Fast Kote-Men

[Yellow Savage]

I've been trying to practise FAST Kote-Men and I've seem to have over-strained my left foot. The pain seems to be coming from my second toe (next to the big toe).

What am I doing wrong? I suspect I'm digging my left foot into the ground after kote so I can get ready for the men cut....any tips on how to do it correctly???

[John W]

I've been trying to practise FAST Kote-Men and I've seem to have over-strained my left foot. The pain seems to be coming from my second toe (next to the big toe).

What am I doing wrong? I suspect I'm digging my left foot into the ground after kote so I can get ready for the men cut....any tips on how to do it correctly???


Sounds to me like you need some footwork lessons!

Nah! only joking, just make your footwork smooth and light and this should help get rid of the pain and perhaps make your cut faster! :D

[bukowski]

I've been trying to practise FAST Kote-Men and I've seem to have over-strained my left foot. The pain seems to be coming from my second toe (next to the big toe).

What am I doing wrong? I suspect I'm digging my left foot into the ground after kote so I can get ready for the men cut....any tips on how to do it correctly???

All that I can tell you is to remember that with the fast, short forms of kote-men, men, kote, do, all fast techniques, they are executed with very swift, soft footwork. When raising the shinai all the way to jodan before striking (i.e. "proper" but slow technique) the weight becomes despersed so that gravity forces you to stomp slightly hard. But with fast waza, the techniques do not raise to jodan and because of this the weight is moving more forward than up and then forward/down. Simply slap the ground with your foot rather than stomping, in this way the
second part of the technique is not delayed.

[Nishi]

Your whole body should be relaxed...ive pulled muscles in my feet as well, and i put that down to bad footwork, then to much power. As mentioned above, keep your feet light but firm, make sure your back is straight as well, you wouldnt believe how many ways a crooked back messes up footwork. After kote, snap your left leg up quickly and make sure its straight before you push off for men. If your foot is turned out when pushing off you could be straining it here (i did).

Good luck.

[Yellow Savage]

Thank you all for you sound advice which I will apply as soon as I've recovered from my injured foot