Footwork tips for a newbie!

[subygal]

howdy people - just started Kendo last week - and I seem to keep on getting all the footwork mucked up....

please could you tell me the different types of footwork and what you do - and maybe some tips for getting them right? (I must have 2 left feet)

Thanks :)

[ZtefaNNN[K]]

work it hard, I just re-found how crappy my footwork was..it´s something that must be worked everytime, and very hard, good footwork pays off anyway, but it´s hard. cheers.

[Newbie]

I'm prolly not the best person to be suggesting anything given the length of time i've not been able to train but try to walk as though you're leading with your hare (pelvis/stomach kinda region), keep your heels low, though still off the ground (heels too high are prominent in kendo, mine included) and practise, practise! Footwork's prolly the easiest to practise at home. Don't practise with shoes on though, it will damage you technique. Do you have a long corridor or wide room? Just do a couple laps of each different type of footwork and try to keep your hips at the same level, not going up and down, keep your head up and your posture straight.

More experienced kendoka, feel free to correct anything I just said ;)

[yoda-waza]

An overview of ashi sabaki:
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1695378
Try searching Google for "ashi sabaki","okuri ashi", etc.
Some of the results will lead you back to past posts on KW forums.

[Thunder]

Just keep practicing...elevators are always a great spot to practice.
Keep in mind that your feet never cross front over back. You right foot leads forward and right, your left foot lead backwards and Left.

Strikes should always end at the same time the trailing foot stops.
All of the movements should not drop your height.

[sminch]

All of the movements should not drop your height.

yip, i get called on this all the time.

one thing my sensei recommend is focussing on a point as far away as possible (a wall, tree, hill etc.) and keep your eyes on that to try to stop your head and body from bobbing up and down too much as you move. keep your knees slightly bent, and gliiiiiiiiide. if you have a mirror or windows that'll let you see your reflection, that'll help too as you'll easily see if you're bobbing.

and practice practice practice. clear some furniture and do laps up and down your lounge.

sminch

[subygal]

Cool thanks guys :) Well it started to come together last night - one thing that i tried to think about was upper and lower body separation - like I did with my skiing.

Managed to get that going with men cuts last night too :D

[SmellsLikeBogu]

Cool thanks guys :) Well it started to come together last night - one thing that i tried to think about was upper and lower body separation - like I did with my skiing.

Managed to get that going with men cuts last night too :D

the skiing is a great analogy, Im not much of a skiier, but I ahd some lessons, and it is a very similar feeling, bend a little bit through the knees, and keep the upper body level, while your legs act like a suspention...

[j.noh]

One of our sensei today gave us some advice that kind of made something click in my head today during ashi-sabaki practice.

He said to move that back leg up faster, try to consciously move your back leg up before your front foot hits the ground.

It might have been obvious to some people, but I'm a little slow. When I tried to do it, I dunno...it just felt better and faster. Really helps out for nidan waza too like kote men.

[ZtefaNNN[K]]

that´s called hiki-tsuke and is as important as fumikomi IMO, it should be done by the same time than fumikomi, kiai, and the swing is completed to acchieve kikentai no icchi, it´s very important to avoid killing the natural movement of every attack. Try to pay attention to your left leg anyway, it´s usually to have the knee bended when doing this, try to keep it striaght.

[subygal]

we worked on a couple of things last night....

ayumi-ashi, okuri-ashi, cuts, kiai (which some of the class find embarrasing?) and we started on a new one....fumikomi!

it looks like we have got a couple of dropouts....and some people arent attending on Sundays
(thats when we share the dojo with the kendoka - on Wednesday night its just us n00bs!)

oh and I have my Gi and Hakama - and I feel like the odd one out because I am the only n00b wearing it!

[j.noh]

oh and I have my Gi and Hakama - and I feel like the odd one out because I am the only n00b wearing it!

Don't worry. All the other people are jealous of you.

btw, subaru fan? NASIOC member by any chance?

[subygal]

off topic ---
Subaru fan = yes I have a MY07 WRX. No not naiscoc - I'm in Melbourne, Australia - so I'm a member of some smaller forums over here
--- end off topic

Back on topic - yeah I rule!

