samurai skills with perfect English interpretation from Let’s ask Shogo.
❶ No previous martial arts experience is required; you can catch up anytime
❷ Every lesson will be RECORDED and will be available to rewatch anytime
❸ You can ask Seki Sensei questions about the techniques and samurai culture/history
❹ You can join even if you belong to another Ryuha style

💻Seki Sensei's Official Website💻

🎵Original Opening Theme Song "Hyakuren"🎵
Performance: Hanafugetsu (Singer/Suzuhana Yuko, Shakuhachi/Kaminaga Daisuke, Koto/Ibukuro Kiyoshi)
Compositions & Arrangements: Suzuhana Yuko
Mixing & Mastering: Watabiki Yuta

❓What is Asayama Ichiden Ryu? / Who is Seki sensei?❓

📱Instagram📱
*Please ask us questions through the DM here

#katana #iaido #kenjutsu #kobudo #asayamaichidenryu

[ThecrazycakeEATAH]

The Man is an IRL Dark Souls character. Picks up any weapon and immediately has a usable moveset

[andrewhalo]

He picked up halberd dueling concepts instantly.
A thing to remember is halberds are rarely used alone, it shines best in pairs or groups, this is why it was a common honor guard weapon aswell as its disarming and “nonlethal” abilities

[datyeen]

What is interesting is that Seki Sensei was able to instinctively figure out the exact same technique that western style fighters use when swinging the halberd with a single hand. Joachim Meyer describes the exact same technique in his book written in the 16th century.

[alricfremanosrs]

Seki sensei is clearly a man of taste. His favorite weapon from the bunch is widely considered to be the greatest polearm of all time.

[Radagast]

his skill is clear because he is instinctively recreating many well established techniques of western halberd fighting. Most importantly he immediately understood that it's primary use is hooking. The halberd comes from the end of the era before the domination of firearms. It evolved in a battlefield where armor was much more common than in Japan, there was just so much more good steel to work with in Europe that it proliferated. Much more armor on the battlefield and generally more coverage of armor on those who had it. The halberd was a way for footsoldiers to counteract the trend. The tip spike was good for threatening gaps in armor with a quick thrust, the various blades were for hooking and controlling an armored opponent. Force him off balance, force a disarm, get him off his feet. Then finish him via attacking at unarmored places while he's on the ground trying to regain his feet. Their most historically important role was anti-cavalry. They were perfect for hooking shock cavalry off their horses. Mixed formations of pike and halberd were used. Pikes to ward off cavalry and blunt the lance charge. Then as the charge stalled immediately in front of the wall of grounded pikes the halberdiers would rush forward and try to drag them off their horses. The halberd and poleax were counterparts, the two opposite strategies for dealing with the heavy full plate harness that developed in Europe. Halberds were favored more by common troops who were still armored quite a bit more than typical Japanese or Chinese foot troops but not nearly as much as the wealthy full harness wearing cavalry class. They tended to favor the poleaxe which wasn't really an axe. It was a specialist anti-armor weapon, designed for piercing and crushing plate armor. A half about 4 ft long with a short butt spike, a somewhat longer tip spike. Then a head that was a hardened steel pick for piercing armor on one side, and a hammer on the other for crushing plate armor and damaging the body beneath without penetrating.

[planken]

give him a zweihander next... that would be incredible

[plaguedoctor]

I love the humility shown on this channel, theres no arrogance from "ive mastered everything here, i can easily master this too" but rather just "oh this is cool, heres how i would use it considering my skillset and knowledge, but im curious as to how this would have been used historically"

[philipcable]

I'd love it if someone would provide Seki Sensei with a real Halberd.
He truly deserves a weapon of this type.

[jays]

There's a reason the Halberd is often considered the 'best' weapon of it's era. It's reach, it's power, it's versatility, it's simply one of the best designed martial weapons ever made.

[ryvisthemad]

The concept of examining a weapon through the eyes of a master of a different one is something I think the people would love to see more of. Knowing techniques for one thing and seeing how it can apply to something completely different is such a great and new way to look at old and familiar things. Will keep coming back just to see his eyes light up with the newest “toy” to play around with. Great series!

[harnischfechter]

A couple of points from a HEMA practitioner who spars with steel polearms:
In the context of 1v1 combat you would not hold the polearm, be it halberds and pollaxes, like a spear with your hands at the back and the front extended towards the enemy. The head of a halberd/pollaxe is usually held aloft/back and deployed once you create an opening/deflect with the back, which often had a spike and could be employed offensively. The head is quite heavy so you would have little control in long spear grip, and it would be too easy for the opponent to beat it to the side. Hooking by the backs of the knees and the neck are standard polearm techniques and employed very often against armoured opponents. Also, you are expected to often change the grip and slide the hand along the shaft. Additionally sometimes you grip the pole with hands situated in such a manner that both thumbs point towards the centre of the shaft. Such a grip helps with high guards and allows for a qicker shift between the head and the back spike. Lastly, this training halberd is definitely on a short side as many historical examples were noticeably longer.

[JeveGreen]

It's no surprise that Seki Sensei picked up on the halberd's ability to hook an opponent so quickly. The halberd is designed to hook opponents and unhorse cavalry, and was basically the favourite weapon amongst European knights, along with other, similar polearms. It also comes with all the advantages of a spear, so even a novice could make good use out of it.
As far as I'm concerned, it's one of the best melee weapons of medieval Europe, excellent both for battlefields and single combat. There's a reason it's so iconic, it's just that damn good!

[featurelength]

Historical halberds (and the similar poleaxe) had weighted or spiked metal caps on their opposite ends, specifically to make the jab-swing combos Seki Sensei uses even more effective. The poleaxe emphasized these techniques, as they were meant to be used against heavy armor; keeping the axe in a high/overhead guard would mean you could stun or knock an opponent down with the cap, and you would already have the weapon raised high to split his helmet with the downstroke.

[Ghouleh]

Came here from Skallagrim. Would just like to drop a comment and say that these videos are a gem. Watching Seki Sensei's eyes alight with joy when trying a new weapon, just as the weapon itself comes alive in his hands as he seemingly instantly understands how to use it - is an absolute joy.

[shadixyt]

This channel is a god send for animators looking for references on cool fight moves

[here_bedragons]

Watching a master mess around with a weapon he’s unfamiliar with but having fun learning how he could use it is cool and a lot of fun ^.^

[physetermacrocephalus]

The Master may never have trained with a halberd but I suspect he may know how to use a Naginata or Yari 😎

[RageforDayz]

That single-arm thrust was actually very interesting: he basically "couched" the halberd much like a rider would with a lance, giving him plenty of stability and forcing the opponent to either retreat or fall on the point pretty hard. Kneeling down also helped him anchor himself, bracing the halberd further. Very cool to see.

[Phoenix]

My God these people are so crisp with their footwork and movement. As always, I enjoy how humbly he approaches any weapon.