Kamae weight distribution.

[Stan]

I used to think that I knew what the proper weight distribution on my feet during kamae was but recently there has been some debate among my club memebers. Some say more weight on the right (forward) foot , some say most of the weight on the rear (left) foot, some say 50/50. I would like to know what you folks think and the reasoning behind it?

[Hongsermeier]

I would think 50/50 is best. Equal weight distribution would allow you to move in either direction faster since you wouldn't have to shift your weight before moving. :cross_eye

[sminki]

Agree with Hongs. 50/50 works for me as well as a lot of other people, but kamae weight distribution should be such that it gives you enough stability that you can move in any direction very fast (fast enough to attack) without losing balance. Remember the spacing between your feet as well as how much behind you put your left foor from your right is also a big factor in this.

[emitbrownne]

I've been shown a few kamae, once I was told to have a 50/50 split, and now its more of a 60/40 with the emphasis on falling forward.
If I lift my right foot, I feel like I am falling forward. (mind you that could just be the weight of my gut pulling me down :) )

[JSchmidt]

I've always been told 70/30 in favour of the left foot. I can certainly feel a difference in speed when 'loading' up the rear leg.

Jakob

[Marine_Boy]

Myself, I prefere the "karate kid" style of 95 to 5%

Stan:D

[sminki]

the crane kick... if done right, no defense.

[Steve]

I favour my hind leg when standing in Kamae. why? When you want to leap forward, you push with you hind leg right? Well, if you want to do this properly, for the instant you start moving forward, all of your weight has to be on your back leg. You'll still get the sensation of "falling" forward if you put your weight on your back foot because its behind your centre of gravity. Try a quick experiment. stand with your weight at 50/50, now leap as far and as fast as you can from a standstill. In order to do this properly, you'll notice you'll (subconciously/automatically) shift your weight to your back leg before you move. its natural for your body to do so. Try it a couple of times...i guarantee that everyone does it. You have to, otherwise you're "stepping/pulling" with your front leg instead of "pushing" with your hind one. Why do something that delays your inititive, like altering your weight distribution from this "natural" posture. Long story short, put more weight on your back foot.

As for how much, or a percentage that'll vary from person to person. I'd say start at 60/40 , then adjust to whats comfortable and effective for you. Aggressive kendoka will have more weight on their back leg, defensive kendoka will have more to the front. Aggressive/Defensive being a relative term of course.

[Neil Gendzwill]

It's a nice theory, Steve but it doesn't work in practice. Having your weight more towards your back will leave you stuck. 50/50 or maybe 60f/40r is the common recommendation. If you want a really quick attack, just before attacking lean forward a bit and make your left leg straight.

[Steve]

Well, this ought to be a good discussion. Maybe I can identify the flaws in my footwork. My back leg is pretty much always straight. My centre of gravity (for lack of a better term) is between my two feet.

Maybe I'm explaining myself wrong here. If i was to lift my front foot off of the floor, i would fall over (forward). When i lunge forward, all of my weight is on my back leg, but my centre of gravity is ahead of it (if that makes sense). As i write this it sounds to me like i put the majority of my weight on my front foot, but i know i don't.

I don't lean forward (so far that i know) when i lunge, because my centre of gravity is already "forward" enough to give the "falling" sensation. I have practice in an hour, and I'll pay extra attention to what i do with my weight and post my results.

Comments?

[Neil Gendzwill]

If your centre of gravity is already far enough forward that you get the falling sensation, then your weight is not on your back foot, it's more towards the front. The fact that your right foot is off the floor during the attack doesn't change the weight distribution, your cg is still forward of your back foot. This is because you're talking about a dynamic position not a static one. If you think about it a bit more, your cg is actually moving forward relative to your feet as you take this action, because at the end, most of your weight is on your front foot.

FWIW, my weight doesn't shift back at all when I step.

[kendokamax]

What i always hear here is that left foot is the power foot and right one is the seme foot.

the budai way to do men-uchi, they told us :

enter with your right foot first . Push with all your strength with the left foot. then shift all your body weight into your right foot for the fumikomi. keeping the back straight otherwise foot will hurt and the whole thing will go chaos. then moment of strike bring back the power foot to your body (left foot).

I have been working on that since im in budai.. so far its not a great sucess. Im guessing because im too afraid to stomp too hard yet (foot hurts). And my legs are too weak.

Do you guys think doing bicycle in the beautifull hills of katsura will help my kendo?

Trying to catch up with the japanese students who have been doing kendo since 7-10 years is not easy...

[JSchmidt]

"Do you guys think doing bicycle in the beautifull hills of katsura will help my kendo?"

Well, it will help fitness in general, but in my experience my cycling hasn't improved my footwork..different muscles/posture...although serious interval/sprint training should help your explosive power.

Jakob

[Hyaku]

I was taught by one excellent teacher that although the power comes of a naturally straight back leg, our balance should be a such that opportunity we see to cut should be in a manner of simply releasing ones power forward rather than just pushing of the back leg. The back leg is loaded but we are ready to just release the energy should the opportunity be seen.

His power was so fast that anything you did felt futile and like an after the fact slow motion action.

Its a fact that if the back leg is not straight the muscles of both calf and thighs dont come into play. Then again it can also be too tense and straight.

Fumikoki should be with a feeling of stamping forward onto the opponents feet but not too hard and far. In Kendo unlike other sword techniques we need generate enough power to go through rather than a farbmore downlike iaigoshi action.

Kendomushi: Its not so much how that front leg stamps but exactly how fast does your back leg come up to meet after the fumikomi. If you dont get it right the left drags badly doesnt it?

Dont thing biking will help too much as you are using a slightly different set of muscles. I think jumping suburi would help you more. When I go to the weight room I can press almost twice as much with my left leg. Needs time to build up.

Its up to your sempai/sensei to try and help you out individualy. If I have students that dont stretch out I move backwards to make them work harder on going through.

Hyaku

[Hai_hai]

This is confusing. The original question was weight distribution during kamae. Of course, weight distribution will change when attacking or stepping.
But, are some people are advocating non-50/50 during kamae?

[Stan]

HH I agree that this is confusing...there are so many different opinions and this is what prompted the question. There is one thing I am certain about and that is the rear (left) leg should be straight and not bent. If anyone is interested you can try an experiment. If you stand in one place and jump vertically from the standing position you will notice that you jump higher than if you bend your legs (hold it for about 5 seconds) and then do the same vertical jump. It has to do with the elastic qualities of the muscle contraction. So keeping your leg too bent is not a good idea. The other thing I am certain about is that your position during kamae must give you the ability to attack instantaneously. So how does one achieve this and is it different for everyone?

[Steve]

ok. at practice last night i discovered that what Neil was saying is waht i do. (check his second response to me). So, ignore my first post...i was on crack or something while writing it.

My back leg is always straight, my hips are ahead of my rear foot, and my body is straight. So i guess i do put my weight on my front foot. Thanks Neil!