Oxford University Kendo Club Blog

What you need for Ippon (a point)

2011-10-17T12:16:00.002+01:00

Hi all,

Hope you are enjoyed the first session of term if you are returning and the first practice if you are just starting.

Here is a short excerpt from show by NHK that was found by Alan Thompson, the events manager of the British Kendo Association, a description about how to score ippon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLDuQJ7iYhI&feature=share&noredirect=1

The aim of the beginner's course is to teach you to perform attacks which fulfill these criteria.

See you at the practice tonight!

Best,
Weihao

Debana waza

2011-06-08T14:33:00.002+01:00

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:

Watch your opponent at to-ma (far distance), make sure you have good kamae.
Kiai, showing fighting spirit.
Without breaking your posture, step into issoku-ittou-no-ma (one step, one strike distance).
Apply pressure to the opponent by holding centre. Watch the opponent carefully.
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.
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

Flow of an exercise

2011-05-28T23:30:00.004+01:00

Hi all,

It's been a long time since the last update! But now that most of you who started at the beginning of the year are in armour, it is important to understand the flow of the exercise and how to receive a technique. This post will describe the order of events between kakarite (practice side) and motodachi (receiving side) when practising any particular exercise.

Kakarite and Motodachi start at tooma (long distance).
Both sides kiai to indicate readiness and will.
Kakarite moves into a distance at which the exercise can be performed. While kakarite is doing this, motodachi holds centre and tests the pressure of kakarite.
When motodachi senses that kakarite is ready, motodachi responds to the pressure and provides the opening. When practising shikake-waza (attacking techniques), this will involve showing the target. When practising oji-waza (counter techniques), it will be making the prescribed cut.
Kakarite performs the technique.
While kakarite is finishing the technique and displaying zanshin, motodachi moves to a position such that when kakarite returns to kamae (stance), both are once again at tooma. This does not need to be at the centre; the position motodachi moves to will be dependent on how far kakarite moves through or back at the end of the exercise. Return to the centre only at the end of the exercise or if it is dangerous to perform the technique where you are.
Repeat the exercise the required number of times.

Following this flow improves interaction between motodachi and kakarite, very important to improving the kendo of both sides: it trains spotting the opportunity, making and responding to pressure, and timing. It is important to remember that kendo is between two people, even when practising the most basic of techniques.

Later posts will have me attempting to describe the more advanced waza that having armour now make safe to be practised, so stay tuned!

Weihao

Beginner's Course Week 7

2010-11-23T21:26:00.002Z

Hi all,

Well done for getting to the end of the training sessions for the beginner's course in Michaelmas Term 2010! The only thing left is the grading this Saturday. Make sure to practice the suburi and learn the counting used in the kiai. The counting can be found on a previous blog entry here, the types of suburi described here, and more details on the kirikaeshi can also be found here. As always, reading of previous blog entries is encouraged and should be useful.

There are a few additional points to those made in previous entries.

I observed in Monday's session was that cuts, posture and footwork for kirikaeshi were all excellent when practised without a target, but once there was someone to be hit, the shoulders and upper body hunched, arms tensed and feet became unsynchronised from the cut. The purpose of suburi is to practice the cutting, and so the point is that the strikes should be the same with or without a target. So, when practising suburi, visualise a target in front of you, and when practising on a target, try to cut as you do in suburi.

If the motodachi (person receiving the cuts in practice) is much taller than you, it is still possible to hit the correct part of the men, but it is essential that the shinai be extended and the wrists and shoulders relaxed. If not, the angle of the shinai will be too close to vertical and will hit instead the mengane (bars of the men). As always, use the shoulder rotation to control the height, instead of trying to reach with the upper body or jumping higher.

Each cut in the kirikaeshi, the first cut, the diagonal cuts, and the final men, must all be complete cuts, with te-no-uchi, large swings, and ki-ken-tai no icchi. Do not throw away any cut just because it is part of a sequence; each cut should be strong enough to score on its own. This is practice for sequential cutting.

Finally, the grading will involve suburi, a sequence of cuts, and kirikaeshi: effectively what we have learnt over the term, so there should be no nasty surprises! It is natural to become tense and nervous when grading or doing kendo in front of many people; in these cases it is even more important to keep everything relaxed. Remember that this is just a way of seeing how much your kendo has improved, so just do your best and take in the experience!

See you Satuday!

PS. location of Cheney School. Number 15 goes straight there from Castle Street via High Street. The grading will be in the sports hall.

Beginner's Course Week 6

2010-11-19T21:12:00.002Z

Hi all,

This week the practice was on the strikes to two different targets of men (head) and kote (wrist).

Cuts to the men are what we have been practicing for the last few weeks, and so should not require much addition or comments. However, remember to bear in mind all the points that have been mentioned previously when practising, and when making the cuts do not make them mechanically, but instead concentrate on the technique. Check if the movements are correct and if anything can be improved. It is particularly important to correct any mistakes now, before they become bad habits and worked into muscle memory, as it is more difficult to correct them later.

In the case of strikes to the kote (wrist), the movement should be the same as men, with the only variations being the height of the cut. The strike should still be made with the arms extended and relaxed, reaching out as far forwards as possible. The arc should still be straight up and down the centre. Do not try to cut kote at an angle and from the side, as that will likely result in hitting either the tsuba (guard), shinai, or knuckles, none of which are a valid target. Additionally, it will cause you to use the right arm in cutting as opposed to the body. Use the angle of the shoulder joint to control the height of the cut, as opposed to leaning forwards and down. The tip of the shinai should finish at a slightly higher height than the hands. If the target is lower than your own wrists (such as when the opponent is shorter than you), bend the knees to lower the upper body so that the kote can be reached without hyperextending the wrist. Do not forget to use te-no-uchi, the wrist and finger tension, to add a snap at the end of the cut and control the impact of the shinai.

See you all on Monday!

Beginner's Course Week 5

2010-11-15T00:28:00.003Z

Hi all,
A short update this time as most of what was covered on Monday has been described in detail in previous entries! This week was focussed on the coordination between the arms and the body.

Suburi
These are the practice cuts that are done at the beginning of every practice, and are very useful to practice on your own. For these to be more useful than just building up strength, treat each swing as a proper cut. Bear in mind the form and coordination, instead of just doing them rote and going through the motions. Use the chance to improve your technique and movements. For a previous entry on this blog, which describes different types of suburi, click on the header.

Ki Ken Tai no Icchi
This is the timing for which the sword (ken), body (tai) and spirit (ki) all arrive at the same time. This is a requirement for a cut to be valid in kendo and will need to be adjusted throughout your time practicing kendo, as different parts of your body grow stronger or faster, or you correct your footwork and posture. Hence, regularly check if your kiai, fumikomi and shinai impact on the target are hitting at the same time. Again, click on the header for the previous blog entry on ki ken tai no icchi.

See you all Monday!

Beginner's Course Week 4

2010-11-06T22:14:00.003Z

Hi all! Well done for sticking with the course. Halfway there; 3 more weeks to go before the grading! This week was about how to handle the shinai and retain control over the arc and target of the cut. Important things to bear in mind for this are your grip on the shinai, arm movement, posture (again), and finally, te-no-uchi.

Shinai Grip
The shinai should be held as though you are supporting its weight, without excessive force. Gripping it tightly kills the range of movement available to the shinai within your hand. The little finger of the left hand should be wrapped around the bottom edge of the shinai, resulting in the end of the shinai sitting in the palm of your hand. The right hand should be near the top of the handle, with the top of the hand a finger width from the tsuba (guard). The shinai should be held with the ring finger, little finger, and thumb of each hands. Ensure that the “V” between the thumb and index finger is along the top of the shinai. Do not place the thumb along the top. This prevents the shinai from pivoting back, and if the shinai is forced back by, e.g., running into someone, the thumb will get injured.

Arm Movement
The feeling of swinging the shinai is somewhere between allowing the shinai to drop down from the height that it has been lifted to, and throwing it out as far forward as possible (without letting go, of course). The arms should not be tense, and should unfold at the shoulders, then elbows, then wrists. If the arms (and hence grip) are tense, the cut will become inaccurate, as natural unevenness in strength between arms will pull the shinai off centre. The tenseness will also prevent correction of the arc, and so the strike will miss. It will take practice to get the balance right between relaxing and feeding enough strength into the shinai such that it swings out, hence my encouragement to get used to the weight and handling of the shinai. Try to practice swinging the arms, both with and without shinai, keeping them relaxed but sending them out as far as possible.

