Kendo lexicon: seiretsu and dojo

2012-10-28 22:08:00

For many of our new members, all the Japanese terms used in class can be confusing. From my own experience I know it’s taken me months to get to know most of the common terms. Of course students can find help in the glossary compiled by our teachers, but at times a bit of extra explanation may be helpful.

We continue our series of explanatory articles with commands from the line-up. We will also provide an explanation of dojo layout.

As noisy and violent kendo class may be, there are two moments that form a stark contrast: at the beginning and end of class all students line up to thank their classmates and teachers and to meditate. The dojo is plunged into quiet, while students prepare their armor and ready themselves. Usually it’s the highest ranking student (not the sensei themselves) who call out the following commands.

• Seiretsu (整列) Literally, “form a line“. While the sensei are seated on their side of the room, the students line up according to their rank (see explanation about dojo layout). Everyone holds their shinai in their left hand, hanging gently downwards. Those who have armor, wear their tare and dou, while holding their men under their right arm (with kote and tenugui inside the helmet). In our case, the lowest ranking students sit on the left and the highest ranking students at the right. Visitors will always be on the right-hand side of their rank group. Sometimes we change the order a little bit, by lining up based on age.
• Seiza (静坐) There are two distinct and applicable ways of writing “seiza“: é™å “to sit peacefully“, or æ­£åº§ “to sit kneeling“. If you are not yet sure how to properly sit down into seiza, Kendo World made a great video about seiza. When seated, the kendoka place their shinai on the floor (lying on the tsuru). Those with men take the kote from the men and place them on the floor. The men is then balanced on top, with the tenugui draped over it neatly.
• Shisei wo tadashite (姿勢を正して) Literally, “straighten yourselves“. While seated, you are to sit upright and with a straight back. Do not slouch, do not fiddle with your uniform, just pay attention and sit up straight.
• Ki wo tsuke (気を付け) A call to “stand to attention“, similar to “shisei wo tadashite“. Again, it means you should focus and pay close attention to the proceedings.

• Mokuso (黙想) The word mokuso refers to meditation in general. While there are many kinds of meditation, in our case we know two kinds: EITHER try to empty your mind completely (mushin), OR focus your thoughts on today’s lesson or on specific points of improvement. Don’t close your eyes completely, cup your hands in your lap and think about what you need to learn. For more details on mokuso, watch this great Kendo World clip.
• Mokuso yame (黙想辞め) As in all commands issued in class, yame means “to stop”. It is the call to stop meditation, to bring your attention back to class and to be prepared.
• Rei (礼) Literally means “to express gratitude“, so while the word rei is used as a command to bow it is actually a request to show thanks.
• Shomen ni rei (正面に礼) Not used in our dojo, but included for completion’s sake. “Bow to the front“, which includes the “highest” seat in the room (see below). One could say that you are bowing to the dojo itself and to the spirit of budo, to thank for the lessons learned and the protection provided inside the dojo. You also bow to shomen when entering and leaving the dojo.
• Shinzen ni rei (神前に礼) Not used in our dojo, but included for completion’s sake. A call to “bow to the altar“, which is usually only used if the dojo has a kamidana (see below) and if the dojo is non-secular. One bows to thank the ancestors, sensei from the past and possibly a deity.
• Sensei ni rei (先生に礼) Literally “thank your teacher“.
• Sensei gata ni rei (先生方に礼) Literally “thank your teachers“, with “gata” being the honorific for a group of people.
• Otagai ni rei (御互いに礼) Literally “thank each other“. You thank your classmates for practicing together and for learning from each other.
• Sougo ni rei (相互に礼) Literally “Show mutual thanks”, quite the same as the previous command.
• Men wo tsuke (面を着け) “Put on your mask“, the command to don your tenugui, helmet and gloves.
• Men wo tore (面を取れ) “Remove your masks“, the command to take off your protection (except dou and tare). In September Heeren-sensei explained how to properly take off your helmet, showing enough respect (at the bottom of this summary).

The preceding paragraphs have already mentioned a lot of terms describing parts of the dojo. Below is a drawing of the Amstelveen dojo, with the most important terms shown in the right location. Both the drawing and the lexicon below could only have been made because of Dillon Lin’s excellent article on dojo layout.