[j.noh]

off topic ---
Subaru fan = yes I have a MY07 WRX.

Oh, you're a recent Subaru convert huh?

[subygal]

off topic ---
nope - bought my first suby in 2005 after my divorce (my ex husband wouldnt let me have one! too expensive he said whine b!tch and moan!)
--end

[g-kendo]

Don't worry.

I started Kendo a few months ago and I figured out the basic footwork very recently. (today, in fact )

I would advise that you not rush while trying to learn footwork. People who have practiced Kendo for a longer time will be much faster than you are. What's most important in the beginning is that you understand each motion that you must complete in order to perform the action.

Understand the motions and theory behind them, then change your thoughts to actions. :cool:

[LarsCW]

howdy people - just started Kendo last week - and I seem to keep on getting all the footwork mucked up....

please could you tell me the different types of footwork and what you do - and maybe some tips for getting them right? (I must have 2 left feet)

Thanks :)

At the point where you are I can only advise you one thing.

Keep practising had and don't hesitate to ask your sempai or sensei.

This is your foundation of your kendo and it will take a long time before you get the hang of it.

[gir]

I would advise that you not rush while trying to learn footwork. People who have practiced Kendo for a longer time will be much faster than you are. What's most important in the beginning is that you understand each motion that you must complete in order to perform the action.

Understand the motions and theory behind them, then change your thoughts to actions. :cool:

Very good points. Clearly put. I would add that while your at training and see the seniors etc moving much faster, in fact, some are not moving correctly :eek: I know I know, They can do no wrong, Incorrect. They are as falable and lazy as the next person :wink:

A couple of things I have seen with beginners:

Leaning, The upper body SHOULD be upright. Keeping straight is a good idea, if your leaning forward to make the cut you are either:
A: Taking your attack from an incorrect distance or
B: You are not launching with your left enough - The thing to remember is you launch with your left foot, its not a step when attacking for the most part.

And the worst thing Beginners do, or at least the thing they tend to do the most - and it can't be helped. THINKING about how to step when cutting. If you are thinking about your footwork too much you will inevitably be missing your timing on the cut. In some respects practicing your footwork away from a shini is a good idea. Once you get it, it will just be second nature and you wont be thinking of it, then you can concentrate on the next billion things you have to have right :)

Beginners should just stick with the training. Footwork CAN be practiced anywhere. Sometimes just around the house I do it. Lifts are great as previously stated.

Remember, those seniors you see with excellent footwork, they have been working on it in all likely hood for years. They are faster and sometimes more accurate but if you ask them how they found doing what your trying to do when they first started they'd be lying for the most part if they claimed they didn't find it difficult initially.

[Anton]

Hey, I'm glad your footwork is improving. Another way, which I am sure many of you are familiar with, to decrease the "bobbing" is to balance a piece of cloth or even a book on your head while doing footwork. To do this you would probably have to move slower in the beginning and increase speed gradually as you train and get better.

[boukenka]

One little thing I'd like to throw in that I don't see- ( and btw I am in the same boat as you here- learning my footwork).
An instructor of mine had me put my shinai behind my back horizontaly, grabbing the kensen with left hand and tsuka with right, and then apply preasure to my lower back while I moved forward. This helps by pulling your shoulders a little back, keeping your back straight, and making sure your body moves forward as a whole. The pressure also helps you focus more on driving with your lower half.
Hope that helps.

[Furanku-kun]

i try to understand some of this in similitude with marching band. while the footwork is of course NOT the same, the principal is; keeping the body straight, keeping your upper body still while your legs do all the moving... this is only the way i understand it...not neccessarily the way i do it.

i have only been doing kendo about a month, and i think i am just getting the hang of pushing off with the back foot (in relation to what direction im moving)my timing still sucks, though. also, my home does not have enough room to practice, i only get about ten steps before i run out of room and have to go the opposite direction :( should i try practicing outside? there is only concrete available.

[KILNJOX]

All great info here guys and gals..Much thanks

[EBP2K2]

sometimes it helps to clear your head of all the things you are trying to do... and try without consciously trying to do it right... let the body do everything.