Debana waza

As some of you may already know, 'waza' means 'technique' in Japanese.
I would like to introduce you to some waza in kendo now that everyone who started in October last year have gotten into armour.

The first one is 'Debana waza'.
Debana roughly translates to "when about to go".
It's a technique to capture a moment of opportunity, when the opponent is about to initiate his/her move, and strike first.

The sequence usually works like this:

1. Watch your opponent at to-ma (far distance), make sure you have good kamae.
2. Kiai, showing fighting spirit.
3. Without breaking your posture, step into issoku-ittou-no-ma (one step, one strike distance).
4. Apply pressure to the opponent by holding centre. Watch the opponent carefully.
5. When the opponent 'thinks about an attack' (which you can detect by their balance falling forward, or their shinai tilting up slightly) you strike. You can either do debana men or debana kote.
6. All the rules for yuko-datotsu (a valid strike) applies.

Sounds simple enough?
It's a very effective technique in shiai!

However, you would notice that this technique requires you to react and move fast.
It may not work very well when you are making a large cut (mainly because the opponent will have time to respond, or will hit you first), but the principal is the same.
Remember to watch the opponent, and remember to be ready for it. Once you master the smaller, faster cuts, you WILL be able to use this technique effectively!

There are a couple of things to think about.


1. You have to be ready, first.
Check that you are in a comfortable distance to make a strike.
There's not much point in being too close or too far from the oponent, because even if you see the debana oppportunity, you can't make a valid cut at a wrong distance.
Holding a good posture is crucial as well. Be ready to go!


2. Don't 'wait'.
Often, people think that you have to wait until the opponent makes an obvious move before you initiate your strike.
It's usually too late at that point. You are not looking for the initiation of the strike (ie shinai swing), but more for the tilting of the body balance forward before the actual movement of the body.
So opponent's shinai may move very little or not at all when it's the right timing for debana waza.

3. Don't make it obvious you are waiting.
This is slightly advanced stuff... remember kendo is about mind-game as much as it is about physical abilities and good technique.
Don't make it obvious you are waiting for your opponent to do something so that you can go for debana.
Always keep your attitude positive, and make the opponent feel pressured. That's usually when they initiate their move, because they 'feel' that they need to do something.

Many sensei will tell you that you are not supposed to wait for your opponent to make a move --You make your opponent do what you want him/her to! ;)
Some people also make a deliverate opening (so that opponent is tempted to hit men or kote) but this is a bit risky, because if the opponent is a lot faster than you, then they WILL hit you.

Hope this articule helped you understand debana-waza a bit better.

See you all next week!

Naoki