• Genkan (玄関) The entrance foyer, leading to the dressing rooms. Officially the term genkan is reserved for a foyer where one takes off ones shoes, but apparently it’s not incorrect to apply it to the tiled section of the gymnasium we train in.
• Hikaenoma (控えの間) The perimeter of the dojo nearest to the entrance is used as temporary storage space. Shinai are put down here when not used and the kendoka place their men and kote here before class. Kendoka who need to quickly drop out from an exercise (for example to fix their armor) will also sit down in the hikaenoma.
• Shimoza (下座) Consisting of the kanji for “bottom” and “sit”, this is the junior side of the dojo. All students line up here, according to their rank.
• Shimoseki (下関) This is literally the lowest seat in the dojo, at the far left of the shimoza.
• Keikojo, or embujo (稽古場, or 演武場) Literally, “training place“. The center of the dojo is used for training.
• Kamiza (上座) Consisting of the kanji for “top” and “sit”, this is the senior side of the dojo. The teachers in charge of class will sit on this side.
• Joseki (上席) The “highest seat” in the room, which you could say is the VIP seat. In our case, this is on the right-hand side of the kamiza (in the picture that is). This seating is reserved for visiting sensei, high-placed visitors and officials, who are to observe class.
• Shomen (正面) The “front” of the dojo, the wall along which the kamiza is aligned. We bow towards shomen when entering and leaving the dojo.

• Kamidana (神棚) In Japan’s religion Shinto, the kamidana is a small shrine or altar kept inside the household, office, dojo or various other places. A kamidana consists of many objects, all of which are very well described by the aforementioned Dillon Lin in this article about budojo no kamidana.
• Tokonoma (床の間) In Japan many rooms have a niche in the wall, containing a piece of calligraphy, a work of art or an ikebana arrangement.

Our Amstelveen dojo may have neither of these two, but one could argue that the flag replaces the kamidana. Our flag is there to remind us of the dojo motto and to act as a reminder of the required frame of mind.

As always, I would like to thank Zicarlo for reviewing this article.

kilala.nl tags: kendo, sports,

View or add comments (curr. 0)

Kendo class and 'career' planning

2012-10-28 08:45:00

Lately the teachers at Renshinjuku kendo dojo have been pushing the students to challenge themselves. They're getting as many students as possible to enroll in the dutch national champioships and they also want students to prepare for their exams. Sadly I can't join the NK (due to planning) and I don't feel I'm ready to take the exams either. Kris-fukushou confirmed this to marli, when they were having a chat while I was dressing: if I were to go for ikkyu now I'd definitely not make the grade, but if I work hard I can definitely give it a good shot next winter. And I will!

I'll discuss the matter with Heeren-sensei, Loyer-sensei and both Hillen and Kris, to see what they think I need to work on the most.

Saturday's class got off to a slow start. People came in a bit too late, so we only got things on the road by 0925. In the end, turnup was not bad with eight guys in bogu and about a dozen beginners without armor. We started with the usual warming-up, after which we quickly went into seiretsu. While Loyer-sensei took the utmost beginners aside, the novices joined the more advanced group for kihon practice. The guys in bogu acted as motodachi, while the novices practiced oki-men and oki-kote-men. 

Then, waza practice! We started with basic kirikaeshi, men and kote-men drills, then quickly moving onto more advanced materials: double hiki-men, hiki-kote-men and hiki-men-kote-do. As Kris and Hillen explained, the object is to push the envelope on our grasp of distance and footwork. In these drills it's no use to over-think your actions as a lot of it comes down to feeling what you're doing. You do an exercise, then you very quickly analyse your actions and then go on with another drill. The basics come down to:

1. Start in taiatari.
2. Your left foot moves backwards while your shinai moves back just enough to get a clear shot.
3. You fumikomi when striking and land about a foot behind where you started.
4. The second strike is made with fumikomi in the exact same spot.
5. The third strike is made in the same spot, with the fumikomi launching you backwards.

As was said, if you overthink this then you'll just get stuck as I did. I tried to do the exercises in slow motion, but then everything fell apart. Instead, try it at 0.8 or really just 1.0 of the desired speed. 

The latter part of practice was spent on reacting to motodachi's men and kote attacks. We were free to try any techniques we like, so I focused on debana-kote, ai-kote-men and kaeshi-men. For those people joining the NK next week, we did short practice shiai. I fought Tiamat-sempai. 

