Meaning of Hikiotoshi?

[Newbie]

No, not the point of the tandoku but the actual meaning of the words. I mean, hiki-waza in kendo is going backwards after a strike and the only dictionary definition of hikiotoshi I can find is in regards to sumo: pulling your opponent down from the front.

So, in the context of jodo, what does it actually mean?

I partly want to know cos I... err.. umm.. kinda went and called my new kitty Hikiotoshi. Don't worry, MarcuP has already paid me out but I had good reason!. :ponder:

[shred_lord]

Hiki: Backward/away (I think)
Otoshi: Strike (something) Down

I assume it's to do with holding the Jo away behind you and then striking your opponents sword down.

[Newbie]

Ah! Never thought of it like that. Always thought of it as 'going backwards'. Holding it away makes sense :)

[Fred27]

If it might help, Pascal Krieger notes the meaning of Hikiotoshi like this:

Striking with the hand in reverse position
Hiki: draw back; Otoshi: drop down ;Uchi: strike

[Andy_Watson]

The literal meaning of hiku is to pull and in it's intransitive sense, drawing back would be accurate. The action of taking hikiotoshi kamae during the kata is in indeed an action of pulling the jo back and dropping it into position. The withdrawal of the body sometime occurs although frequently the assumption of the kamae is done more or less on the spot.

If you look at the Gohon no Midare, there is a technique where hikiotoshi kamae is taken and then the Uchidachi actually makes to cut the Shijo. In response the Shijo takes a small shuffle back and then executes hikiotoshi (harai waza). A high grade in the UK, having had much exposure to both the Fukuoka taste as well as the Tokyo taste of SMR is of the opinion that the real meaning of hikiotoshi is that found in Gohon no Midare.

Looking at some old movies of Sensei's Shimizu and Kuroda, the cutting into seigan/chudan no kamae by the Uchidachi is done while stepping back which would eliminate the need for the Shijo to make an adjustment.

Well, that was an interesting monologue....

[Fred27]

A high grade in the UK, having had much exposure to both the Fukuoka taste as well as the Tokyo taste of SMR is of the opinion that the real meaning of hikiotoshi is that found in Gohon no Midare.


If thats true then perhaps that might have been one of Shimizu Senseis motivations for creating the Gohon-no-midare.



Well, that was an interesting monologue....

Yup :) :D