Zan-shin: literal translation is "remaining mind" which means "undivided alertness".
No cut will be considered complete unless a correct Zanshin is implemented. Always.
Zanshin is not a physical attaching technique but it's a way to exhibit the move required in real sword fighting.
It does not require physical strength hence omitting Zanshin / doing it wrong is just a proof that you have not understood the basic kendo protocol, or even the meaning of kendo.
In short, failing to do the correct Zanshin makes your kendo superficial.
Zanshin, originally, was meant to be done towards the person who fell down by receiving a fatal injury from you.
The purpose of Zanshin is not to be complacent about your victory and keep alerted even after your opponent has fall down. (Because they might just be faking it.)
So, Zanshin in olden days was often done towards a dead body, but in case the opponent is faking their death, you still stand a chance with a correct Zanshin.
Failing to do Zanshin could lead you to your demise. If you can't be asked to follow such key protocol, you might just not bother kendo altogether, because there are lots of other protocols that seem pointless unless you understood its history.
You don't need to know everything but when something is required for a correct cut like a Zanshin, you'd better do it properly. Doesn't matter if it's in a match or basic practice, when you cut, do Zanshin, always.
It's more important to do Zanshin in non-competitive set up because unless you makes it a habit, it won't come up during a match, and no Zanshin almost inevitably means no Ippon in a match. No matter how deadly your actual cut is.
Once you cut and gone through, turn around asap and back to cyuudan with a readiness to launch another strike.
Only then, it counts as the end of a cut sequence.
Showing posts with label Exercise ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Exercise ideas. Show all posts
23 January 2016
12 August 2015
How to do basic Fumi-komi footwork in Kendo
Stand with both of your knees slightly bent.
Push your right kneecap with your right leg while the balance shft forward (with the upright posture maintained), only when your posture no longer can sustain your forward-shifted balance, your right foot should 'take off' forward and quickly land on the floor again, immediately followed by your old friend the left foot. The 'flight duration' of the right foot should be kept minimum.
Nice Fumi-komi noise happens when you learn to subtly adjust the angle of your ankle on landing. You should feel that the front-half of the right-foot sole captures a packet of air and squash it without putting any pressure on the heel.
Never kick up the right foot like French can-can. Not only the landing noise will be dull but also you are risking to injure your heel bone by landing on it in high velocity with your full weight. Bad idea.
The sole of your right foot and the floor should be as parallel as possible all the time. Even if you can adjust the angle before landing, adjusting a wide angle takes more effort and time than keep the angle always optimum.
If the arch of your right foot can be seen by the people around you, the angle of your sole is too open. To get the optimum angle, the adjustment has to happen in your ankle.
Under any circumstance, including Fumi-komi, you should never land with your heel. Take your heels as the 'little resting stools' to place your weight from time to time, but not something you can land with it at full power.
Compared to the discipline of swordsmanship itself, fumi-komi is a relatively young technique, apparently. And this is one of the reason why there's no effective, fool-proof way to teach fumi-komi - so I was told.
Said that, it is an effective technique and was developed in order to achieve sharper and quicker footwork with the minimum impact on the body at landing.
To my understanding, fumi-komi should work as a shock absorber with minimum interference to the overall body movement necessary.
Importantly, never forget your old friend the left foot. Fumi-komi is complete only when your old friend catches up with you. Don't leave it alone. I could get very lonely and spoil your kendo.
This article is just for basic technique. Once you become able to make the noise consistently, there are a lot more subtleties to work on to make the sound surprisingly loud. But people who can do fumi-komi consistently should know what to work on, so I won't talk about it now.
Push your right kneecap with your right leg while the balance shft forward (with the upright posture maintained), only when your posture no longer can sustain your forward-shifted balance, your right foot should 'take off' forward and quickly land on the floor again, immediately followed by your old friend the left foot. The 'flight duration' of the right foot should be kept minimum.
Nice Fumi-komi noise happens when you learn to subtly adjust the angle of your ankle on landing. You should feel that the front-half of the right-foot sole captures a packet of air and squash it without putting any pressure on the heel.