Individual pointers I received from my teachers:

• In a shiai, don't lose the tension! Both Tiamat and myself went apart way too far, the inching back towards eachother. Instead, if the distance is too large quickly close in again to retain tension!
• As always, my chisai strikes were waaaaay too large. I keep moving the shinai with my right hand, instead of the left hand. 
• Tiamat was warned that he shouldn't just keep slapping my shinai aside. Instead he should do something with it! Otherwise it's just useless movements and he's opening himself up for attack.

Class was closed with some reminders from the teachers.

• Loyer-sensei warned the beginners that they're hitting with right way too much. This makes for huge movements, instead of properly small movements.
• Hillen and Kris-fukushou repeated the need for tension in a shiai. Stay close, don't let up! If something goes wrong, don't care and definitely do not show frustration. If you allow frustration to set in, you will ruin your chances. 

kilala.nl tags: kendo, sports,

View or add comments (curr. 0)

Kendo lexicon: warmup and suburi

2012-10-24 22:09:00

For many of our new members, all the Japanese terms used in class can be confusing. From my own experience I know it’s taken me months to get to know most of the common terms. Of course students can find help in the glossary compiled by our teachers, but at times a bit of extra explanation may be helpful.

We continue our series of explanatory articles with words and phrases from warming up.

We will start with a list of common stretching positions, which you will hear every week when training in Amstelveen as large parts of class are conducted in Japanese. Funnily enough, in Japanese “stretching” is a loanword from english: ã‚¹ãƒˆãƒ¬ãƒƒãƒ (su-to-re-chi).

• Koutai (交替) “Alternate”, “switch”, or “change”, this word is used in class to indicate you need to switch between left or right in stretching. You will also hear it in mawari geiko, when it’s time to move to another partner.
• Te or tekubi (手首) Your hands and wrists.
• Ashi (è„š) Your feet. Make sure to loosen your ankles and toes.
• Hiza (膝) Your knees. Bend your knees and make rotating movements, flexing and stretching your knees.
• Suwaru (座る) Squat, by sitting in a crouching position.
• Mae ni kagamu (前に屈む) Bow deeply touching the ground. First with feet together, then wide-legged.
• Ushiro ni kagamu (後ろに屈む) Bend backwards.
• Koshi wo mawasu (腰を回す) Make circles with your hips, like a hoolahoop.
• Akiresu ken (アキレス腱) The Achilles’ tendon, at the back of your foot. Step forward and sink a bit through your knee while keeping the back leg straight. Goal is to stretch the tendons on the rear leg.
• Shinkyaku (伸脚) Stretch your inner leg, by crouching down and putting one outstretched leg to the side.
• Shinkyaku fukaku (伸脚 深く) Stretch your inner leg, by crouching down and putting one outstretched leg to the side and pointing your toes upwards.
• Yoko ni nobasu (横に伸ばす) Bend sideways, with one or both arms above your head.
• Ookiku mawasu (大きく回す) Make large circles using your upper body, by bowing front-side-back-side-front in a fluid motion.
• Ude (è…•) Your arms. Stretch arm and shoulder by holding one arm across your chest using the other.
• Ude ushiro (è…• 後ろ) Your arms again, this time stretch the shoulder by putting your arm behind your neck and pushing backwards gently.
• Ue ni nobasu (上に伸ばす) Stretch your body’s full length, by stretching your arms over your head and standing on your toes.
• Ude wo mawasu (腕を回す) Turn your arms in circles, to the side of your body.
• Kubi mae ushiro (首前後ろ), or unazuki (頷き) Nod your head up and down
• Sayuu (左右), or kubiwofuru (首を振る) Shake your head from side to side.
• Yoko (横) Tilt your head and bring your ear towards your shoulder.
• Atama wo mawasu (頭を回す) Rotate your head gently, rolling it over your shoulders, neck and chest.
• Janpu (ジャンプ) Jumping in place. We usually do jumping, followed by jumping jacks, followed by front-to-back jumping jacks and ending with squatted landings.

After stretching, we proceed to suburi (素振り), lit. “practice swing“, from ç´  (plain, natural) and 振り (swing). You will often also hear this called “empty strikes” as we are performing strikes without hitting any target. There are many kinds of suburi,where the following are the ones most often performed in our dojo.