Posture (as always)
Two main problems with posture may affect the control of the cut. Hunched shoulders, with the shoulder girdle rolled forward, does not allow full rotation of the shoulder joint. This prevents the arms from being raised up high enough for the cut, and hence the elbows must be bent more to compensate. This then leads to obstruction of your view, a slower cut, and later, when in armour. a opening for the opponent to strike the kote (wrist). Bending the upper body to the side and leaning off-centre will also stuff up your accuracy. The height of the strike is determined by the rotation of the shoulder joint and the bending of the knees. For these to be accurate, the relative position of the spine must be consistent.

Te-no-uchi
This is the use of the wrists and fingers to add the extra snap to the strike at the end of the swing. There are a variety of ways of thinking about how to execute this. One is to think of wringing the shinai handle at the end of the cut, turning both wrists inwards and gripping with the fingers. Another is to think of tightening the fingers on the shinai, together with a tipping forwards of the wrist joint. Either way, the important point is that the fingers and wrist are relaxed all the way up to the point before the te-no-uchi is executed, then tensed to give the shinai the snap, and then relaxed again. The last is an important part which is often missed.

I hope these points have been helpful. Next week will look at coordinating the whole body and introduction of a few more exercises built on this week's practise. See you on Monday!

Beginner's Course Week 3

2010-10-29T23:17:00.001+01:00

As described in the overall structure, the next few sessions will be focussing on particular basic technical aspects of kendo. Hence, there will be exercises that are useful for improving what we are practising that week. Please practice these when you have the chance and space. Although you may find these exercises difficult, strenuous, or repetitive and unexciting, practice is essential for the improvement of technique, and movements will eventually become muscle memory.

This week was on footwork and posture. Good footwork allows movement smoothly from point to point without sacrificing posture (shisei), required for balance and readiness. Therefore, when practising footwork, constantly check that the posture is good. Ensure that the upper body is upright, the head up and the shoulders back. When stationary, the feet should be shoulder width apart, pointing forwards, the left foot back with the heel off the ground. Keep relaxed and balanced.

As mentioned before, when moving, always move the leading foot first: this opens the stance, which is more stable. Push off with the trailing foot to move the hips in the direction desired, and keep the upper body neutral. This was the purpose of the lunge exercises. The exercise at the end of the session was to approach a target in kamae, stop at a distance in which the target could be reached, and a execute a strike to the head. The purpose this time was not the cut (although that was the fun bit), but to make sure that the posture was still correct by the time you had reached cutting distance, and were ready to strike. What you are going to do once you reach your desired position should not affect your kamae while you move there.

Fumikomi is the stamping footwork that is used when making a cut. It serves to coordinate the body and allows further cutting distance than sliding footwork (suri ashi). As mentioned in the previous blog entry, do not strike the ground with your heel! The impact will hurt the heel and be transferred all the way up through the leg to damage the knees and the spine, especially if the knees are locked. The sound comes from a slapping of the ground with the sole of the foot, not from the heaviness of the stamp. In this way, it is similar to the impact of the shinai on the target: it is not the strength of the cut but its sharpness and speed. Keep the knees bent when practising and do not try to extend too far, which is likely to cause knee-locking and heelstriking. Impact the ground which the whole sole at once to spread the impact over the whole foot. Practice with small steps or on the spot, so that you get used to the foot positions. The lunges can also be used to practice the fumikomi.

Finally, if you have obtained a shinai from submitting your membership form and payment, I encourage you to handle it, not necessarily for swinging, but just to get used to the weight and balance, and being relaxed when holding it. If you have not yet received the kit but have paid for the course, please be patient; more shinais and bokuto have been ordered and are on their way!

See you all again on Monday Week 4 !

Wei Hao

Beginner's Course Week 2

2010-10-22T18:10:00.003+01:00

Hi everyone!

Hope you enjoyed the second session of this term's Beginner's Course.

Last week, our president, Wei Hao, has covered the general and safety aspect of our practice. So this week, I would like to go slightly more technical, and also touch on some of the dojo etiquette.
Please also refer to "Kendo Etiquette" section of our club's "Kendo for Beginners" guide: http://users.ox.ac.uk/~kendo/kendo4beginners/k4b2.html

Posture

Stay upright with shoulders back -- don't hunch over even when you are swinging the shinai.
Imagine a vertical line that runs through from the top of your head to the floor between your legs. Maintain this throughout.
Relax -- No point in tensing up. You need to be relaxed to move the way you want to. keep your arms and legs relaxed, and don't lock your elbows or knees.

Footwork

Legs shoulder width apart, left forward, right back.
Left heel off the ground, weight on the ball of both feet. (right heel should be very slightly off the floor as well)
Never cross your feet during movement, no matter which direction you are moving towards. (open and close)
Get back to the balanced, even position after each step. This is important because you want to be ready to go whenever you see an opportunity.

Just a small caution: if you are not used to walking or running bare foot, it's important NOT TO land on your heel first. We tend to strike the floor with our heels first if you are used to running with your shoes on, but doing this bare foot may cause problems. Try to delay your landing until your toe is down... it's hard to describe it, but try to think of it as running quietly. Striking with your forefoot will create a smooth and quiet movement.

Here are some videos from Youtube that might help you see what I mean:

Barefoot Heel Strike Running with Force - Slow Motion

Barefoot Forefoot Strike Running with Force - Slow Motion

Movement

When you are moving in suriashi (sliding footwork), try not to bounce up and down. Imagine a line horizontal to the floor running along your waist. As you move forword or back, the waistline should stay leveled with this imaginary line.
Remember not to let your heels go flat on the floor at any point in your movement! This is to allow agility in your motion, and also to protect your akelies tendon from snapping.

"Rei" at the dojo
When you enter the dojo (in our case, the sports hall), bow (rei) towards the general direction of where we practice. It shows your respect towards the people who use the dojo, and commitment to what you are about to do -- kendo. Don't forget to bow towards the dojo again when you leave: it will become natural after a while.

"Onegai shimasu" and "Arigatou gozaimashita"
We will cover more specific mannerism during kendo practice. But the important thing for now is that you respect the people you practice kendo with. For this, please remember the following two words.

Say "Onegai shimasu" at the beginning of each session and each practice, and "Arigatou gozaimashita" to thank at the end of the practice/session.

Onegaishimasu is a bit hard to translate... in terms of kendo, it means something like "please teach me" as well as "let's train together". It shows good will and respect to your partner. "
Arigatougozaimashita" simply means "thank you".

Shinai handling
Treat your shinai as if treating a real sword.
Do not leave them lying around where people may step on or trip over. Similarly, try not to step over a shinai, and NEVER kick a shinai out of the way. Shinai should be handled with care and respect. It will last longer with a bit of care, so you save money, and more importantly, it will be a lot safer for the people who practice kendo with you.

Don't forget to check for cracks or splinters before you start hitting something or someone.

Practicing at home
Remember what you were told at each kendo session; especially the safety aspects. Stretch well, and make sure that your surroundings are safe. Check the height of the ceiling, conditoion of the floor. Make sure you are not close to things or people when you swing your shinai. Not just in front of you... your shinai naturally falls back when you are swinging over your head!!

Stay safe, and be responsible!

That's it for this week: hope to see you again next week! ;)

--Naoki

Beginner's Course Week 1

2010-10-15T22:03:00.002+01:00

Hi all,
A warm welcome to all beginners who have joined us this week! The purpose of this blog is to support the training sessions on Monday evenings, explaining a bit more about what was taught and practised that evening. Also, the previous entries, written for the beginner's course last year, may also be helpful and give an idea of what was done in the last beginner's course, if you would like to do some reading beforehand. For these first two weeks, in which an overview session is given, this blog will cover more general issues. This week, a few points on safety and training.

Hydration
Kendo can be physically demanding and tiring, involving a lot of moving around. Even in cold weather, it is common to sweat while practising. It is therefore important to keep well hydrated; drink fluid before and after exercise, and during water breaks. Also, if you feel that you are in need of water, tell a senior and stop to get the drink. Water or isotonic drinks are recommended; high sugar drinks can make you dehydrated, and sometimes carbonated drinks might not sit well in the stomach when moving around.