Never kick up the right foot like French can-can. Not only the landing noise will be dull but also you are risking to injure your heel bone by landing on it in high velocity with your full weight. Bad idea.
The sole of your right foot and the floor should be as parallel as possible all the time. Even if you can adjust the angle before landing, adjusting a wide angle takes more effort and time than keep the angle always optimum.
If the arch of your right foot can be seen by the people around you, the angle of your sole is too open. To get the optimum angle, the adjustment has to happen in your ankle.
Under any circumstance, including Fumi-komi, you should never land with your heel. Take your heels as the 'little resting stools' to place your weight from time to time, but not something you can land with it at full power.
Compared to the discipline of swordsmanship itself, fumi-komi is a relatively young technique, apparently. And this is one of the reason why there's no effective, fool-proof way to teach fumi-komi - so I was told.
Said that, it is an effective technique and was developed in order to achieve sharper and quicker footwork with the minimum impact on the body at landing.
To my understanding, fumi-komi should work as a shock absorber with minimum interference to the overall body movement necessary.
Importantly, never forget your old friend the left foot. Fumi-komi is complete only when your old friend catches up with you. Don't leave it alone. I could get very lonely and spoil your kendo.
This article is just for basic technique. Once you become able to make the noise consistently, there are a lot more subtleties to work on to make the sound surprisingly loud. But people who can do fumi-komi consistently should know what to work on, so I won't talk about it now.
11 July 2015
Kiai
Rule:
The 'roar' must be totally unintelligible.
(I guess at least in your language, but ideally in ANY language.)
It should be just a wild roar, without indicating / being perceived to be indicating any meaning. The meaning doesn't matter, the *presence* of a meaning is already a breach of the rule.
Bear that in mind; I see Kiai as a way of 'revving up' one's capacity. Not only in a psychological but also in physiological sense.
Imagine a good motor revving. You know a good roaring makes you feel accelerated and gives a lift to your spirit.
Find a Kiai that you feel good, and do it.
The 'roar' must be totally unintelligible.
(I guess at least in your language, but ideally in ANY language.)
It should be just a wild roar, without indicating / being perceived to be indicating any meaning. The meaning doesn't matter, the *presence* of a meaning is already a breach of the rule.
Bear that in mind; I see Kiai as a way of 'revving up' one's capacity. Not only in a psychological but also in physiological sense.
Imagine a good motor revving. You know a good roaring makes you feel accelerated and gives a lift to your spirit.
Find a Kiai that you feel good, and do it.
5 July 2015
Don't be a 45-degree fool
Depending on the position of the pivot, the "45 degree" method can be pretty dangerous (& incorrect).
This is the reason why some people bash their partner's head almost from side to side while kiri-kaeshi, bursting the blood vessels in their partner's eyeballs, causing blood-shot eyes and mild concussion.
This isn't OK. This is dangerous and stupid.
As above, a valid 'Ippon' by L/R Men cuts are only awarded for the strikes no lower than the top-strings on a Men.
There's no such cut as "bashing from the side" exists, so, don't do it during kiri-kaeshi. Where that came from?
Be reasonable, don't be a 45-degree fool.
31 May 2015
Shinai has sides
The 'sides' on a shinai - think it like the sides of a coin. The Japanese term Ura (reverse) / Omote (front) collates nicely with such concept.
You need to be able to distinguish each side when you do below techniques:
1. 'Harai' (knock away)
Self-initiated, straight-line horizontal slap (to create an opportunity)
2. 'Suri-age' (slide up)
Reactive, upward curvature slap (to counteract already-happening attack)
Understanding the meaning 'Front (Men-side)' and 'Reverse (Kote-side)' may become relevant when you apply these techniques with subtly, such as the opponent's built & habit.
If you know the meaning 'front' or 'reverse', you can reason your tactics better because the muscle required for the 'front' side and 'reverse' side action are different.
