Ashi Sabaki (Foot work)

[MuMuLi]

I have a question regarding foot works in Kendo and Kenjutsu. I am not claiming to be any kind of expert other than my own ability of observation. I am familiar with kendo Ashi sabaki, but I am not sure where did it originated from. Is the Kendo Ashi sabaki designed specificly for kendo, or is it still effective when applied to "Actual katana vs. katana matches". Is there a specific ryu-ha that emphasis on parallel foot placement and lunging abilities?

[Bennosuke]

In most koryu schools the feet face parallel, although in most koryu the legs are farther apart, in a longer stance. Different schools have different kinds of footwork. In the Go Rin NO Sho Musashi talks about the different kinds. You could argue that because the stance is different from kenjtsu and kendo the foot work is different, and designed specifically for kendo.

[MuMuLi]

How about the concpet of the right foot always froward?

[Bennosuke]

As you see in the kendo kata, which is based off of kenjutsu kata, that the right foot isn't always forwards.

[Kent Enfield]

In most koryu schools the feet face parallel.Are you sure about that? From little bits of video on the internet, pictures at koryu.com, Nihon no Kobudo videos, and what I've seen in person, it seems that very few kenjutsu (or other koryu bujutsu, for that matter) ryuha use parallel feet. Even in the Nihon Kendo Kata as currently done (at least as I've been taught) the feet aren't parallel a lot of the time.

What are you basing that statement on?

[Bennosuke]

Mainly from a visit I made to UCLA when I watched the Kashima Shinryu practice. Although midway through the katas I saw, they would end up in different positions with different foot work, their starting kamae was always with both feet forward, but with the legs farther apart than in kendo. I'm sure it differs greatly with each school. I also think that in Iaido the feet are parallel when standing, although I haven't payed attention enough to really say, so I could very well be wrong about that.

[MuMuLi]

In theory, I have a problem with the kendo stance in "actual battle" because if you got hit in places other than Kote, Men, Do, AND demonstrating a carry through, then it is not consider a point. However, in "real life", people don't die in a point system. Further more, I personal belive the kendo ashi sabaki is PERFECT only to kendo, because the big lunge froward attack is just to risky when using katanas.

What do you guys think?

[Bennosuke]

I think that's a pretty well agreed upon concept, that kendo is not supposed to be realistic sword fighting.

[Koki]

Kendo footwork evolved because of kendo rules. In kendo you don't have to find multiples opponents. Your opponent is always in front of you. Adding the point systems, parallel footwork and fumikomi-ashi make perfect sense.

The same evolution happened in western fencing. So, stop using kenjutsu footwork as a guide of what to do in kendo.

[Kuma]

I just wonder where one might live these days and need to be concerned about proper footwork during an actual swordfight.

Do we have many immortals on this board? Cuz' I think that there can only be one.

[The great I AM]

In theory, I have a problem with the kendo stance in "actual battle" because if you got hit in places other than Kote, Men, Do, AND demonstrating a carry through, then it is not consider a point. However, in "real life", people don't die in a point system. Further more, I personal belive the kendo ashi sabaki is PERFECT only to kendo, because the big lunge froward attack is just to risky when using katanas.

What do you guys think?
AND THAR SHE BLOWS!

Man, I could have written the script to this one just from seeing the first post!

[JSchmidt]

AND THAR SHE BLOWS!

Man, I could have written the script to this one just from seeing the first post!


I think this bit gave it away :

Art and Grade:
Self Path Samurai Wannabe

[Neil Gendzwill]

Footwork isn't always parallel in kendo, think kata #4.

Some of the koryu stuff I've seen use a quite angled back foot.

[enkorat]

If I may chime in with a simple question to MuMuLi,

What is the benefit of parallel footwork?


And don't everyone else go and answer before him/her....

[Septimus]

We had a lot of newbies last practice, so my sensei went through a lot of basics, as in how to stand.

"As a japanese sensei that was here once said, 'chicken wobble with their feet in angle, Tigers have their feet parallel towards their pray'."
He also continued with something like "kendo is a modernization of the old japanese art of fencing, so today we have this way of standing because it is optimal for a flat floor. Back then a stance would probably be something more like this; <shows a wide stance with unparallel feet>, which is better for an un-even ground, and a war situation."

[Kichigai]

We had a lot of newbies last practice, so my sensei went through a lot of basics, as in how to stand.

"As a japanese sensei that was here once said, 'chicken wobble with their feet in angle, Tigers have their feet parallel towards their pray'."
He also continued with something like "kendo is a modernization of the old japanese art of fencing, so today we have this way of standing because it is optimal for a flat floor. Back then a stance would probably be something more like this; <shows a wide stance with unparallel feet>, which is better for an un-even ground, and a war situation."

I've heard the same thing from one of my sensei, who tries to instill shin-ken more than the shogi kiyoi (more o-waza, tenouchi, etc). Footwork for the Itto-Ryu styles that contributed to Kendo varied on situation, but were wider and lacked direct parallel ashisabaki that Kendo has.

Even still, it's not like everyone's feet stays parallel permenantly. In shiai, my left foot still drifts to the left sometimes, and when I'm doing doing gedan for debana this will happen a fair amount.