Warm-up/stretch
Again, as with all strenuous exercise, it is important to warm up properly to avoid injuries. Tense muscles and tendons are prone to injury when put under strain, such as during sudden movement in kendo. We perform a combined warm-up at the beginning of each session, but if you arrive late, make sure that you warm yourself up before joining in.

Injuries
There are a number of other points in the prevention of injuries to yourself. The most important is to keep the rear ankle off the ground at all times. This cannot be stressed enough. The most common serious injury in kendo is the snapping of the Achilles tendon. This happens if the calf is not warmed up enough, and too much strain is put on it when trying to push off on the rear foot. This excessive strain occurs when the foot is flat against the ground and so the ankle cannot flex. Hence, it is important to keep the heel off the ground. This will occur naturally if the posture is maintained correctly and will become automatic in time.

Relaxation/Control/Strength
Excessive strength is not required in the swinging of the shinai, and it is in fact counter-productive. Using arm strength makes the arm move more slowly, and results in loss of control: attempting to increase the speed of the cuts by swinging the arms makes them tense. Focus on keeping the arms and upper body relaxed, without attempting to cut quickly. This will also improve body posture. Finally, using arm strength when cutting will mean that when you are hitting a live target, the strike will really hurt, even with the armour on.

Equipment check
For the moment, the only equipment that you will be using is the shinai, the bamboo sword. It is important to check that this is safe to use; it undergoes a lot of stress as it strikes targets and get hit. A damaged shinai can send sharp and potentially dangerous pieces of bamboo in all directions. Avoid hitting it on the side with the string; this is what holds the leather caps together, which contain the bamboo slats. (Also, it is the side that represents the blunt edge of the sword, so there's not much good trying to cut with it.) Check that the string is tight so the caps cannot come off. The cap at the tip should not be damaged (so don't lean on your shinai!) The leather around the centre of the shinai should be tight. Check that there are no splinters or cracks in the bamboo.

Personal Limits
Finally, the person that knows your limits best is yourself. If at any time you are feeling unwell, do not hesitate to make this known to a senior and drop out; join back in if and when you feel you can carry on. Also, if there are any injuries that may interfere with training, please also make this known!

Beginner’s Course Michaelmas Term

2010-10-11T11:01:00.004+01:00

Here is an outline of the beginner’s course, running the 8 weeks of Michaelmas term.

This is intended as an introduction to kendo for total beginners, but the exercises used should also be beneficial to advanced kendoka in improving kihon (basics). The aim of the course is to teach all the basic movements so that the shinai can be handled competently and exercises can be carried out safely on live targets.

An overview of everything on the course will take up the first two weeks, to give an idea of what will be achieved over the term. Following this, the next few weeks will revisit each aspect, using exercises intended to polish them. Finally, in week 8, a grading will be held in the same session as the Oxford Winter Cup.

The course is structured such that each session builds on what is covered the week before. The purpose of this document is that if you are unable to make a session, it is possible to check what was covered here. Also, this blog will be updated weekly for duration of the beginner’s course, will describe the exercises used in detail and the points covered that week.

Beginners can join any time in week 1, 2 or 3; however, membership forms must be in and paid for by the end of 3rd week in order to cover insurance with the British Kendo Association (BKA).

Week 1: Overview I
An short crash course quickly covering all that will be done over the next few weeks. There will
be a demonstration of a tournament (shiai) environment match at the end.

Week 2: Overview II
Continues from Overview I. The demonstration at the end of this session will be Kihon and practice exercises.

Week 3: Footwork, Posture, Kiai
A session focussing on the footwork and posture used in kendo. Suri-ashi, okuri-ashi, ayumiashi, hiraki-ashi, fumikomi. Smooth movement with correct posture, with and without shinai. Kiai (shouting).

Week 4: Shinai Handling
Correct holding and swinging the shinai (bamboo sword). Arm, elbow, wrist and finger action. Te-no-uchi, suburi.

Week 5: Ki-Ken-Tai no Icchi
Correct timing of movement and impact. Coordination of body, sword, and kiai.

Week 6: Men and Kote
Cutting of the head (men) and wrist (kote) targets. Use of te-no-uchi and ki-ken-tai no icchi.

Week 7: Kirikaeshi
Execution of kirikaeshi, an exercise involving a set pattern of cuts.

Week 8: Grading
Beginner’s grading. Testing of suburi, striking and kirikaeshi.

Grading Requirements

2010-04-14T13:51:00.004+01:00

As some people are looking at grading at the end of May, here is a link to part of the British Kendo Association website:

http://kendo.org.uk/kendo/grading-requirements/

It states very clearly what is looked for by examiners at each level of grading. It is good to look at this even if you have not yet registered for a grading as it will give you an idea of what to work for, and at which point you should be thinking about taking a grading!

Additionally the questions (Grading questions- Kendo) and other requirements are also worth a look at ("Gradings").

See you at practice!

Hilary Term '10 wk 7 (08/03/10)

2010-03-08T00:05:00.004Z

Hi all! Last Monday saw the people of the movement of beginners into armour, so this time we shall cover some points when putting on the bogu. It is easy to find how to put on bogu online, eg. (from e-bogu)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqSMDDmTAaE

Feel free to ask a member already in armour to show you how before the start of practice. It is good to practice putting on the bogu at home; learn to do it quickly so that during the line-up other members do not have to wait for you.

On this entry, what will be covered will not be how to wear the armour, but some small points to take note of when putting on each of the pieces, in the order they are put on. Remember that when putting on or taking off bogu in the dojo, always do so in seiza, at the side (not in the middle of) and facing into the dojo (more accurately, towards the shomen).

Tare
Make sure that the tare sits on your hipbone tightly when tying it on, this means that it will not slip down when moving around but is not tight around the stomach. The straps should be the same height as, and go around, the koshi ita (back board) of the hakama, not between it and the body. When tying the straps, ensure that they are not twisted but are flat against your body. This applies when tying all the other bogu on as well. Ensure that the knot does not protrude from the tare as they may be caught and untied during practice.

Do
The bottom of the do should rest on the tare such that the unpadded straps are just covered. Also, the top of a good-sized do should not be too far from the bottom of the men once the men has been put on. Ensure that the do is balanced and straight on, adjusted by tying the himo (strings) with different lengths. Also, when tying the knot at the back, the ribbon should have the loops pointing outwards left and right, not up and down. The knots on the front of the do should have the loops pointing either both inwards or both outwards, and the ends of the himo should be tucked in.

Men
Note that there are a variety of methods of tying the tenugui; choose one that suits you and your tenugui size. When putting the men on, put the face into the men as far as possible, such that the solid frame of the men is right against face. Do this by first fully putting the chin fully into the men, then bringing it up against the forehead. Make sure that the men cannot move around the head, as this can lead to it rotating around the head, or it coming off. Also if it is loose it will weigh on the head and be hard on the neck. It is important to have the himo flat against the men, as a twisted himo puts pressure against the head and if it is struck during practice, it hurts. The side flaps of the men should be pointing forwards, not outwards, as these protect the shoulders. When putting on the men, after tying the himo, put fingers between the back of the men and the head and pull outwards and forwards to achieve this, and to give some space between the men and the ears. Finally, the himo, once tied, should be the same length as each other and no more than 40cm from the knot.

Kote
Hold the kote at the joint when putting it on or off to reduce the stress on the wrist section of the gloves. Check that the himo are not dangling. It should not be tight around the wrist, as it must have space to flex in order to absorb impact: tight kote transmit the impact directly to the wrist. Remember to check this if you are wearing a wrist protector or guard.

Look forward to seeing all of you in armour next session!

Shiai rules and roles

2010-02-10T15:33:00.005Z

Just a few useful reference when watching a shiai (match).
Please refer to published books or BKA official guide for more details!

