, sometimes shortened to waki, is one of the five stances in kendo. The others are j?dan, ch?dan, gedan, and hass?.Waki-gamae is a stance involving the swordsman hiding the length of ones own blade behind their body only exposing the pommel to the opponent. This stance was common when there was no standard length of sword and was often used as a deterrent to any opponents who did not 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.

It is also known as the (in the five elements classification) or the in the Itt?-ry? teachings. ?? ?? (1966) ???? (Educational Model Fencing) ????.p317

Shidachi uses this stance in Kendo kata number 4 in response to uchidachi's hass?.

References

KendoJapanese martial arts termsMartial arts stances