Speed in Kendo

[kancho]

I am a beginner in Kendo ans new to wearing bogu. When I was doing sparring ( i do not know the terminology ) with my instructor, he is so damn quick I don't know that I am gonna get hit until I am already hit. I think he moves while I blink. Do any one have any ideas on countering something like that or will it take experience.

[Nishi]

God that brings back memories....Unless your sensie is super human, im sure your just going through what we all went through at some point which was total unfamiliarity(is that a word?)

Practice is what you need, physically and mentally, and soon you'll see things so much clearer in jigeiko (free sparring). Trust me it all makes sense in the end, i promise :wink:

[Old Warrior]

"Unless your sensei is super human"

Mine is - now what? I've watched 4th Dans face him and they look as bad as me (6 geup). Last night 15 students faced him and not 1 scored a point. It's spooky.

[Nishi]

Thats just good sensie, not super human......lol!! Ive seen some outstanding, and at times unbelievable sensei...but theres no magic or myth here, their secret is their dedication to practice, and that is available to all of us who want it bad enough.

[alexpollijr]

There's no such thing as "super human" sensei. They're just good fighters, and that's all.

Sensei adoration is a common phenomenom among mudansha, but in my opinion it should be avoided at all costs.

- Alexandre

[Old Warrior]

"Sensei adoration is a common phenomenom"

My perception is not that of puppy dog admirer. I fenced epee for 20 years and I could regularly beat my maestro (a medaled Olympian, 8 years my junior). It is my present anecdotal experience, that Master Seong has skill at such a high level, that it appears to be beyond the capability of a human being. I'm not talking comic book stuff, just performance at a level that is beyond my personal comprehension. I know there are other accomplished kenshi (not including myself) who are members of this forum, who know him, and who would agree with my assessment.

[kancho]

I just want to be a good fighter as well haha. I don't think my sensei is superhuman but just a experienced and well minded instructor/kendo player.

I don't have a kyu yet since I never was graded. I am determined to have a nice scoring hit at least one. Anyone have any good strategies for accomplishing this. Is there a pattern that higher people do. ie. They seem to like doing Kote strikes from the outside of the left arm.

[aru-ma]

"Anyone have any good strategies for accomplishing this? Is there a pattern that higher people do? ie. They seem to like doing Kote strikes from the outside of the left arm."

strategies? do more leg excercise, build up you legs so you can move faster. That and lots of kirikaeshi with suburi, build up the speed as you progress and later you'll have cuts that is both fast and accurate. No tricks just smoooth straight cuts.

[iwatekenshi]

A lot of uchikomi!

[kancho]

Thanks will give it a try

[Yamakura]

OldWarrior,

You have to understand that fencing is different from Kendo. Kendo is not just about "scoring" a point, there are many other factors that determine that you have "beaten" your oppenent.

[D'Artagnan]

"...or will it take experience."

I too have not been doing Kendo for that long (8 months or so) so i apologize in advance for any inaccuracies in the following post. But i remember my first few months of JiGeiko with my sensei, and sure enough i would try my hardest to get a hit in, but every time i even flinched to make a hit i would find myself getting hit before i even realized he had moved. however, with more and more experience of JiGeiko, especially with people like him, i found that the whole thing gradually both sped up and slowed down. in that i mean the actual physical aspect of the JiGeiko was becoming faster, but through my eyes it becomes slower, the cuts are no longer invisble, and nor are all of the openings. this process is continuing now, and expect it too for a long time. and yes, obviously my sensei kicks my ass, but not quite as much as he used to, and hopefully in another 8 months or so, it will be a little less. however, it wont be fast process, and I expect it will be years before i can give him more of a 'run for his money', but then what's the rush?

Hope that i'm not out of line saying any of the above, if so i apologize, just trying to help.

