Also pages 71-74 of War Department, Basic Field Manual - Unarmed Defense for American Soldier (FM 21-150) June 30, 1942.
Also, "Hakko Nage" (pages 121-123), and "Morote Te Kagami" (pages 85-87) of Dennis Palumbo, Secrets Of Hakkoryu Jujutsu: Shodan Tactics, Paladin Press, 1987.
Step 22-26 of H. Godan are the manji uke stances at the end with the shuto block and teisho strike motions.
Unarmed Interpretation
Even though it seems that bayonet disarming is the best interpretation for this cluster, we need to present an unarmed alternative to our students for those classes where they have left their rifles and bayonets at home. The manji uke postures in this cluster give us an opportunity to explore some interesting territory with our intermediate students.
Manji uke is the "swastika block," so named because you pose in back stance, doing a downblock in front of you and a high inside block to the rear behind your head. This makes a lightning-bolt shape that reminded someone of the kanji character that looks like a swastika. The meaning of this character is "swirling," as in "swirling snowflakes."
This character is used to identify Buddhist temples. They don't associate it with Nazism like we do.
Many times a sensei will explain manji uke by telling you that the attacker in front of you is kicking, while another attacker is punching your head from behind. I've seen famous teachers make this statement on their Shotokan DVDs. There are only two problems with this interpretation. One is that experienced fighters don't use downblocks against kicks. The other is that a sucker punch from behind is impossible to block. Other than that, their interpretation is perfectly valid. (See the essay about dinglehoppers.)
Hakkoryu jujutsu has two throws that use the manji uke posture: hakko nage and morote te kagami.
- Hakko nage: This is a deceptively simple throw that appears on pages 121-123 of Palumbo's Secrets Of Hakkoryu Jujutsu: Shodan Tactics, (reference above). It ends with your partner on the floor and you standing over him in a manji uke pose. Like many jujutsu and aikido techniques, hakko nage assumes that your opponent has grasped your wrists and is desperate to maintain his grip. If you were trying to stop a samurai from drawing his sword, you'd hang on tightly, too.
Your partner stands in front of you and grasps both of your wrists. Swing your left arm away and up toward the ceiling, creating an "archway" composed of your left arm and his right arm.
Gesture toward the archway with your right hand, palm up, as if inviting him to walk through it. Use your right foot to step through the archway yourself, which turns your back to the opponent. His right arm will pass over your head as you duck through the arch. Don't let it get too high, because it must not pass over his head.
Look back over your left shoulder at his face. Use your left arm to guide his right arm so that it wraps around his throat. His right hand arrives at a point next to his left ear. At the same time, use your right arm to lift his left hand up high to your rear. If he is still determined to maintain his grip on your wrists, he will be contorted and distressed at this point. Finish your manji uke pose by extending your left foot, which moves your body (and his twisted arms) a few inches to your left. This is usually all it takes to drop your partner on his back. Your left arm will be in "downblock" position, and your right will up raised to the rear behind your head.
You can also set up this throw by grasping your partner's wrists and then going through the same gestures. This is a little easier for beginners because they don't have to start over every time their confused partner lets go of a wrist. - Morote Te Kagami: This is a variation on the te kagami technique, and is demonstrated on page 85-87 of Palumbo's Secrets Of Hakkoryu Jujutsu: Shodan Tactics, (reference above).
Have your partner grasp your right wrist with both hands. When you are learning the technique, have your partner hold your arm with his left hand gripping above his right hand, and leave a slight gap in between. This makes it easier to learn the technique. Later on, you won't care how he grips your arm.
Perform the te kagami (hand mirror) gesture. This means to rotate your captured arm in a gesture similar to an inside block, so you can gaze into the palm of your hand as if it were a mirror. ("Te kagami" means "hand mirror.") This will twist his hands into an awkward posture.
Use your left hand to reach under and apply the jujutsu "pistol grip" to his left hand. This sets up a painful wristlock on his left wrist, and tears his left hand off of your arm.
With your left hand, pull his locked left wrist back toward your left ear, as if doing the "inside block to the rear" of manji uke. The farther up and back you go, the more painful the lock becomes.
His right hand still has a grip on your right wrist, although it isn't a strong grip at this point. Rotate your right hand so that the palm faces your opponent. You can reverse the grip, so that you now hold his right wrist. Push his captured wrist back under his left ear. When you achieve the right position, his right arm will be wrapped around his throat like a scarf.
At this point, pull up and back with your left hand, while pushing down and forward with your right. This is the manji uke "tearing" motion. Your opponent simply collapses on his back. When he falls, you lose your grip on his hands and are left standing over him in the manji uke pose.
Note that he falls because of the insupportable pain in his left wrist, the one that is up next to your ear.
Bayonet Disarming, Part II
The previous cluster showed the novice bodyguard how to beat the rifle to the left and attack the soldier's left arm as a preliminary to disarming and killing him. In this cluster, we beat the rifle to the right, instead. Then we take the weapon away from him and, at least, knock him senseless. Once he is unconscious, we have the choice of whether or not to finish him off. This is a choice as old as battle.
As we turn back to the north after step 21 of H. Godan, we are opening a new chapter in the kata. Once again you are facing an enemy soldier bare-handed. He threatens you with a rifle and bayonet. This time you will beat the blade to your right and attack on the other side of the weapon.
In step 22, beat the fore-end of the rifle to your right using your left hand. Let your hand slap the weapon to the right, and then grasp the fore-end of the rifle from below. Reach in deeply with your left hand and grasp the neck of the rifle with your right hand.
In step 23, yank the neck of the rifle back toward your right hip using your right hand. Push the fore-end of the rifle into his face with your left hand, striking him hard in the forehead with the heavy barrel of the gun. Very similar techniques are shown in the 1942 and 1954 editions of FM 21-150.
In step 24 you pull away from him (in manji uke kamae), keeping the point of the bayonet directed toward his chest. The kata does not impale him, but in real life you would have the option.
Step 25 is the spin to the left. This is the classic rifle butt-stroke, where you crack his skull with the stock of the rifle in a horizontal strike to the side of the head.
Step 26 has no special purpose other than symmetry in this interpretation. In real life the butt-stroke to the head would have ended him.
This sequence is illustrated in Shotokan's Secret:
Katana Disarming Interpretation
There is another interpretation of this final cluster that is as compelling as the bayonet-disarming lesson. This might be the cluster where Matsumura shows us how to snatch the katana and wakizashi from a surprised samurai overlord. This is another example of kumiuchi kenden.
The samurai is wearing everyday clothing (not armor), and has his two swords tucked into his sash at the left hip. Contemporary photos of Satsuma samurai officers show that they made an ostentatious show of their swords, letting the handles protrude more than a foot in front of their bodies. Matsumura, a kaiden sword master, would have regarded that as an opportunity.
In step 22, grab the pommel of the katana with your left hand and hold it rigidly away from you so the enemy cannot draw the weapon from its scabbard. You only need to delay him for a moment. At the same time, plunge deeply forward with your right hand to grasp the handle of the wakizashi.
In step 23, continue to push the katana handle away while drawing the wakizashi to an elevated kamae above your head.
In step 24 (the turn), spin anti-clockwise. During this spin, slash across the opponent's throat with the wakizashi in your right hand, while pulling on the katana to free it.
In step 25 (the final manji uke kamae), you have the katana poised overhead in your left hand. The wakizashi is held on guard, in your right hand. Note that this two-sword kamae is the signature posture of nito ryu, the two-sword version of kendo.