• Jōge suburi or joge-buri (上下素振り) Large strikes, where the upswing reaches your back and the downswing stops at knee height. In Amstelveen it is taught that the upswing should touch your buttocks, as this will tell you whether your swing went straight through the center.
• Shōmen suburi (正面素振り) Large strikes where the upswing reaches your back (see above) and the downswing stops at head height, as if striking men.
• Zenshin kōtai shōmen suburi (前進後退正面素振り) Like shomen suburi, but stepping forwards and backwards with each strike. This is the actual shomen suburi performed at our dojo.
• SayÅ« men suburi (左右面素振り) Like shomen suburi, but alternating strikes between the right and left side of the head. Sayu men suburi is often incorporated in what we call the “vierkantje“/square, or “kruisje/plusje“/cross exercise where you move forward,backward,right and left.
• Haya suburi (速素振り) Literally “fast practice swing“, where you make small jumps or fast slides while striking at men height. Depending on the exercise, the upswing either reaches your back/buttocks (slow haya suburi), or the upswing stops in jodan no kamae (fast haya suburi).
• Dou suburi(胴素振り) Practice swings where you aim for the torso, dou. We alternate between oki dou and chiisai dou.
• Naname suburi (斜め素振り) Like joge buri, but alternating between right and left diagonal strikes.
• Katate suburi (片手素振り) Literally “one handed practice swing”, where you perform any of the above mentioned exercises but with only one hand.
• Shin kokyuu (深呼吸) Literally “deep breath”, where you step in and perform a large upswing while breathing in, then you breathe out during a slow downswing into sonkyo.

With many thanks to Kiwa-sempai for providing the list of stretching commands and to Zicarlo for providing more help on kanji on missing terms.

kilala.nl tags: sports, kendo,

View or add comments (curr. 0)

There's something you don't see every day

2012-10-18 15:54:00

I'd invited some of my classmates over for kendo equipment maintance and last night Sander joined me. I enjoy these evenings, not just because I like fixing equipment, but they're also a great chance to just shoot the breeze with people I normally only talk to in the dressing room. Well, that or we're bashing each others' heads in ;)

Before Sander's arrival I'd already sorted through Ton-sensei's bit bucket to see what's available. I had to get rid of a bunch of tsukagawa (handle covers) because they were covered in mold. Ditto for some of the sakigawa (tip cover). I quickly put everything into their own bags, to keep things tidy.

We got started on our own shinai, after which we moved on to a bunch of loaner shinai from our dojo. My own shinai had a broken take, after last tuesday's horrible night. Luckily the take was recoverable after getting rid of the split-off piece. Obviously I'll let the guys at the dojo check it over first, to make sure I'm not putting anyone in danger. Sander's shinai were still in good condition, so he was done pretty quickly.

Then! On to the loaners! While Sander worked on one of the adult's versions, I patched up the two kids' shinai. The first one went pretty quickly, but the second one provided a surprise! See the picture above: the sakigomu (a plastic or rubber stopper in the tip) had melted! I've never seen that before! The molten rubber had cemented the take together and the sakigawa was also hard to remove. In the picture above I've outlined what was left of the rubber in white. The part that sticks out on top was completely gone! :D I guess someone left that thing lying right next to a heater or something. I managed to clean everything up nicely with some turpentine, but now I need to dig through the bit bucket to find another sakigawa in the right size. 

I'm very happy for Sander, who completed his very first complete tear-down and build-up last night! He completely disassembled the loaner shinai, replaced one of the take (too worn down) and he even re-tied the sakigawa to a new tsuru. Great job! That knot is a bit of a challenge! I know I'm keeping one of the worn, cut-off sakigawa for reference ;)

kilala.nl tags: kendo,

View or add comments (curr. 2)

That didn't go too well (some good stuff as well)

2012-10-17 07:44:00

All of yesterday I'd been feeling crappy, so I wasn't altogether too confident going to kendo. It was nice going together with Herman and Charl though :)

As I'd feared I had to bow out during kihon practice, because I was soo tense and out of breath that I'd keel over if I didn't. I don't know what was up yesterday, but all my muscles are/were tight as heck and my breathing patterns were a complete mess. Meh. So I quickly joined Roelof-sensei and Herman at the beginners' side. There I practiced oki-men, sayu-men and the semete-men movements we've been working on for the past weeks.

