Head injury risk

A top-level Australian cricketer died after a hard ball hit the back of his head.

Kendo helmet does not offer any protection around the same area.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30206381

Kendo helmet only protects its narrow front, somewhat limited protection on the top, virtually none on the sides & back.

The rule of thumb is that you should launch a strike to the head only when you can see the red rim of your partner's helmet.

Launching a strike to the head on any other angle is regarded as not only dangerous but also disrespectful and unworthy character of practising kendo.

The logic is that if you cannot be asked to play by the rule, you shouldn't bother about kendo at all. Kendo expects high moral standard from its participants.

Kendo is supposed to be a safe discipline as long as the basic rules are followed, but at the same time it can be dangerous when the basic rules are ignored because the armour is designed based on the assumption that all the participants follow the rules.

Look after your/others head - that's where the happy thoughts are made.

21 Nov 2014 - session 5

- uniform (dou-gi) check
[warming up]
- footwork forward/backward with shinai - individual practice
- turn footwork with shinai - individual/group practice
- super-slow big men cut - individual practice
- collected cut-land on the spot - pair practice
- collected cut-land, 1 step forward - pair
- men cut going through with 3-step turn & signing-off sequence - pair practice rotation

English I failed to use:
row = side to side e.g. "form two rows facing to each other"
file = one behind another

---
Maybe beginners should join the lining up at the beginning of each keiko too, as performing beginning/end 'rei' is an important part of kendo practice to clearly mark the boundary of a keiko.

Next time:
- son-kyo
- footwork
- turn
- half turn formation (2 ppl from the opposite direction > meet in the centre > half turn > go backwards)
- men cut - arm swing workshop
- men cut in pair, entire sequence up to signing-off

21 Nov plan for beginners

[8:00-8:30] Check uniform (dou-gi) dressing up & elevated kneeling (son-kyo)
[8:30-8:40] Warming up
[8:40-8:45] Line-up & bow (formally marking the beginning of a session)

5 mins - Acoustic footwork (fumi-komi)

[new!]
- Footwork (okuri-ashi) facing the mirror (slow x10 returns, normal x10 rtn)
- Turn footwork (L-turn x20, R-turn x20, two groups turn towards the passing shoulder x20)

- Super-slow big men cut (x20)
- Super-slow big men cut with stronger swing (x20)

[new!]
- Collected cut-land (x200)
- Collected cut-land-compose (x200)
 - Medium cut-land-compose (x100)
 ^ swing up R-foot as pendulum to gain forward momentum (like a wrecking ball)

- Big men cut with a receiver (x5 each person)

...if we can cover all that within 45mins, champion!

Forecast

Hopefully we practice some of these eventually...

Standing posture:
- heels up (but only just - lift 'paper-thin' off the floor)
- form straight line on the front side of the body when viewed from a side
- chin tucked in
- don't lean forward nor backward

Kendo footwork (okuri-ashi):
- emphasis on the kneecaps
- keep the eye-level stable, don't bob your body, it's more of a stable horizontal/sliding movement. (think of a walking race. Their heads don't go up n' down while they wiggle away.)

Turn foot work (with shinai):
- efficient use of time & space in combating situation

Cut-n-land:
Pair-up > super-slow big Men on shinai > land 

[Transition from previous disconnected step-by-step movements to more integrated & fluid movement.]
- on the spot w/o moving L-foot x 200 (cut-land)
- on the spot with L-foot catching up x 100 (cut-land-compose)

- half step away x 200 (stretch-cut-land-compose) <--swing up R-foot as pendulum to gain forward momentum (like a wrecking ball)

 

^ use the momentum of R-leg to throw your entire body forward.

- a bit further away (stretch-cut-land-compose) <--swing up R-foot

- small leap (leap-cut-land-compose)
- medium leap (ditto)
- big leap (ditto) <-- close to 'issoku-ittou' (one-step one-cut)

 aim:
- enforce 'cut-n-land' sequence
- stabilisation of the upper body under any circumstance (dissociation of limbs and upper body)
- to get used to the impact of a full Men cut in the hands.

Leap further distance:
- to retain the centre of gravity while moving limbs with extra weight (=shinai) that could throw off the balance.

Double further distance:
- use R-leg as a pendulum to leap further

...for now I'll worry about the correct use of the 'big parts' e.g. arms, legs and torso, then moving into smaller parts like hands for refinement eventually. Bigger joints/body parts --> smaller parts - seems logical order to me.

14 Nov 2014 - session 4

1. acoustic footwork (fumi-komi) practice

2. super-slow big Men

3. hands path for a correct cut (tricky!)

4. super-slow big Men with further landing

5. super-slow big Men with sharper cut (with normal landing distance)

6. super-slow big Men with sharper cut & further landing

7. pairing-up: super-slow big Men with sharper cut & further landing

8. individual Men cut + signing-off movement (zan-shin)

Approx. 10 mins each.

Sitting bow

Sitting bow (za-rei):

1. sit up with straight back & neck, hands placed in the lap
2. form a triangle with both hands with straight fingers, place hands on the floor not far away from the knees

3. start bow down with straight back & neck maintained, the bottom remains on the feet
4. aim your nose-tip towards the centre of the triangle (no need to dig into the triangle with the nose)
5. stop where your tummy is about to touch your legs

Crouching frog: not too bad.

Spot the errors...

Shinai control with backetball

One idea how to get used to the use of shinai:

1. gain control of shinai
2. get used to hitting something with full swing
3. understand the importance of swing shinai straight on the target

07 Nov 2014 - session 3

1. super-slow big Men
Some continued from the last time. Sequence is counter intuitive but so is all the kendo movement.

2. hands path for a correct cut
It's the movement of throwing forward, not upwards. Hard to distinguish the two and execute. After 3 years I'm getting nowhere. It will take a very long time to reach 'barely acceptable'.