Releasing the Sword

One of the greater misconceptions of many that I have had to overcome in my pursuit of Iaijutsu is the concept of always holding on to the sword.

At first the thought seemed counterintuitive to me.  After all, we constantly train with the sword to block and then attack.  We drill with nukitsuke (drawing), nigashi (cuts) and various cuts until they are drilled into the core of our muscle memory.  We practice constantly getting the blade between ourselves and our attacker or taking ourselves off-line to avoid the attack.  So in all of this, the concept of dropping the blade came like something that was going against everything I have been training for.

The reality, of course, is that one is not just "dropping" the sword.  One is releasing the sword to get a greater advantage.  Musashi discusses this in his Fire book of A Book of Five Rings":

     "'To release four hands' (yottsu te o hansusu) is used when you and the enemy are contending with the same spirit, and the issue cannot be decided.  Abandon this spirit and win through an alternative resource.
     In large-scale strategy, when there is a 'four hands' spirit, do not give up - it is man's existence.  Immediately throw away this spirit and win with a technique the enemy does not expect.
     In single combat also, when we think we have fallen into the 'four hands' situation, we must defeat the enemy by changing our mind and applying a suitable technique according to his condition.  You must be able to judge this." (translation by Victor Harris)

To release the sword at the critical moment is to seek to take the greater advantage.  If I do not expect myself to release the sword, neither does my opponent.  Now I have the moment of surprise or unexpected reaction that I need.  Now I also have two hands with which to maneuver and pull my opponent off balance or trap him in a lock and bring him down.  Now, as Musashi says, I have released my spirit and am contending by alternative means.

To release the sword is also to expand my view of the situation and resources.  When the sword falls to the ground, I am left without my primary means of attack and defense.  I am forced to evaluate the situation and come up with another means of resolving it.  I have disengaged my muscle memory and am now forcing my mind to work in other ways to achieve the objective.

Another interesting fact: most often when I release my sword, my opponent will not.  It is taught to the point of instinct that we are always to hold on to our swords.  By releasing the sword I gain an instant of hesitation on the part of my opponent, a moment which - if I have truly trained - I can use to my advantage.

Ultimately the sword is a tool, like any other that we have in life.  And if we insist on clinging too tightly to our tools and not sufficiently keeping in mind what we are actually trying to accomplish, we will find ourselves in the position of ourselves been surprised when the sword falls to the ground and we find ourselves in a position of defeat while still holding the superior weapon in the confrontation.