Waki

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Waki, or more formally, waki-gamae, is one of the five stances in kendo. The others are jōdan, chūdan, gedan, and hasso. Waki-gamae is a stance involving the swordsman hiding the length of ones own blade behind their legs only exposing the bottom of the hilt to the opponent. This stance was common when there was no standard length of sword and was often used as a deterent to any opponents who did know the range of the sword being hidden and could be used as a sort of bluff technique.

It also serves to conceal the orientation of the blade to one's opponent, as to give him no hint about your own intention for the next attack.

This stance is prominent in kata number 4.


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