Pointers that I was given during class:

• Roelof-sensei remarked that I was using too much power in my strikes.
• Wouters-sempai found my footwork in kirikaeshi to be shoddy. She urged me to move from the hips and to be more precise: "More hips, less with the arms".
• Makoto-sempai noticed that I was taking an extra step when jumping to make a strike. This is very similar to the issues I've been having the past year, where I first dangle the right leg backwards instead of jumping in. In this case I first put weight on the right to only very slightly bring left further in, after which I kick off. That's wrong. I should be able to kick off immediately. Time to work on my kamae.
• Koseki-sensei pointed out that my sayu-men strikes were not off to the side enough, they were too much on top.

During class I noticed that I'd cracked one of the take on my newer shinai. ( ;_;) I guess Roelof-sensei sure had a point when he said I was hitting too hard. I'll see if I can fix that tonight, otherwise I'll find another solution.

EDIT:
When it comes to good stuff (it's not all bad), I've been writing a lot for the new Renshinjuku kendo dojo website. Aside from summaries of the classes I attend and some news posts about kendo events, I have also started a series of lexicographical articles. I know from experience that all the Japanese terms and phrases can be confusing for beginners, which is why I want to take the time to explain them. Of course there's the dictionary list compiled by our teachers, but that only provides translations and little explanation.

First up in the series is an explanation of the various types of geiko ("training"). Next up, to be published on sunday, is an explanation of all the commands used during warming-up and the various types of suburi. In the near future I'll also write about the commands in seiretsu (plus some background on dojo layout) and about our equipment.

kilala.nl tags: anxiety, sports, kendo,

View or add comments (curr. 2)

Kendo lexicon: keiko

2012-10-14 22:10:00

For many of our new members, all the Japanese terms used in class can be confusing. From my own experience I know it’s taken me months to get to know most of the common terms. Of course students can find help in the glossary compiled by our teachers, but at times a bit of extra explanation may be helpful.

We’ll start off this series of lexicon posts with the types of keiko.

The word keiko itself means “practice”, “study” or “training” and consists of two kanji, ç¨½ (kei, to think/consider) 古 (ko, old). One could say that everything we do in the dojo is keiko.

• Jigeiko (地稽古) Often called “free practice”, jigeiko allows you to practice any technique you would like. The kanji åœ° has many different meanings, though in this case “real life” or “true nature” would be the closest meanings to apply. In jigeiko one does not think in terms of “winning”, it’s not a true fight. Instead, both kendoka work together to get the most out of the day’s practice.
• Sogo renshu (総合練習) At Renshinjuku, sogo renshu is a type of jigeiko that is often suggested to students. Sogo (総合) stands for “integration”, or “putting together”. By practicing the techniques studied earlier in class you may attempt to integrate them into your own kendo.
• Shiai geiko (試合稽古) A shiai (試合) is a match, a competition. Thus this type of geiko is meant to closely match shiai conditions: instead of practicing techniques, students attempt to win while at the same time not losing. This sets it apart from all other types of keiko, where you never worry about losing. In shiai geiko all normal competition rules apply.
• Uchikomi geiko (打ち込み稽古) An exercise performed in pairs, motodachiwill show openings for kakarite to attack. The goal is to improve both your technique, your footwork, sense of maai and your zanshin. Two readings of the kanji æ‰“ち込み seem relevant: “put your heart into” and “invasion/drive into”. Regarded separately the uchi is conjugated of utsu (打つ, to strike/hit) and komi is conjugated of komu (込む, to go into). In a recent class, Heeren-sensei and Kiwa-sempaidemonstrated the use of seme techniques in uchikomi geiko.
• Kakari geiko (懸かり稽古) While the kanji 懸かり have multiple readings, in this case “attack” would seem appropriate. Also, the verb kakaru (懸かる) can also be read as “to deal with”, which is apt as in kakari geiko it is your goal to break through your trainer’s defense. Sensei will not show openings, instead sensei will only allow strikes that are correct to connect and will fend off everything else. You must go all-out, while ensuring that your technique is correct. If your technique is sloppy, you will not be allowed to hit your partner.
• Mitori geiko (見取り稽古) Believe it or not, but simply watching class from the sidelines has its own name. Do not be deceived! There is a difference between watching and observing, because by truly paying attention to your fellow students you can learn a lot! Also, the verb mitoru (見取る) means “to understand”.
• Kata geiko (型稽古) The kanji åž‹ stands for a mold, e.g. something used to re-create in a standardized shape or form. In kata practice, we learn certain essentials of kendo by reproducing predetermined choreography. Each kata focuses on one or more important things to learn.
• Mawari geiko (回り稽古) Mawari is literally “rotation” or “circulation”. Exercises performed with two people, for a set amount of time or strikes after which one rotates towards the next partner. This occurs in our dojo, when all students line up in two rows across from each other. After each short practice the lines move one position and you meet another partner.
• Enjin geiko (円陣稽古) Everyone forms a circle (enjin) around one kendoka in the center. Either the center kendoka fights everybody in turn (often occurs on special occasions), or with every quick fight the winner stays in the center while the loser is sent away.
• Moushiai geiko (申し合い稽古) A type of enjin geiko, where the winner picks the next person to practice with.

