Where did that come from?

[JCM]

I would like to hear peoples experiences and comments on the topic of applying waza in a completely spontaneus way.

I tend not to delude myself about my own Kendo, the truth is that oftentimes I think about the waza I will apply before using it. I sometimes telegraph it to my opponent, but other times it works well as a strategy too.

Of late, as I am getting a bit more Kendo under my belt, I am coming across little nuggets of Kendo that seem to come out of nowhere, for example, yesterday I pulled a completely spontaneous dekote-men, for some reason timing, distance and accuracy were on the money, but I was left with a feeling of "where the hell did that come from???", and to be quite honest I left myself completely startled, I think I was just about to start levitating :tongue:.

This is probably the most rewarding feeling in Kendo for me personally, where things just happen as a reflex and work. In your kendo experiences, what do you find most rewarding, a crafty strategy that works well, or a completely spontaneous action with the same result?

Please, feel free to share your own experiences

[The great I AM]

I like to call it "practise". As your body starts to remember things that you practise they will come out more and more, and feel natural when they do.

2 years ago I couldn't do kaeshi dou for my life. Now, although its not exactly my favourite technique, every now and then it'll just pop out for a hello and rear its head without me thinking about it. This is because its a technique I practise a lot, because I want to improve it.

[cesarekim]

Enjoy those moments. I don't get them very often but truly enjoy them when they happen.

Cesare

[JCM]

I think that is the rewarding bit for me, after all the hours at the Dojo and all the butchered waza during paired practice, the work pays off all of a sudden.

[MikeW]

I agree with Gibbo... practice till you no longer even think about waza, it just happens.

[Charlie]

I've had a few hiki waza that felt like this. "Well, now, I've got to find a way to cut and get away from BLAMMO! HELLO!" Meaning I did the hiki waza and surprised myself - although the reverse has been true, too!

[Kenzan]

Miyahara Sensei is fond of saying that you don't have time to think about waza. (when an attack comes)
By the time you think it, you are already hit. Either it's in you or it isn't, there's no time to think.


I'm just having enough trouble wrestling with Nuki waza...
:(

[ZtefaNNN[K]]

Hi, I think that kenzan and gibbo said very important things here, both related to the concept of mushin. through practice you teach your body and get some kind of "wisdom", this wisdom gives you the oportunity to react naturally in keiko, having a "mind of no mind", like having no filter between your ations and your thoughts, it´s always rewarding when this happens, i think of it as a victory, a reward that indicates that I was able to train my mind and body at some point.

[Kenzan]

;264747'] through practice you teach your body and get some kind of "wisdom", this wisdom gives you the oportunity to react naturally in keiko, having a "mind of no mind".

Can I have some?

Oh yeah..that...
..Practice..
(Kicks can)

:D