Ideally you should be able to perform above techniques from both sides, but the Men-side tend to work better in certain circumstance and the Kote-side in another, and you need to figure out by yourself what works best for you, because aside the opponent's habit, you have your own habit/strength for each side and you need to know your own forte in order to make split-second decision for the best possible outcome.
Some opponents hold shinai tilted towards Kote (to guard), then slapping from the reverse (Kote-side) is easier as the distance to catch the opponent's shinai with yours is shorter, whereas if the opponent is holding the centre very strong, slapping from the front is effective to 'break' the defense and get that ippon with Men.
So, be aware of the both side and try to figure out which combination (opponent's attributes + your own habit/ability) works best, the strategy is effective only for you.
You need to be able to distinguish each side when you do below techniques:
1. 'Harai' (knock away)
Self-initiated, straight-line horizontal slap (to create an opportunity)
2. 'Suri-age' (slide up)
Reactive, upward curvature slap (to counteract already-happening attack)
Understanding the meaning 'Front (Men-side)' and 'Reverse (Kote-side)' may become relevant when you apply these techniques with subtly, such as the opponent's built & habit.
If you know the meaning 'front' or 'reverse', you can reason your tactics better because the muscle required for the 'front' side and 'reverse' side action are different.
Ideally you should be able to perform above techniques from both sides, but the Men-side tend to work better in certain circumstance and the Kote-side in another, and you need to figure out by yourself what works best for you, because aside the opponent's habit, you have your own habit/strength for each side and you need to know your own forte in order to make split-second decision for the best possible outcome.
Some opponents hold shinai tilted towards Kote (to guard), then slapping from the reverse (Kote-side) is easier as the distance to catch the opponent's shinai with yours is shorter, whereas if the opponent is holding the centre very strong, slapping from the front is effective to 'break' the defense and get that ippon with Men.
So, be aware of the both side and try to figure out which combination (opponent's attributes + your own habit/ability) works best, the strategy is effective only for you.
25 May 2015
Basic cuts order 'wrist-face-body'
Often you would practice basic cuts in a certain way.
It's: Kote - Men - Dou
In English it's: wrist - face - body
And this order normally stays as is because of the simple fact that each target gets progressively further from the attacker.
Wrist - nearest, compact footwork
Face - median, normal footwork
Body - furthest, deepest footwork
This is the reason why we practice these 3 cuts in a particular order and it rarely changes, now you know why.
Aim
Wrist (kote):
the forearm near the wrist where the cylindrical protector is, never hit the hand (risk of injury)
Face (men):
the upper boundary of the forehead or the hairline, not the top of the skull
Body (dou):
just below the right ribcage (from the opponent's view), not the waist on the side
It's: Kote - Men - Dou
In English it's: wrist - face - body
And this order normally stays as is because of the simple fact that each target gets progressively further from the attacker.
Wrist - nearest, compact footwork
Face - median, normal footwork
Body - furthest, deepest footwork
This is the reason why we practice these 3 cuts in a particular order and it rarely changes, now you know why.
Aim
Wrist (kote):
the forearm near the wrist where the cylindrical protector is, never hit the hand (risk of injury)
Face (men):
the upper boundary of the forehead or the hairline, not the top of the skull
Body (dou):
just below the right ribcage (from the opponent's view), not the waist on the side
17 May 2015
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.
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.
15 February 2015
Keiko Log 13 Feb
Beginner group:
- Footwork only, to and fro
With Cyu-dan, big slow forward step across the Dojo to the end, then maintain the same posture and go backwards from the L-foot to the other end. Be conscious about the number of steps, ideally the number of steps should be even in both directions, but usually going backwards takes more steps than going forward (as going backwards is unnatural movement for human body).
- Footwork with big cut (scissors-like movement), to and fro
The timing of the cut and footwork need to be synchronised, the posture should remain 'sliding', not bobbing the head. "Step-n'-cut"
- Basic swing
Pint-glass method: imagine you are holing an empty pint glass on the LEFT hand, lift it just above your forehead (no further) with the bottom of the glass facing forward, there's a bar counter at your chest height and you slam the glass on it. Your arm should brake when the glass hits the imaginary counter, but you need to use the thickness of your palm to let the tale of your shinai to tilt within your grasp so that the tip of your shinai would fling forward and hit the target (avoid using wrist to generate this movement). The biggest muscle power in this sequence should be applied when brake sharply at the end of [1] to bear the downwards movement of your shinai & arm and transfer that power to flinging movement.
