This is important when considering Musashi’s statement that "the way of moving is no different from normal walking on a road." The ipsilateral or namba-aruki movement has a profound impact on the human gait, and the way in which parts of the feet are used to maintain stability and generate power, that are uniquely suited to Japanese swordsmanship. This is why Bushi, centuries ago, learned to change their method of walking to an ipsilateral way, called namba-aruki, where the arm and leg from the same side of the body move together, rather than opposing sides using a natural contralateral way.Īdditionally, the contralateral movement includes a heel-to-toe walking motion, where kinetic energy transfers or rolls into the ball of the foot as the heel strikes, and then allows for pushing off the ball and toes of that foot, rather than the heel. ![]() However, within the use of weapons, especially Japanese swordsmanship, we seek to use and allow rotational trunk and aligned whole body movements to initiate and generate power, after which it's typically converted into forward momentum. It has also been shown that the contralateral arm swing has an essential role in increasing the stability of walking by preventing rotational trunk movements. The key feature is the contralateral swing of the arm and leg, along with a twisting of the waist, that results in reduced energy consumption while walking. So let's consider the second above-mentioned statement first.Ī universal feature of a human bipedal gait is an autonomic process consisting of coordinated movements of the upper extremities, lower extremities, trunk and pelvis. ![]() Musashi commented, "To move from one place to another, you slightly raise your toes and push off your foot from the heel, forcefully," and stressed "In my strategy the way of moving is no different from normal walking on a road."(1) Collage of Nitō-ryū from a 1661 Denshō document
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