Waki-gamae

Waki-gamae (脇構:わきがまえ), sometimes shortened to waki, is one of the five stances in kendo: jōdan, chūdan, gedan, and hassō. and waki. 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 Kamae of Metal (金の構:きんのかまえ) (in the five elements classification) or the Light Stance (陽の構:ようのかまえ) in the Ittō-ryū teachings.

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