Shinpan studies: shinai hanashi - losing grip of the shinai

This relates to our practice of refereeing at yesterday's Harugeiko.

Here is a great video of makiotoshi men. Watch closely at 0:50 you'll see the technique. What is not clear until the replay at a different angle is that the opponent totally loses his shinai. The timing of the men cut after the technique shows how quickly you must act before the shinpan have a chance to say yame! In this case I think the opponent's shinai had not yet hit the ground when his men was struck.

Another thing to note is that zanshin after the men is expressed not by going forward past the opponent as is usual, but by standing still. The reason is that, due to the nature of the technique just executed, moving forward would not have been a natural part of the technique.

Quite a remarkable technique, even more so as it was executed under great pressure at a major competition, the Tozai Taiko or East vs West Competition.