With many thanks to Zicarlo for advising on the additional meaning of various kanji.

kilala.nl tags: sports, kendo,

View or add comments (curr. 0)

Hillen is back!

2012-10-13 12:51:00

Today started with a pleasant surprise: Hillen has returned to join Loyer-sensei and Kris-fukushou in teaching us. We also had a lovely, large group of 21 today with two fresh faces and four guys still working their way to wearing a uniform. With eight or nine guys in bogu it might not be much, but for Almere that's a decent show :)

After kata practice and warming up we quickly proceeded with kihon practice. Loyer-sensei took the newbies aside for the basics, while the beginners practiced men, kote-men and kote-men-do on motodachi in bogu. It gives me great pleasure to see that, in mawari geiko, the fundamentals of reiho are now falling into place. Beginners and advanced folks alike take the apropriate approach: bow (onegai shimasu), step into kamae, do your exercise, back into kamae, sheathe your shinai and step back, bow, then bow again when everybody's done (arigatou gozaimashita) and kotai towards the next partner.

The beginners then joined Ton-sensei with the newbies for further kihon training, while those in bogu proceeded with waza. Chiisai kote-men, kote kote-men, men debana-kote, men hiki-men ai-men and men kaeshi-do. Each of these exercises was performed two or three times and in between were one-minute rounds of jigeiko to further practice.

In all these exercises, Kris-fukushou reminded us of the importance of building tension, of proper footwork and of feeling the proper distance and chance to make your strike. Try to use different approaches in stepping in: sometimes edge your way in sneakily, sometimes boldly step and strike. In debana-kote don't simply step aside, but first step in when striking; then move aside. In both debana-kote and hiki-men keep your movements tiny, else you are simply too slow. With all these exercises it is imperative that motodachi give his best attack! Without a proper chiisai-men, you cannot practice a proper kaeshi-do! So don't just try and whack something, make it your best strike!

Class was closed with three rounds of uchikomi geiko (third round was kakari geiko for those in bogu). Everyone was pitted against Kris-fukushou, Hillen-sensei, Raoul-sempai and Charl-sempai. 

At the end of class all three teachers had some closing remarks.

• Ton-sensei was amazed by how winded and tired a lot of people seemed in the last rounds of uchikomi geiko. Class wasn't too heavy and people didn't seem to be sweating too much. So why was everybody acting so tired? He also remarked that everybody's footwork went to pieces during these rounds.
• Hillen-sensei remarked how much his wrist and head were hurting: a lot of people are striking with strength instead of speed. You shouldn't be acting like lumberjacks! Snapping and striking, instead of slamming and shoving. 
• He also thought that people were under the impression that uchikomi geiko needs to be hurried, especially when they have to do it in one breath. People started getting very sloppy! Instead, while it seems weird, you should be taking your time! By being more efficient and "clean", you are wasting less strength and breath.
• Kris-fukushou agreed with Hillen: people are lumberjacking! People are relying on their right arms and using strength. Instead, one ought to be using the speed in their left wrist and lower arm to make the "snap". 

Pointers that I received individually:

