In the practice of aikidō, happo-giri (or happo-no-giri) is an exercise performed with the bokken, cutting in eight directions. Each cut is a simple strike from the top of the head straight down the centre line, with the bokken ending parallel to the floor at roughly the same height as the lower abdomen. The order of the strikes is often quoted as north, south, east, west, southeast, northwest, southwest, northeast, finally returning - without performing a ninth cut - to the original position (north), though in Morihiro Saito's 1975 book Aikido, its heart and appearance, the order is north, south (1/2 turn), east (3/4 turn), west (1/2 turn), southwest (7/8 turn), northeast (1/2 turn), northwest (3/4 turn), southeast (1/2 turn).