Iaido techniques

Step 5 Yonhonme, Tsukaate (Strike with the handle of the sword)

The swordsman is seated in a posture which allows his right knee to be raised off the ground. This seated posture, called take-hiza, was common for swordsmen who wore full armor, to facilitate standing. The swordsman in this situation is confronted with two attackers, one in front and one in back. Using the butt-end of his sword's hilt (tsuka kashira), the swordsman delivers a temporarily disabling strike to the solar plexus of the attacker in front. He quickly rotates 90° to dispose of his rear attacker with a horizontal thrust of his sword (tsuki), followed by a frontal pivot, to deliver the mortal overhead strike to his original stunned opponent in front.