• In kata 4, Charl-sempai explained that uchidachi's thrust should end with the shinai almost lying flat on its side. He also mentioned that my hasso kamae was too vertical.
• More importantly, Charl-sempai also explained that in the first pose, uchidachi's shinai should also lie on its side when hidden behind your body. That way, you actually use the curvature of the blade to hide the length, instead of having to turn the point very far behind your back. It's hard to explain, so here's another approach: when going into uchidachi's starting position you move through hasso kamae into waki gamae. When moving from hasso, the bokken's movement ensures that your left wrist naturally tilts to the side meaning that the left side of the blade automatically points up in waki gamae. This is shown well in this video. 
• As before, Kris-fukushou reprimanded me for my too-large movements. Stupidly, I really wasn't feeling what he meant and I honestly thought I was moving in a small fashion. Only near the end of class did it register! I was going through a slow motion chiisai men with Sander and I saw it: as always before, my kensen was already at head height way before striking and my hands were also raised. So while I thought I was improving, I'm actually still making the same mistakes as a year ago.
• Kris also made the same warming about my maki waza: my movements are too large and thus I both lose my opponent's shinai and the center line. I also realized that I was performing maki with my right hand, instead of left. 
• Raoul-sempai took me aside to explain more about the left-arm issues we've been learning about in Amstelveen. He noticed that I was showing the same issues and he also knew why. I may be stretching my right arm correctly, but I'm doing to this high. In my case the right arm shouldn't be horizontal but a bit below that, which will allow my left arm to naturally stretch (this also affects the angle of my shinai!). By keeping my right arm horizontally I was locking my left arm and shoulder, through which I couldn't stretch it (without it severly hurting). 
• Raoul-sempai also warned me that my kamae was still too tense. He kept urging me to relax. 

kilala.nl tags: kendo, sports,

View or add comments (curr. 0)

Back to training

2012-10-10 08:24:00

In the absence of Heeren-sensei, class was led by Tsuyuguchi-sensei with Ran-sempai handling the translations. And with Kiwa-sempai gone for the day, Loek-sempai took care of the warming-up. After some initial confusion about the day's structure (no motodachi system, yes motodachi system, semi-motodachi system, beginners along with the bogu group) we got settled into some hard work! Who'd have thought? Even classes in Amstelveen can get a little disorganized :)

Emphasis was placed on basics: kirikaeshi, oki-men, hayai-men, hayai kote-men, men-hiki-men men-hiki-kote men-hiki-do. Tsuyuguchi-sensei impressed upon us the need for:

• ... striking the men in the proper place. Too many of us strike the mengane instead of the top of the head. This does not count as yuko datotsu.
• ... holding the center. Too many of us swerve left/right on the upswing, thus losing the center. When striking, go up through the center and come down through the center.
• ... feeling maai. Before attacking, build tension between the two of you. Try to sense your distance and feel when you're at the right point to make a strike. 
• ... proper receiving. If motodachi does not receive well, then one cannot properly practice. For example, in kirikaeshi hold your shinai vertically and snap it side to side. Don't hold your shinai diagonally as this completely misses the purpose of it all.

After a further twenty minutes of jigeiko, class was closed with parting remarks by Roelof-sensei.

• In jigeiko he saw many people struggling, or being too focused on scoring points. Remember that jigeiko isn't necessarily practice-shiai. Jigeiko is meant to practice techniques you have learned. Don't focus on not being hit, instead do your best to try the things you learned in class. And if you're too tired, talk with your partner to make arrangements over who gets to try which techniques.
• Left hand, left hand, left hand. Too many people still over-use their right hand.

During practice I also received some personal advice.

• Ran-sempai remarked that my kamae was off. My left hand was too low, being well below my navel. He was able to see the bottom of my do and the top of my tare; that's not supposed to happen ;)
• Koseki-sempai found my kirikaeshi weird, insofar that I wasn't even hitting her men when she removed her shinai. Instead I was stopping a few centimeters above her head.
• Davin and I kept thrashing at eachother in jigeiko, trying to score points. Instead of just running into eachother like deer fighting for supremacy, we should maybe discuss what we'd like to practice. Hence Roelof-sensei's closing remarks for the whole group.
• Roelof-sensei demonstrated a useful strategy: by attacking kote in close proximity you can draw your opponent into a hiki-men, which can be answered using a kaeshi-do.
• Roelof-sensei noticed that on hiki waza I start moving backwards before bringing the shinai backwards. I shouldn't do that. First bring it backwards, then on the strike move backwards, otherwise you will be out of range.

Class was hard work and I enjoyed it a lot. I brought along Herman and Charl from the Almere dojo, which was a nice change :)

kilala.nl tags: kendo, sports,

View or add comments (curr. 0)

BoKS Users Group: an ending

2012-10-08 19:46:00

Almost two years ago I let go a volunteer project that I'd started, Open Coffee Almere. The project had out-grown me and in order to prosper needed someone else in charge. So I passed the project on and stepped back completely. 