For one shiai-jo:
3 referees

2 ribbon tying people (one on each side of the shiai-jo, with red or white ribbons)
1 score-board keeper
1 time-keeper (a person with a stopwatch and a yellow flag)

Score board:
men - M
kote - K
do - D
tsuki - T
hansoku - triangle
hikiwake - X

Words used in matches:

ippon
Ippon is a score. A normal match is "sanbon shobu" (or three-point match) where a competitor with two points win.
If two points are scored initially by the same player twice, then there won't be a third game.
If two competitors each score ippon each, then there will be the determining game, or "shobu".

hansoku
Hansoku is a faul. It happens most commonly in "jo-gai" which is a faul of a competitor stepping out of the shiai-jo.
Also, hansoku may be called by the referee if boryoku (violence) is used during the match.

shiai
Shiai is a match.

shiai-jo
A square field defined by a line drawn on the floor where the match takes place.
It's a square with two lines where each player stands behind with a toe at least touching the line.
The cross defines the centre of the shiai-jo.

When a player steps out of the square, the refree calls "jo-gai".
This is hansoku, and if repeated twice, would accumulate to ippon for the other player.

encho
Encho is a extended period of time in which the match continues beyond its normal time-limit.
This happens when the match hasn't been decided.

shinpan
Referee

"hajime" - "Start" refree's declaration of the beginning of a game (time starts)
"yame" - "Stop" refree's call to stop a game (time stops)
"wakare" - "Separate" referee's call to separate the two competitors to tooma.
"shobu ari" - "Match has been decided" - referee's call to declare the end of the match.
"hikiwake" -"Draw" - referee declares the end of match with a draw. This happens when no ippon has been scored by either of the competitors, or both scored one ippon each.

Hilary Term '10 Week 2-4

2010-02-10T12:00:00.004Z

Apologies for the laxness of the blog updating recently! There has been much training going on and so forth, especially in the run-up to the Varsity match. To make up for it there is a massive post this time! Let's dive straight into the topics; the musings and opinion will be aplenty therein...

2nd Kata
Continuing the descriptions of the kata from the last entry, the 2nd kata form, nihonme, will be discussed. Starting from the nine pace distance, both uchidachi and shidachi maintain chudan and take three steps (ayumi ashi) in to issoku ito no maai. Uchidachi watches for and takes the opportunity to cut kote with a step (okuri ashi) forward and kiai “yah”. Shidachi drops both hands and steps (okuri ashi) diagonally back and to the left, avoiding the cut to the wrist. Following this, shidachi cuts kote with okuriashi and kiai “toh”. Uchidachi watches shidachi for zanshin, and steps back half a step (okuri ashi) to return to the centre. Shidachi moves right (okuri ashi) to return to his point. It is good for uchidachi to keep the point of the bokuto down and delay returning to chudan until after shidachi has reached the starting position in order to avoid ungainly manoeuvring of bokuto around each other.

Basic exercises and looking ahead to armour practice
There has not been much in terms of new exercises and techniques being practised on the Monday sessions, but the intensity of them is increasing. One may be tempted to wonder why it is that the same exercises are just being done over and over again, if there are other techniques and movements, and why it is that these are not being taught. It is important to understand that it is not sufficient to merely do the movements, but to be able to do them correctly, accurately and automatically without thinking about each part of the body. This condition is important as once in armour, the feeling is very different, and it becomes exceedingly difficult to consciously control each individual part of the body. Remember that if cuts are done wildly, it is very easy to incur injury. More advanced techniques require, for safety, both practitioners to be in armour: take the opportunity now to observe how the armour is put on by members of the club; this will give you an idea of what to do when you start using it later this term.

Motodachi geiko
The aim of motodachi geiko is to give the chance for a large number of members to practice many repetitions of waza and exercises in a limited time. Consequently, outside of stopping to give advice, the motodachi will seek to allow as many people to do the exercise as efficiently as possible. Assist the motodachi in this by being ready to step up and begin the exercise quickly; if you are the next person in line, watch the exercise and move up as soon as the person before you is done. Remember that motodachi may choose not to put away the shinai at the end of the exercise and move straight on to receiving the next kakarite. When doing the rei at the end of the exercise, allow the person behind you to move forward into position at the same time. The formality of taking a set number of steps forwards and backward at the beginning of the exercise is relaxed. Finally, and most importantly, never allow a queue to go empty. If a queue is significantly shorter than another, move to the shorter queue. Everyone doing this means that there will be equal opportunities for rest. If you are unwell or unable to continue, it is acceptable let someone know and drop out and move to the side and perhaps rejoin later; however do not hang back and stand around, as it causes confusion. Also there is no need to be polite and let someone go ahead; either person just stepping in and doing the exercise means that both people will finish faster.

Once again, well done for sticking with the practices as they have become harder and intense in order to prepare for moving people into armour this term! The work has been paying off: the improvement that we have seen is most impressive, and I look forward greatly to more members joining the ranks of those in bogu!

Hilary Term '10 Week 1 (18/01/10)

2010-01-25T17:38:00.003Z

Hi all; welcome back to Oxford if you have been away or on holiday. The blog will once again be maintained weekly to describe the Monday sessions during term time, so look forward to the updates (even if they do turn up quite late in the week)!

This week, Monday’s focus was on an aspect of kendo that beginners may not have encountered before: Nihon Kendo Kata. This is a set series of movements using the bokuto, meant to teach, amongst other things, range, concentration, correct movement and accuracy, and connection with the opponent. There are ten sets of movements in total, an increasing amount of which are required for gradings from ikkyu onwards. The first seven are performed with both uchidachi (teaching side) and shidachi (student side) using tachi (long sword), while for the last three shidachi changes to using the kodachi (short sword). On Monday, the first two were taught. The first three are required for ikkyu. Often, grading questions ask that one of the sets be described. Due to space considerations, this entry will cover only the movements involved in the first kata; this only scratches the surface, but of course learning this is the first step in terms of being able to perform it correctly.

When one begins to practice kata, one does sonkyo normally, and stands into chudan at tooma. Each set begins at nine pace distance, and to reach that distance, both sides tip the sword down and to the right, at about the height of gedan and with the edge pointing in. The point should be slightly outside of the opponent’s right knee. Five small steps (ayumi ashi) are taken backwards by both sides to reach nine pace distance.

Ipponme (first kata):
From nine pace distance, uchidachi takes hidari (left foot forward) jodan, and shidachi takes migi (right foot forward) jodan. Both sides take three steps (ayumi ashi) into a range such that uchidachi would be able to cut shidachi with stepping forward with the right foot: issoku itto no maai. Uchidachi watches for the opportunity to cut shidachi, and does so with a large swing all the way down to gedan. The kiai used is “yah”. When uchidachi does this, shidachi steps back (okuri ashi) to avoid the cut, and then forwards (again okuri ashi) cutting to the head with kiai “toh”. Uchidachi steps back (okuri ashi) half a step to test zanshin; shidachi brings the tip of the bokuto down to point to the face of uchidachi. Shidachi then steps forward into hidari jodan, forcing uchidachi to step back another half step (okuriashi). When satisfied with zanshin, uchidachi brings the bokuto back into chudan, signalling the end of the movements and that shidachi should return to chudan. Both return to nine pace distance in the manner described in the earlier paragraph.

Please consider the kata movements and rehearse them, either physically or mentally, so that the next time it is practiced, the emphasis and improvements can be not on what the movements are, but the quality of execution. Look forward to future updates in which later sets and implications will be discussed!

CANCELLED: Wednesday 13th Jan 2010

2010-01-13T14:34:00.000Z

Today's session (13th January 2010) is now cancelled due to Oxford School closing early.

Snow in Oxford

2010-01-11T14:18:00.000Z

Dear OUKC members,

Please note that some of our practice sessions have been disrupted due to snow and ice, which caused schools and some sports facilities to be closed.

I can confirm now that our Saturday session planned for 9th January 2010 is cancelled, since Cheney School will be closed.

Monday session on 11th January 2010 is also cancelled (Updated 11th Jan).

Please pay close attention to your emails to receive updates on our practice sessions.

Also, anyone who was intending to attend a Kyusha Taikai (Competition) that was planned for this Saturday (9th January 2010) is now announced to be postponed on BKA website.
(http://kendo.org.uk/2010/01/06/kyusha-taikai-travel-update/)

Lastly, do take a lot of care on the roads. Hope to see you all soon.

Kendo videos etc.

