Moving to Position

It is very important for Nage to get deep beside Uke. Consider the following sword strikes.

The first series is a basic sword strike using the slide step. This is clearly a two step movement. First the slide and second the step. Notice how much space is covered. On the first step the sword is raised and on the second step the cut is made.

Fig. 1 Start of Slide Step	Fig. 2 Count 1 of Slide Step	Fig. 3 Count 2 of Slide Step

The second series is a basic sword strike with a full step. It is not as clearly a two step movement because of the one step, but this takes as much time as a slide step. About a foot less space is covered. On the first step the sword is raised and on the second step the cut is made.

Fig. 1 Start of Full Step	Fig. 2 Count 1 of Full Step	Fig. 3 Count 2 of Full Step

The third series is a basic sword strike with a half step. It is a one count movement because it takes less time. I raised the sword before I stepped. About three feet less space is covered than a full step.

Fig. 1 Start of Half Step	Fig. 2 End of Half Step