Another project that was started at roughly the same time, but which never really took off is the BoKS Users Group. Meant to unite FoxT BoKS administrators across the globe in order to share knowledge, it was mostly me trying to push, pull and shove a cart of rocks. A lot of people said it was a great idea and they'd love to join, or to provide input or to benefit from it. But none of that ever really happened. 

And then even I stopped pushing updates to the website. Hence why I've decided to pull all the content back into my own website and to shutter the site. I'll probably also give admin rights of the LinkedIn group to FoxT and that's that. 

kilala.nl tags: boks, sysadmin,

View or add comments (curr. 2)

Fumetsu Cup 2012

2012-10-01 20:46:00

Looking at the picture Peter-sempai shot of me, waiting in line for the shinai check, game me a sudden glimpse into my future. Will I look like Roelof-sensei in thirty years?

Yesterday I attended the 2012 Fumetsu Cup kendo tournament in Vlaardingen. A few weeks back I'd indicated that I would really like to compete and Marli was sweet enough to accomodate me. While I galivanted off to the Rotterdam area, she spent her sunday with our daughter. She's awesome <3

The Fumetsu Cup, as described by the NKR in the invitation: "The Fumetsu Cup is the yearly held surprise tournament in which all participants are randomly divided into teams of three persons. With their team they will compete for the cup. Teams will be captained by an experienced kendoka."

It's great fun because you get to meet people you normally might not and you're driven way out of your comfort zone. Instead of fighting with kendoka from Renshinjuku, my team was pitted against one of them. Unfortunately the last sentence of the description wasn't true for my team as all three of us were mudansha: combined we had about five to six years of experience and none of us even had our ikkyu. Hence why we were outed from the tournament after our three fights in the first round. Oh well :) I enjoyed teaming up with Kerstin (from Museido in Amsterdam) and Erik (from Shinbukan in Groningen); they were great people to meet and I learned from them in the short time we spent together.

In my three fights I matched up against Laurens from Suirankan, Ms Cha who at one point used to be with the UK Hizen dojo and Wim from Shinbukan. I really should have done a short practice round before the actual matches because I had the same problem that Kerstin had described: in the first fight I'm still "asleep", not properly alert. 

• With Laurens I was wide open. I fell to a few neatly performed and by-the-book men strikes. My kamae wasn't properly closed and I was being pushed around by his seme. He dealt with me quickly and neatly.
• With Ms Cha things were a bit different. I had seen her fight in the round before and I was well impressed! She's a veritable powerhouse, a "small ball of fire and lightning" as I described her to myself. She's assertive, she's strong and she does not get pushed around! I'm very happy to have lasted against her for a few minutes, but that wasn't down to my skill. 
• With Wim I felt that we were more evenly matched, though that might be completely off-base. I remembering feeling pleased to match up against someone else wearing glasses :D I also recall being more aggresive myself, though my sloppy kendo prevented me from scoring any ippon. I also recall dodging a lot (always to the right) and I think that I lost with one-against at the five minute mark.

Afterwards I asked some of my sempai for their opinion on how I'd performed.

• Kris: "You didn't do anything that I told you to!" My movements were large, instead of small. I danced, instead of pushing through. My kiai wasn't strong enough and I had no fumikomi. 
• Peter: "I can see you coming miles away, we all can. It's like your phoning home: honey I'm on my way!"
• Nick: "Your kamae might've been closed at times, but it wasn't strong. You weren't showing strength."
• Zicarlo: "You tend to slouch fowards."

As I'd told Nick last saturday, my goal for the day was to at least show some proper kendo. I didn't want to make the same stupid mistakes like last time and I wanted to last at least a full, real match. Aside from the fight against Laurens I'm satisfied in that regard. Plenty to learn though! :) My thoughts were all over the place, I was focusing on too many things and yes I kept on dancing. Always dancing :(

EDIT:

I've had a chat with Wim and he remarked that I showed good kiai and that I was plenty greedy. I'll view the prior as a good thing, but the latter could swing either way. I could have been too greedy, like last time, or I could have shown proper assteriveness.

While walking to the office this morning I did have a realization: one of the worst things I was doing, was not stonewalling my opponents' attacks. Either I sidestepped and counter attacked, or I kept moving backwards to evade. Instead, I should receive their attacks in place and counter immediately.

kilala.nl tags: kendo, sports,

View or add comments (curr. 2)