2009-12-17T19:36:00.005Z

While you are away at home or holiday, if you fancy learning more about kendo, take a look at some videos found online. Here is a page with some basic stuff:
http://kendo.org.uk/videos/kendo-kihon-and-waza/

There are a lot of interesting videos out there (for example, on Youtube), available for you free! So while you are resting your body, train your mind and develop your knowledge about kendo!
http://kendo.org.uk/videos/

I would also like to encourage people to attend kendo trainings wherever you are... it's nice to practice with different set of people instructed by different sensei's with different styles.
Find your nearest clubs in the UK: http://kendo.org.uk/clubs/maps/

Also, do some suburi if you fancy a bit of exercise... avoid low-cealing rooms though.
Avoid injuries by doing appropreate warm-up, stretching and cool-down before and after exercise.

Stay safe, healthy, and don't forget about kendo over the vacation!
A lot to come in 2010!

Kendo clothing: Hakama and keiko-gi

2009-12-11T14:57:00.004Z

If you've started kendo recently, you probably have been wearing some sportswear to practice. That's perfectly fine for now, but if you are planning to get into armour fairly soon, it may be a good idea to place orders to get your hakama (flared trousers) and kendo-gi (or keiko-gi: the top).

1. Getting your new kendo clothing

I think most of us buy our supply from either of these websites:
Eurokendo (http://www.eurokendo.com/)
Nine Circles (http://www.ninecircles.co.uk/)

Take your time and measure yourself properly when you are ordering: especially for a hakama.

If you get a hakama too long for you, it may get in your way (I've tripped on my own hakama and fell down a few times when it was too long for me!). On the other hand, if it's too short, it looks a bit silly... so please get the right size for your safety, and for you to look good.

We don't specify a colour as a club. Many of us generally wear navy blue keiko-gi and hakama... probably the most standard. Some of us wear white keiko-gi with black hakama (including me) just because we happen to have them.

If you are buying one now, probably navy blue's recommended, because white one becomes dirty / stained quite easily! Your choice in the end though!

Also, try to get at least one "tenugui" at hand. This is the cloth that you place around your head when you put a men on. There are lots of colours and designes... but the important thing is, it absorbs your sweat and that it can wrap around your head tightly!

If you forget to get one, don't worry: most of the senior members probably have spares they can give/lend you! No need to get more than one or two... you'll get free tenugui for almost every competition you attend :p it'll multiply in numbers very quickly...

2. Maintenance

When you do get your navy blue keiko-gi, wash them separately from all your other clothes, and avoid tumble drying the first few times you wash them (because it may shrink beyond recognition...). You don't normally have to wash them more than once every two weeks... or even a month.

Do hang it up in your room (preferrably by a radiator) or outside after each practice... it will make the practice a lot more pleasent that way next time you wear it...

I don't recommend you wash your hakama unless you really need to. Just fold it neatly and put it away.

If you want to wash it, either hand-wash while it's folded, or place it neatly folded in a washing net/bag and use a delicate cycle. Hang it up in a way the folds are kept the way it was.

3. Bogu

We don't recommend you to buy your own bogu at this point, as they can be quite pricey. We have some in our club shead that you can borrow and use, so don't feel obligated to buy your own.

However, if you want to have your own, feel free. Again, measure yourself properly before placing an order (especially when you are buying it online)!

If you have any questions about clothing or equipments, email away to one of the senior members!

Winter Break practice plan

2009-12-11T11:03:00.006Z

Winter break is among us... here is the plan for our kendo practice sessions during this period. Please take note of the time changes for Monday sessions.

If you have any questions, please contact Naoki (naoki.ichiryu[at]lincoln.ox.ac.uk).

Dates and times for Winter Holiday kendo practice sessions

Sat 12 December 09 (14:30 - 16:30)

Mon 14 December 09 (20:00 - 22:00)
Wed 16 December 09 (20:00 - 21:30)
Sat 19 December 09 (14:30 - 16:30)

Mon 21 December 09 (20:00 - 22:00)
Wed 23 December 09 -- NO PRACTICE
Sat 26 December 09 -- NO PRACTICE

Mon 28 December 09 -- NO PRACTICE
Wed 30 December 09 -- NO PRACTICE
--
Sat 02 January 09 -- NO PRACTICE

Mon 04 January 10 (20:00 - 22:00)
Wed 06 January 10 -- Cancelled due to snow
Sat 09 January 10 -- Cancelled due to snow

-- Back to term-time practice

Mon 11 January 10 (21:00 - 22:30) -- TBC
Wed 13 January... etc.

Week 8 (30 November 09) Summary

2009-12-03T23:29:00.003Z

Well done and congratulations to the beginners who graded at the Oxford Kendo Cup!
You have achieved so much during this term!
I was very pleased to see so many people looking good doing kendo.

Thank you very much to those of you who also stayed for the Armoured members' competition as well.
I hope you enjoyed watching the match.

Here's some of the things we learned during the this week's practice:

1. Continuity

During this term, you have learnt to make basic cuts. We have practiced this during suburi, and kihon geiko.
Now we've moved on to do a bit more than just single cuts.
When doing kirikaeshi, or uchicomi geiko, you have to make sure to have the continuity from the beginning of an exercise to the end.
This includes the first chudan-no-kamae at tooma, and lasts until you've made your final cut and turned around to chudan-no-kamae at tooma again.

I think Dave-sensei instructed to do a uchicomi geiko (men, kote, kote-men, men) in one breath during this Monday's practice. Many of you may have found this challenging, because it's often difficult to do everything in one breath when you are not used to moving around very fast.
Don't worry too much if you couldn't do everything in a single breath at this moment, because if you try to speed up too much, you may lose some of the important aspects of the cut we learned so far.
Instead, it would be useful to know the concept and the mentality, and try to get there eventually. The reason why we do exercise with multiple movements, is to train our mind and body to give good zanshin, and to stay focused so as not to give away opportunity to the opponent during a match.
Try to keep yourself focused throughout the exercise. Don't worry if you do something wrong, or miss a target. It happens all the time in sparring or a match. If you break your concentration, you are giving your opponent a big opportunity. The important thing is to just keep your mind focused until the end of the exercise without breaks in between.
Once you can do that, try to make your kiai a little more continuous as well. This will train you for correct breathing, and eventually you will be able to do everything in one breath.

2. Being a motodachi

If you are not wearing an armour, you will rarely be asked to stand as a motodachi (unless you are receiving cuts with your shinai).
However, from next term on, you will be wearing armours, and you will have to stand as motodachi, so it's useful to know a few things about being a motodachi at this point.

During the exercise where you are the kakarite (person doing the exercise), watch what your motodachi partner is doing.
Motodachi is supposed to aid the partner's practice, and offer a good target for kakarite.
They should kiai with the kakarite, and should keep a good posture throughout the exercise, be ready, and move according to the exercise being practised.

When the kakarite move through after a cut, motodachi should either step sideways (taisabaki) and avoid impact, or receive a taiatari (body impact) with a correct posture. Once the kakarite is back to the position to make a cut, motodachi should be ready right away to receive the next cut
This may involve the motodachi running after kakarite (either gone through, or did a hiki-waza) to catch up at tooma. If the motodachi doesn't do this, kakarite will end up having to run back up to them before they can make the next cut.
This is an important exercise for the motodachi as well, because it train their readiness and to work out the distance at all times.

3. Some Japanese words you may want to learn...

At the beginning of an exercise: Onegaishimasu
At the end of an exercise: Arigatou-gozaimashita (thank you)

Do try to use these words during the exercise. It will encourage your partner and yourself to practice kendo with a positive attitude!

See you next week!

Week 7 (24 November 09) Summary

2009-11-29T21:46:00.004Z

Hi all; here is the second last summary for the beginner’s course this term. Well done to all who were at the grading and competition! I hope that you enjoyed yourself. There is little left to talk about that has not been covered previously, so this summary will be mainly consist of a few tips and pointers.

Kotate suburi. (Single-handed suburi) This is a more advanced and difficult suburi, but is very rewarding when practiced often. However, it is also possible to injure yourself if done incorrectly. Kotate suburi swings can be made to kote or men height, either just going forwards, or forwards and backwards. The benefits are in learning to cut with the left hand, relaxing the wrist at the end of the cut, and improved tenouchi. Ensure that the left wrist is turned in such that the “V” between the thumb and forefinger is on the top of the shinai (much like holding a tennis racket) so that the correct tendons and muscles are used. If the wrist is turned out, the tendons on the inside of the forearm will become strained. Additionally, one should build up the strength in the left forearm slowly, until it is accustomed to the strain of weight of the shinai. If it is too heavy, move the hand up from holding it at the end of the shinai towards the tsuba (crossguard). As the wrist becomes stronger, the hand can be slowly moved back to holding it at the end of the shinai.