Hit the bartender over the counter.
The path of the glass remains in front of your body.
Be aware this 'Pint Glass method' is a very exaggerated form and requires refinement later on, but I believe the key movements are correctly captured.
- Footwork only, to and fro
With Cyu-dan, big slow forward step across the Dojo to the end, then maintain the same posture and go backwards from the L-foot to the other end. Be conscious about the number of steps, ideally the number of steps should be even in both directions, but usually going backwards takes more steps than going forward (as going backwards is unnatural movement for human body).
- Footwork with big cut (scissors-like movement), to and fro
The timing of the cut and footwork need to be synchronised, the posture should remain 'sliding', not bobbing the head. "Step-n'-cut"
- Basic swing
Pint-glass method: imagine you are holing an empty pint glass on the LEFT hand, lift it just above your forehead (no further) with the bottom of the glass facing forward, there's a bar counter at your chest height and you slam the glass on it. Your arm should brake when the glass hits the imaginary counter, but you need to use the thickness of your palm to let the tale of your shinai to tilt within your grasp so that the tip of your shinai would fling forward and hit the target (avoid using wrist to generate this movement). The biggest muscle power in this sequence should be applied when brake sharply at the end of [1] to bear the downwards movement of your shinai & arm and transfer that power to flinging movement.
Be aware this 'Pint Glass method' is a very exaggerated form and requires refinement later on, but I believe the key movements are correctly captured.
31 January 2015
Men cut timing (cut or foot, which comes first?)
Someone mentioned they were taught as "cut & land at the same time" which is the standard teaching mantra, it's everywhere even in textbooks.
I've spotted a Japanese article which is kinda moaning about the fact that there's a discrepancy between the existing teaching mantra and the actual cut by experienced players.
Ideal basic Men cut (L-foot remains on the floor at the impact).
It is not wrong to *be able to* sync cut and land, but (and this is a big BUT) teach beginners in this way could cost them a lot.
Initially I was also taught to "sync" cutting & landing, but recently I was given an alternative theory that there's no benefit in syncing landing & cutting.
Contrary to the widely-accepted teaching method, the experienced players' cut usually reach the opponent before the foot touches the floor. It is required in order to benefit from the momentum of the person & shinai as one travelling object - a bit more scientific take there.
Teach beginners to sync the cutting and landing would - due to their limited ability - resulted in their foot landing before the cut, what then follows is that the beginners ended up re-learning the timing as they make progress.
It seems redundant at best and not conducive if they failed to adjust to the correct order later on. Even if they are trying to re-learn, it's always harder to go against the habit than to adjust the existing habit to tone it down.
While ability to sync cut & land is all well and good, teaching beginners with conventional "sync" method could lead them into the wrong habits which could haunt the rest of their kendo lifespan.
If the foundation is questionable, building up skills on top of it would still have the same effect, the amount of hours, sweat and the range of techniques you can perform doesn't *override* the issue stemming from the habits you learnt at an early stage.
Unless you come clean and do something about it, the dead albatross will be around your neck indefinitely.
This is why leaning correct kendo is very important.
Given the risk of gaining the wrong habit by trying to sync cut & land, the exaggerated "cut then land" method is better as it's hard to gain bad habits like the R-foot landing before the cut reaches the target.
[Photos borrowed from Nara Photo-Studio Dojo]
I've spotted a Japanese article which is kinda moaning about the fact that there's a discrepancy between the existing teaching mantra and the actual cut by experienced players.
Ideal basic Men cut (L-foot remains on the floor at the impact).
It is not wrong to *be able to* sync cut and land, but (and this is a big BUT) teach beginners in this way could cost them a lot.
