Alternated cut (Kiri-kaeshi) basics

Tips for beginners:

The quickest way to learn Kiri-kaeshi is to memorise the sequence by saying the steps out loud while doing Kiri-kaeshi i.e.

Big Men - cross - 1-2-3-4 (back) 1-2-3-4-5 [continue]
Big Men - cross - 1-2-3-4 (back) 1-2-3-4-5...Men going through + sign-off (zan-shin)

As you see, a standard Kiri-kaeshi comes in two identical units, just the finale at the end of the 2nd unit requires going through & sign-off (zan-shin).

The reason for the backward steps being one extra from the forward steps is because the forward steps is natural to human body by design, whereas doing back steps is awkward and tend to be narrower compared to the forward steps, therefore the back step requires one extra step to compensate this tendency in order to come back to the same spot where you started.

Context:

The alternated cut sequence called 'Kiri-kaeshi' is bread and butter (as well as the Holy Grail) of Kendo practice.

ki.ri = cut
ka.e.shi = flip / alternate (in other context 'kaeshi' could mean 'returning')

There is a saying that "when you mastered Kiri-kaeshi, you mastered Kendo".

Virtually every session at any club in the world come with Kiri-kaeshi exercise, and yet mastering Kiri-kaeshi elude most of us throughout our lifetime.

You should not kid yourself by getting complements from others on your Kiri-kaeshi (consider they're just being polite), as it takes a long time to achieve even a vaguely acceptable Kiri-kaeshi, and you should definitely be suspicious of someone who is overly confident about their Kiri-kaeshi quality.


Importance:

Once you learnt the basic Kiri-kaeshi sequence, in theory you could practice with anyone regardless of their grade, be it a beginner or a 8th-dan sensei.

And not only you can practice your own Kiri-kaeshi, for the first time you can mutually benefit other people by taking the lead (receiver) role during Kiri-kaeshi practice.

Although there are myriad of variations of Kiri-kaeshi, these still retain more or less the same structure. Learn the one your club uses first and be flexible when you practice Kiri-kaeshi with people from other club.