A few points noted when receiving kirikaeshi:
1. Remember to extend left arm, elbow and wrist at the end of the cuts. This is essential for hitting the top of the men and doing good tenouchi. This applies to all cuts, of course, not just in the kirikaeshi.
2. Start cuts from further away. Extending the arms means that the cutting distance is drastically increased, meaning that cuts should be started from further away. This works the other way too: arms and wrists will have to be extended to make the distance for the cuts. Remember not to lean the body forwards to try and make the distance, but instead push forwards from the hips, keeping the upper body upright.
3. Always aim to cut the correct part of the men, whether or not motodachi is blocking; do not become focussed on hitting the shinai. Motodachi may allow you to practice this or remind you by not blocking for a few strokes; in this case continue the exercise and make sure the shinai is striking the correct part of the men, and attempt to continue cutting in the same way until the end.

Uchikomigeiko is an exercise involving a series of cuts following each other. This sequence may or may not be determined beforehand. On Monday and at the grading, it was a pre-set “Men, Kote, Kote-Men, Men”. There are two main aims to this exercise:
Continuous cuts and readiness: the cuts should be made as soon after each other as possible while maintaining correct cutting, posture and zanshin. This does not mean the cuts need to be fast; just that there is no break in between them. Motodachi will move to a position after receiving each cut such that you will be able to cut immediately: be sure to do so. This teaches one to maintain zanshin after the cut, and good recovery after a cut. It is difficult to do cuts continuously if one is out of position.
Spirit/Will training: As members becomes more experienced, the sequence of cuts may either become longer or be undefined. However, the exercise will rarely last for more than 15 seconds. This means that in this time, one should put in all effort; the time for recovery is after the exercise ends. Attempt to make all the cuts within as few breaths as possible, and push your limits. Of course, if you feel any pain or unusual discomfort, be sure to stop and avoid injury.

Well done again for sticking with the course; see you all on Monday evening for the final session and the results of the grading! We will continue training through the vacation, with the exception of about a week between Christmas and New Year when the sports centre will be closed, if you are in Oxford at any time.

Week 6 (17 November 09) Summary

2009-11-22T18:58:00.004Z

Hi! Apologies for the late update of last week's summary.

Last Monday, we practiced Kirikaeshi.
I've explained the steps involved briefly in one of previous summaries, so do take a look at it, but I'll go into more detail explaining each step today.

Kirikaeshi is an exercise that is intended to cover many aspects of basic kendo techniques.
It's also a good warm-up exercise.

If you struggle to remember what you do, try to remember the rythm.
Yaaaaaaah,
Meeeeeen, men men men men, men men men men meeeeeen,
Meeeeeen, men men men men, men men men men meeeeeen,
Meeeeeen.

You'll know what I mean if you listen to the seniors doing kirikaeshi in your next session.
You have to perform kirikaeshi for gradings up to 3rd dan. So you should learn to do it correctly.

The sequence goes:
1. Kiai
2. Seme
3. Shoumen & taiatari
4. Renzoku sayu men (4 forward, 5 back) & break-out
5. (repeat 2-4)
6. Shoumen & go through (with good zanshin)

1. Kiai
Kiai is very important before you engage yourself in kirikaeshi.
Give loud long kiai from lower belly (normally "yaaah") at tooma (far distance) with chudan no kamae (middle stance). Both Motodachi (receiving side) and Kakarite (attacking side) should give out a kiai, but it's more important for kakarite to give a good kiai.
Breathe out with kiai, then breathe in (this should happen naturally, if you kiai properly).
Then hold in your breath. One set of kirikaeshi should ideally be done without taking another breath. But as a beginner, you don't have to worry too much about it.

2. Seme
After kiai, advance yourself to issoku-ittou no ma (one step/one cut distance) and get ready to start your cuts.
The point of your shinai should continue to point at the opponent's throat.

3. Shoumen & taiatari
The first cut to men, should be a big cut. Raise your arms high above your head, then drawing a large arc, hit motodachi's shoumen (Straight at the top of the head).
You may find big cuts slightly exaggerated, but kirikaeshi should ALWAYS be BIG cuts.
Shoot yourself forward, with fumikomi. Ki-ken-tai no icchi is very important; Your kiai, fumikomi and the cut, should be heard at the same time (for all the subsequent cuts as well).
Control your forward momentum by keeping your posture straight. It's ideal you stop just before you have an impact with your partner (motodachi), but if you do taiatari (body impact) lessen the force by relaxing your arms in front of your belly and chest.
Please be extra cautious if you are not wearing your kote, because you may hurt your hand by crashing into motodachi's tsuba.
Wait for the motodachi to step back to a distance you can comfortably hit.

4. Renzoku (continuous) sayu men (4 forward, 5 back) & break-out
Once the motodachi is in a comfortable range, which is closer than normal issoku ittou no ma because you will be cutting with suriashi (sliding) footwork and not fumikomi, raise your shinai high as the first cut, and then hit opponent's hidari(left)-men (which is to your right).
Aim for the men-himo (string) tied around motodachi's men.
As a beginner, the motodachi may let you hit his/her men without blocking your cuts with the shinai.
This will make it easier for you to cut in the correct angle to a correct target.
Make sure you are cutting with the correct part of your shinai. It's no good if you are cutting with the tip of your shinai or very close to your tsuba.
Motodachi will be helpful in keeping pace with you, but you will also have to think about how much to step forward or back when making each cut.
Suriashi forward 4 times, then 4 times backwards. The 5th men to motodachi's hidari-men is like hikimen (pulling-back men) so you hit while stepping backwards and continue the suriashi back to tooma.

5. Seme, Shomen & taiatari, Renzoku sayu men (repeat 2-4).

6. Shoumen & go through (with good zanshin)
From tooma, BIG shoumen, keep your forward momentum and suriashi through while motodachi give your way with taisabaki.
You SHOULD NOT break your concentration until you suriashi to far enough distance, so when you turn around, you are at least at tooma from your partner motodachi, who turned around (and possibly have chased you from the back) as you passed through.
Turn around, make sure you are at tooima from your motodachi; only then you have completed kirikaeshi.

The aims of kirikaeshi are, in decreasing priority,
Accuracy: hitting the correct part of the men and not the mengane or missing
Hasuji: hitting with the right part and orientation of the sword
Flow: movements should flow into each other and be continuous
Speed

It is important to achieve each one in order before moving on to working on the next; i.e. make sure you are hitting with the correct part of the sword before moving on trying to make the movements continuous. Also, while improving each aspect, do not sacrifice any of the earlier. Note that speed is the final aim; only attempt to do kirikaeshi more quickly after everything else is done well, as it is easy to lose all form when trying to make the cuts fast: cuts become small, are no longer made with the body, arms tense up and posture poor. As an indication of the scale of importance, in 1st and 2nd dan gradings moderate speed is acceptable; for 1st Kyu slow is ok. However, missing the men in kirikaeshi, particularly the first and last men, is automatic failure.

Please take a look at the following youtube video:
Chiba-sensei's instructions
It's in Japanese, but it will be good to watch kendo cuts done correctly.
Kirikaeshi section starts at 6:45 in the video.

Week 5 (10 November) Summary

2009-11-11T00:01:00.003Z

Hi again! It’s now week 5 and we are past the halfway mark for the beginner’s course. Well done on sticking with it; a lot of the cuts I received on Monday were well made and there has been much improvement. Remember that the grading and competition will be on the 28th of November, so take some time to consider and inwardly digest the points taught!

Group Rei: This was mentioned briefly in the week 3 summary, but here are the details of the rei itself. At the beginning and end of each practice, if there is a sensei present, the dojo forms into lines depending on the number of members present. The line is formed in grade order, with the most senior on, in our case, the right. This will vary with dojo and is dependent on the position of the entrance. The most senior senpai will call the commands for the line-up:
“Seiretsu”: the call for the line-up
“Seiza”: go into seiza (kneeling position). Kote are placed in front and to the right of yourself, thumbs together, pointing right. The men is placed on top of this, with the men-himo tidily inside. The tenugui (the cloth placed on the head under the men) may be placed inside or over the men, depending on the senpai. If you have a shinai, place it on the left, if holding a bokuto, put it on the right. If holding both, put them on the left. Always have the edge pointing towards yourself.
“Mokuso”: Meditation. Place both hands in front of the navel, palms upwards, left over right, thumbs touching. Lower eyelids and clear the mind, concentrating on breathing.
“Mokuso yame”: Finish meditation
“Sensei ni rei”: bow to the sensei
“Otagai ni rei”: bow to everyone. Usually one says “onegaishimasu” when bowing at the beginning, and “Arigatou gozaimashita” at the end.
“Mentsuke”/ “Men tore”: Put on/remove men and kote. In the ending group rei, this will be done before mokuso.