Initially I was also taught to "sync" cutting & landing, but recently I was given an alternative theory that there's no benefit in syncing landing & cutting.
Contrary to the widely-accepted teaching method, the experienced players' cut usually reach the opponent before the foot touches the floor. It is required in order to benefit from the momentum of the person & shinai as one travelling object - a bit more scientific take there.
Teach beginners to sync the cutting and landing would - due to their limited ability - resulted in their foot landing before the cut, what then follows is that the beginners ended up re-learning the timing as they make progress.
It seems redundant at best and not conducive if they failed to adjust to the correct order later on. Even if they are trying to re-learn, it's always harder to go against the habit than to adjust the existing habit to tone it down.
While ability to sync cut & land is all well and good, teaching beginners with conventional "sync" method could lead them into the wrong habits which could haunt the rest of their kendo lifespan.
If the foundation is questionable, building up skills on top of it would still have the same effect, the amount of hours, sweat and the range of techniques you can perform doesn't *override* the issue stemming from the habits you learnt at an early stage.
Unless you come clean and do something about it, the dead albatross will be around your neck indefinitely.
This is why leaning correct kendo is very important.
Given the risk of gaining the wrong habit by trying to sync cut & land, the exaggerated "cut then land" method is better as it's hard to gain bad habits like the R-foot landing before the cut reaches the target.
[Photos borrowed from Nara Photo-Studio Dojo]
12-15yr group
6-12yr group
6-12yr group
6-12yr group
12-15yr group
Photos at a local competition in Nov 2011 Nara Japan.
20 January 2015
Clean basic cuts practice in pair
Content:
Standard Kiri-kaeshi (in turn)
Double switch Kiri-kaeshi
Fast Kiri-kaeshi
Long distance big Men (twice & switch)
Long distance small Men
Normal distance small Men
Normal distance small Kote
Normal distance fast Kote-Men
Reactive attack against Men
Reactive attack against Kote
Hiki-Men, Hiki-Dou
Hiki-Men (heads-side), Hiki-Men (tails-side)
[12:50-13:06] 1 person
(Long-distance)-Men
Kote-Men
(Tsuba-zeriai)
Hiki-Dou
Men-Taiatari
Hiki-Men
Kote-Men
(Tsuba-zeriai)
Hiki-Dou
[1 missed Men]
Men
Hiki-Men
Men
…in succession (15 sec)
[13:41-13:52] 1 person
Men
taiatari
hikimen
kote
men
taiatari
hikidou
kote-men
taiatari
hiki-dou
kote-men
taiatari
hikidou
kote-men
taiatari
hikidou
men
(11 sec)
Chasing big Men
Chasing small Men
Chasing Switch L-R cuts & Men
Binary Kirikaeshi
[End]
12 December 2014
The combatting principle of kendo is
Jousting.
In a jousting the players only go forward, never go backward during the match.
Kendo is like "repeated jousting with constantly re-positioning the straight line that two players are facing to each other".
The key point is that you can go backwards *before* your cutting movement starts, but once you decided to cut, the options are: 1. go through, or 2. smash into your opponent (tai-atari) in order to quash the opponent's cutting distance.
The only exception is when you start from tuba-zerial then do hikiwaza, but you must start from the correct distance which is tsuba-zeriai: the guard of both players touching to each other.
In any other cuts, there is no stepping backward, only go forward.
5 December 2014
No Japanese
It is my conscious decision not to use too much Japanese terms when I look after the beginners.
I'd like them to understand its concept first. Once they understand the meaning of movements or manner, it's just a matter of putting a 'Japanese cover' on top of it.
I believe it is more important to understand the true value of certain kendo things rather than knowing a few Japanese words w/o knowing its true meaning.
I'd like them to understand its concept first. Once they understand the meaning of movements or manner, it's just a matter of putting a 'Japanese cover' on top of it.
I believe it is more important to understand the true value of certain kendo things rather than knowing a few Japanese words w/o knowing its true meaning.
8 November 2014
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
2. get used to hitting something with full swing
3. understand the importance of swing shinai straight on the target
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