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!
Thursday, 17 December 2009
Friday, 11 December 2009
Kendo clothing: Hakama and keiko-gi
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!
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
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) -- TBCWed 13 January... etc.
Thursday, 3 December 2009
Week 8 (30 November 09) Summary
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!
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!
Sunday, 29 November 2009
Week 7 (24 November 09) Summary
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.
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.
Sunday, 22 November 2009
Week 6 (17 November 09) Summary
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.
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.
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
Week 5 (10 November) Summary
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!
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!
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