Motodachi-geiko: Practice is carried out like this when there are much fewer seniors that juniors, or if there is a lack of room. In this case, seniors (motodachi) line up at one side of the dojo. Everyone else distributes themselves into lines in front of the motodachi. If you are on the kakarite (student) side, after finishing the practice, join the back of another line. Move to the shortest line quickly and without confusion. Watch the person in front of you so that as soon as their exercise has finished, step up to do yours immediately.

Footwork and renzoku-waza: Renzoku-waza are more advanced techniques which involve more than one action. On Monday, the example of this was kote-men, in which kote was cut, followed by men. Posture and footwork are particularly important for these techniques, as good cuts can only be made when the body is ready and balanced. Hence, the main aim is to be at good posture as soon as possible after the end of the first cut.
To achieve this, make sure cuts are made from the hips, pushing forwards with the rear foot, upper body upright and arms relaxed, without leaning too far forwards or back. At the end of the cut, the body will already be upright. Te no uchi is vital to prevent the shinai from swinging past the target point and pulling you off position. Finally, in order to recover to a position when the body is ready to cut again, bring up the rear foot quickly in preparation to push again.
　Finally, remember that although two swings are made in succession, they must both be cuts that would, even standing alone, score. Do not sacrifice the quality of one cut for the other in order to try to make the whole action faster. With good posture and footwork, renzoku-waza naturally become smoother.

Zanshin: Before attacking, one does kiai to declare intention to fight, and to focus mind and body. However, this focus must not be lost as soon as the cut is made but should continue until ready to start again at tooma. This is another requirement for a point, and is displayed by a variety of things. The list below is not exhaustive!
1. Breaking to safe distance quickly after the cut. To begin with, safe distance will generally mean going through after the cut to a distance the opponent cannot attack you at.
2. Kiai should continue after the cut until turning around into tooma
3. Spirit and cutting should be moving forward, not recoiling from opponent defensively, even on hiki (backwards) waza.

That’s it for now, except one last tip: if you want to practice at home but the ceiling is not high enough or there is not much space to move, an exercise is to swing an empty wine bottle in the left hand, standing or sitting. Good for learning to keep the left wrist flexible. Just make sure not to hit anything. Or anyone. See you all next week!

Week 4 (2nd November 09) Summary

2009-11-06T10:12:00.003Z

Hi everyone! Here's the summary of what we've learned during our previous session!

1. Counting
We count in Japanese when we do our suburi. Make sure to be loud and count in time with the end of your cut so you can keep pace with others. Counting in this manner makes it easier for you to kiai at the right moment for cutting later in your practice.

1 ichi
2 ni
3 san
4 shi
5 go
6 roku
7 shichi
8 hachi
9 kyu
10 jyu

2. Fumikomi
Fumikomi is a special footwork used when making a cut in Kendo. Push your body forward (not upwards) with your left foot, while the right foot floats slightly above the floor in the air, and as you hit your target with your shinai, bring down the right foot flat onto the floor. Bring in your left foot immediately after for tsugiashi, or connective footwork, into chudan position ready for the next move.

Some points to consider when practicing fumikomi to avoid injuries:

a. Do not to stamp too hard with your right foot; this may damage your knee (partly because we practice on a floor not made for kendo) A veteran male can apparently produce force as much as 1t with fumikomi... and there's no action without reaction... start easy on this.
The biggest contributing factor in the sound from the fumikomi is not how hard the ground is struck with the foot but the shape of the foot upon impact. Think of it not so much as stamping but slapping the ground with the foot. In this way the whole of the sole will impact the ground at the same time. This is what allows such force to be used without injury: the impact is spread over the whole area of the foot and not transmitted up through the heel and shin to the knee.

b. Do not raise your foot too high... you will end up landing from your heel, and not only does it not give a nice sound, it hurts. This also kills the forward momentum, so keep your right foot as low as possible, and think of jumping forward rather than upwards! Other things that may cause you to land on your heel are leaning forwards or backwards, trying to cut when not in a position to do so e.g. when the left foot is too far behind, or body not balanced.

c. Make sure your left heel is off the ground when you push forward to avoid injuries to the Achilles tendon. Also, point your left toe forward... this will enable you to push your body forward with the maximum strength from your leg!

3. Kirikaeshi
After suburi practice, we normally practice “kirikaeshi", an exercise in armour. It consists of a series of men and sayu-men with both forward and backward suriashi.

1. Chudan no kamae at tooma.
2. Big kiai. Breathe out with kiai, breathe in, then start.
3. Large men with fumikomi --> Controlled taiatari (body impact).
4. The motodachi, or the receiving side, steps back.
5. Large sayu-men starting by hitting your opponent's Hidari(left)-men (cutting to your right, opponent’s left): four times forward and five backward. Use suriashi (sliding footwork), making sure your footwork and kiai are in sync with your cut (ki ken tai no icchi). With the last cut to the left men, move back to tooma at chudan no kamae.
6. Repeat 3-5.
7. Large men with fumikomi, while motodachi step aside using tai-sabaki.
8. Keep straight and go through, then turn around to tooima with chudan no kamae.
9. Remember to kiai “men” with each cut

4. Posture and movement
A lot of you are improving very quickly on the kendo movements. Please keep some of the following things in your mind when you next practice:

a. Balanced?
Are you in a comfortable posture to move? Do you feel balanced? Your feet should be in comfortable distance apart both vertically and horizontally to move in any direction.

b. Straight?
Is your back straight? Is it hunched forward or maybe arcing too much backward? Are you holding your shinai at the centre of your body, in front of your belly-button? Are you looking straight ahead? Think of having a pole that runs from the top of your head all the way through your back pointing at the middle of your two feet on the floor.

c. Stable?
When you make suriashi, is your body jumping up and down? It is useful to think that when looked from sideways, your hip shouldn't move up and down with your footwark. Also, the straightness should be kept throughout the movement. Are you leaning forward to cut? Keep straight, and keep your movements minimum and efficient.

d. Shoulders, wrists and fingers relaxed?
If the grip on the shinai and the wrists are very tense, the shinai cannot move freely and will be at a fixed angle with respect to the arm. Keeping the wrists and fingers flexible and relaxed, only tensing when executing te no uchi, allows for faster accurate movement and longer reach. Tense shoulders mean swings cannot be full and large, more energy is expended and posture becomes poor. Also results in stiff neck and shoulders after practice!

e. Looking big?
You may think it's a bit silly and too basic, but if you can make yourself look big and confident, it's quite effective against your opponent. Keep good posture, keep tall (but not tip-toe) and pull your shoulders back. Relax and be confident!

Looking forward to seeing you in the next session!!

Week 3 summary

2009-11-01T22:44:00.001Z

Hi all, apologies for the lateness of the 3rd week summary. Hopefully there has not been too much to think about and digest. It is natural to feel slightly overwhelmed by the amount of things to bear in mind simultaneously while practicing kendo; however these things eventually become familiar and the movements natural. Of course, this does mean that bad habits can also grow, so it is important to keep an eye on what one is doing in practice and consider feedback given!

On to the points focussed on this week.
First of all, a few points on reigi, or etiquette, described at the end of the session. At the beginning and end of each exercise, we rei (bow) to each other. The shinai is held at waist height, with thumb on the tsuba (guard), edge up (i.e. string down). Keeping the upper body straight, bend from the waist, between 15 to 30 degrees, depending on the situation. Do not allow the tip of the shinai behind you to rise above your hand and the handle to tip down. Additionally, at the beginning and end of the session, as well as before and after each jigeiko (free sparring), one does sonkyo. This involves, from chudan, twisting in the rear heel, and then bending the knees to go into a squat, all the time keeping the upper body straight and maintaining posture. You may find that members who have knee troubles may instead bring back the rear foot and point the shinai to the ground in a deeper rei.