A

[Nishi]

Im noticing that my footwork has become a lot more stable this year and im no longer thinking about my posture as much, yet it remains correct for longer periods now, with this confidence, ive also sped up quite a bit...(mabye D'Artagnan can confirm...lol :cheeky: )

Ive always had a bit of speed (if i do say so myself :spchless: ), but this year im getting cleaner and sharper, and alot more direct, due to the attention ive been putting into my kamae/footwork and overall posture while moving, i think...

[Eldritch Knight]

Ooh... evil superhuman instructors. Our sensei is 5th dan, but he usually lets our senpai run the class (they're all 2nd). I remember oncewhen I was just starting out joudan and I was getting the feel for balance and the strike, and I went against my head senpai in jigeiko. I menuchi-ed, but missed, and in the second it took me to recover, he pulled off a menuchi, koteuchi (which knocked my hand to the ground), douuchi, and as I turned to face him, a tsukiuchi. It was absolutely insane, but after a month of that, one's joudan's defense REALLY improves.

[lwegerich]

(...) he is so damn quick I don't know that I am gonna get hit until I am already hit. I think he moves while I blink. Do any one have any ideas on countering something like that or will it take experience.

There are actually three ways to accomplish your goal:

1. Relax
2. Relax
3. Relax.

Lars

[JSchmidt]

It was absolutely insane, but after a month of that, one's joudan's defense REALLY improves.

Your jodan defense is just about the last thing you want to improve. Focus on distance, pressure and seme and ignore defence. Jodan has to be offensive to work.

Jakob

[Eldritch Knight]

Yea, but by defense I was referring to preventive measures taken to avoid being hit, namely, hitting them first. Can't really block with joudan anyway...

[Blue_Dragon]

[B]HI ALL:)
In any type of martial arts speed is extremely important. I havent even started kendo yet but im going to start class next week I thought I would check out this web site to get feel for what im getting myself into. I when I was in Kick boxing i used to train with shinai but back then i just called them kendo sticks out of pure ignorance. Of corse I didnt kendo-gu or bogu, because i was a kick boxer i didnt know what the heck that was. I just started collecting welts:( But eventually my arms and my shins started getting tuffer and I was able to evad most torso attacks. I guess my point is that pain can be a great motivator for increasing your speed. Sorry for all the spelling errors i speak american not english:P

Remember: its only a flesh wound!

[Nishi]

Inevitabley your speed will leave you...as young men and women we rely on speed over understanding...its a comman fact (if you havnt heard it yet) kendo is a physical game when you start out, with less mental stragtegy...and as you increase in age and experience, kendo will become a mental game with alot less emphasis placed on the physical aspects. There are numerous reasons for this.

When you (if you) get a chance to fence a very high ranked sensei (7th or 8th dan) you'll see that there is nothing flashy in there kendo..its very calm with alot of pressure...they dont catch you with there speed, they just catch you. You tend to feel mentally overcome and mentally off balance when you fight very experienced kenshi.

By all means train hard, but train correctly, speed is actually down there on the list of things of importance...your list should be something like

The eyes
The feet
The Spirit/courage
The Strength/speed

Speed isnt that important...correct keiko is, then all your attributes will increase.

[Old Warrior]

"Speed isn't that important...correct keiko is..."

As always, I speak from my place at the end of the line. I have limited Kendo experience but a good deal of experience in other disciplines.

It is not important to be fast - only faster than your opponent thinks you are.

When I have an opponent who is younger (they all are), much faster (they all are), and possessing greater skill (most are); all I am left with is my intelligence and the years worth of classes I have attended. I can't possible overcome someone with my aggression because my energy won't last. I can't possibly attack into their attack with such greater speed that I strike first. And, I surely can't use my superior technique to overwhelm them with my peculiar skill.

On the other hand, when my opponent edges in to shorten the distance to strike men, at the instant he crosses the tip of my shoto, I can launch my own attack and succeed using surprise. Or, I can start an obvious men attack and as they go to block - cut do. In sum, if I had speed - it would be great. But since I don't - all is not lost.

My feeling is: "use what you got and try to make it a little better every day".