Flow of the practice. Practice generally begins with a warm up, followed by suburi then group rei. In the case of these two, if there is a sensei present, members form into a line (or multiple lines if the number is greater) in grade order. If there is no sensei, they are done in a circle. Then, basic and technique practice and jigeiko are done, with everyone in two lines. After each set of exercises, everyone moves one space either clockwise or anticlockwise in the rows, in order to practice with a new person. If there is an odd number or participants, there will be an odd person out at the end, who will rotate in. If there is an even number, one sempai (senior grade) will stay in the same place while everyone rotates around. This procedure means that in one full cycle, one gets to practice with every other member of the club. Therefore, get used to the movement and be aware of your position in the line-up. Finally, there will be group rei again to finish.

Holding shinai to receive cuts. When giving the opportunity for your practice partner to cut a target on your shinai, hold the shinai only slightly above your head in order to make the target as similar to a men position as possible. Also, hold it slightly in front of the head, too, in order to prevent a cut that is too short catching you on the face. Finally, the shinai should be held with the string (tsuru) pointing downwards so it is not struck and damaged.

Ki ken tai no icchi. This is the aim of spirit (ki), sword (ken) and body (tai) acting as one. In practice, this means that all three must arrive at the same in making a cut: the shinai must impact at the same time as the body and fumikomi (foot stamp), together with the kiai expressing the spirit. Successful and correct ki ken tai greatly amplifies the effectiveness of the cut and is one of the requirements of scoring a point. Since different parts of the body will take different times to move to the point of impact, the movements must be started at different times. For example, when cutting a large men, the arms will need to move for longer than the body, and so their movement must start first. With practice, the timing will become instinctive.

This summary has been a bit less focussed on the technical aspects, as many of those used in the last practice have been mentioned in earlier posts, so please take a look at them again if there are things that are still unclear, or ask a more senior member of the club. Also, although these points have not been so much on the physical aspects of the session, they are still important parts of kendo, as a smooth running practice means more can be covered in the time we have. Additionally, it also raises the spirit and motivation of those involved, and people push themselves harder, leading to greater improvement.

We look forward to seeing you at the next session!

Monday Week 2 (19th October 2009) Summary

2009-10-20T20:38:00.004+01:00

I hope everyone has enjoyed the second session of the term.
Our week 2 session started with a warm up (jogging silently, suriashi footwork, side steps etc.), stretching (which was covered in our last week's summary), and suburi.
After that, beginners were instructed by Dave-sensei, and the armoured members practised separately under Michio-sensei's instructions. At some point during the term, we'll have joint practice where you can actually hit armoured members! So look forward to that and keep it up!

Here are some of the things you learned in this week's session.

1. Handling shinai
Shinai, which is written in Japanese as "bamboo sword", should be handled as if handling a real sword. Do not step over it, or lean on it. This also ensures that you don't damage your shinai. If you lean on your shinai, you may weaken the bamboo which may cause it to split while you are practicing. It is also important to protect the leather cover on the tip of shinai, because if this breaks during practice, it may cause serious injuries to your partner.
Also, be aware of how you hold your shinai. When listening to sensei's instructions during practice, you can stand with your shinai in front of you, pointing somewhere diagonally down to the right. If you are waiting or bowing, hold your shinai with your left hand, string side (which is represents the non-bladed side of a katana) down.

2. Suburi
a. Joge-buri: a warm-up suburi to relax your arms and loosen your shoulders. Make large swings and swing down to about knee height with big suriashi (sliding footwork) forward and backward. Take care not to super-extend your arms and wrists at the end of each swing.
b. Single men: cut men with a large swing using suriashi forward, and take one step backwards to chudan no kamae. Cut only when going forward.
c. Renzoku men: cut men both going forward and back. It's important to synchronise your footwork with your cut.
d. Sayu- men: cut men, but diagonally down to right and left, keeping your left hand in the centre. Swing going forward and back.
d. Haya suburi: start by raising your shinai up above your head. Shift right foot forward immediately followed by left. At the same time, swing down to men. Draw your left foot back, immediately followed by right, as you draw your shinai up above your head. This should be speedy and smooth. Sometimes about 10 or 20 in one breath. However, this will be very difficult for beginners, so try not to be discouraged even if you can't keep up. It will come naturally as you become better at handling shinai's weight and maintaining your posture and balance.

3. Distance (maai) and seme
You should always be aware of the distance between you and your opponent. That is, if you are within the opponent's maai, or the reach, then it is likely you get hit. On the other hand, if you are too far apart, you may miss your target and throw yourself into an awkward and unfavourable position. You should always remember to start from tooima, or the far distance, to issoku ittou no ma (one step, one sword-length) before you strike.
When you approach your opponent, you are making seme (directly translated as an attack). Seme should not destroy your posture. Do not shift your weight forward, extend or tense up your arms. It should be a firm, but relaxed movement forward with a small tenouchi (bringing thumbs inward) to maintain your centre. When approaching your opponent, the tip of the shinai (kensen) should continue to point at their throat rather than start to point above their head as the distance closes.
A good seme is vital for a good strike. Remember to maintain your posture and bring your back foot up quickly so that you can strike immediately when you see an opportunity!

4. Men and kote
Up till now, you have learned to hit two targets, men (straight down to the forehead) and kote (straight down to the right wrist). They are more or less the same movement, with a small adjustment in hight of swing and the impact.
Swing up high above your head when hitting men. Swing down the sword, in a way that the tip of the shinai is drawing a large arc over your head. Use tenouchi at the moment of impact.
For kote, raise your left arm high enough to be able to see your opponent's kote beneath it. Then make a cut the same way as you do for men, and using tenouchi at the height of the opponent's wrist. It is very important to use your left arm's movement rather than right for the strike. This will ensure that the cut is straight, and that it hits the correct target. (Not the tsuba or your opponent's knuckle!)
Know your target, and strike to the appropriate height. Don't try to swing your sword all the way through -- this will unbalance you if you miss, and will be very painful for your partner if it hits him/her.
Remember that your reach is longer when aiming for kote. Think about the distance and what your issoku ittou no ma is for either men or kote. Adjust your footwork and adjust your seme accordingly.

That's it for now... looking forward to seeing you all next week! New-comers are welcome too!

If you have any questions, or request on what to cover in this blog, please leave a comment or email ( naoki.ichiryu[at]lincoln.ox.ac.uk )

Monday Week 1 (12th October 2009) Summary

2009-10-13T23:59:00.004+01:00

Here is the first of what will hopefully be weekly summaries of the beginner’s class. The main aim of these is to review and elaborate a little on the main points covered and raised in the week’s class, giving something to think about and work on before the next session. Hopefully these will help to improve the understanding and quality of kendo.

1. Stretching
Like all strenuous exercise, stretching should be done at the beginning of each practice, in order to prevent injuries. Warming up of the Achilles tendon is particularly important, as a large strain is placed on it when pushing forward with the rear leg.

2. Okuri-ashi (kendo sliding footwork)
Okuri-ashi is used when moving around so that one is always ready to push off and make a cut. For chudan-no-kamae, the stance used on Monday, the right foot will always remain forwards, the left behind. Push forwards, sliding right foot along the ground. Bring up the left foot quickly once the body has been moved forward to maintain readiness to move again. Always keep the rear heel off the ground to prevent injury to the Achilles tendon. Keep body upright and avoid hunching/leaning over

3. Making a cut
When making a cut, keep the arms, shoulders and wrists relaxed and unlocked. Doing so will increase the accuracy and speed. Trying to force the swing faster with tense arms has the opposite effect and expends more energy. At the end of the cut, use te-no-uchi, the twisting of the wrists inwards towards each other, to stop the sword at the target point. The target height is head level for men (top of the head) cuts and slightly higher than your own hands for kote (wrist). Imagine an opponent the same size as you when making the swing.

4. Kiai
Kiai (shout) is used to express your intention to fight and impose yourself on your opponent. Kiai before moving in to your cutting distance, shout the name of the target you are cutting at the time of impact to show that the cut is on the target intended, and continue to kiai until the cut is completed and you are ready for the next cut.

Please consider these points; they will be built upon and are part of the fundamental principles. Look forward to the next session!