fumikomi

[heri0n]

hey when u do the stomp its supposed to make a slapping sound right? not a thud.. how do u get the sound
and the thud-ing is hurting my heel..

[slidercrank]

Whatever you do, just don't land heel-first.

[KamuSan]

My sensei says, make a big step, but don't raise your toes. Keep your foot parallel to the floor, just as if you would make a normal slide-step, but a lot further.

[LNGUYEN]

You don't stomp your foot and try to make sound. You just make a big step and the sound will come by itself. If you raise your foot, sooner or later, it will get caught in the hakama and you will stomp with your nose instead of your foot. As my Sensei said, I am just a recorder. :tongue:

[emitbrownne]

If you raise your foot, sooner or later, it will get caught in the hakama and you will stomp with your nose instead of your foot.

Guilty as charged.... As GMason will testify. This Sunday in Kiri-kaeshi, I did my flying nun impression. On the first men cut!!!

The strike was beautiful and well placed, unfortunately I had let go of the grip and was skidding along the floor at the time :) :)

As always ... I'm concentrating on my footwork.

Can-Can kicking = bad fall

[Miyu]

Follow everything that everyone else has said and another thing I'd add is to try and relax your foot and ankle. The only tension you should really be concentrating on is tensing the muscle in your left calf for the leaping. The right leg from the knee down remains pretty loose. That helps prevent your toes from popping up and cause you to land on your heel.

[Alicia]

i used to have this problem occasionally, and a sensei told me to try and keep my back leg relatively straight especially when pushing off (but all the time as well)
i cant work out why it helps, but it does for some reason (for me anyway) - maybe it has something to do with weight distribution. :)

[heri0n]

umm i already do these things and it still doesnt slap?
and another question
my left toes kinda started being sore recently.. is this normal? or am i doing something wrong

[Neil Gendzwill]

umm i already do these things and it still doesnt slap?
It shouldn't slap, it should WHUMP. Hit with your whole foot. A slap usually means your heel is contacting first, then the rest of the foot is slapping down. This will cause a heel bruise, bad thing.

[slidercrank]

i used to have this problem occasionally, and a sensei told me to try and keep my back leg relatively straight especially when pushing off (but all the time as well)
i cant work out why it helps, but it does for some reason (for me anyway) - maybe it has something to do with weight distribution. :)

For a beginner, pushing off with a relatively straight back leg helps him/her in going forward flat without jumping up into the air. If you don't go up, you won't come down as hard, and your right foot can land relatively flat on the whole as well, instead of landing heel-first.

[Nishi]

It shouldn't slap, it should WHUMP. Hit with your whole foot. A slap usually means your heel is contacting first, then the rest of the foot is slapping down. This will cause a heel bruise, bad thing.

Ahhhh i already make a "whump" and ive been trying to make "slap" latley (save the comments please...lol!!) i have experienced some heal pain. I 'll stick with "whump"....and discard the advise i was given....cheers!

[kendomushi]

Give it time. Its only in the past couple years that I have noted I consistently have that impact sound (whump is a more accurate description than slap or thud). It comes not just from the leg, but from proper posture, body movement, and timing. All these coming together create the sound. So just keep working at it and you'll develop it, and probably much sooner than the 8 years it took me.

[k3nsh1n]

Hello,

when im doing the fumikomi it seems to me that i am occassionally (depending on how hard i am training) bending my left leg slightly to give it that extra push.
I guess my question is whether that is ok and if it is whether its orite for a beginner to be doing it. Or is the power just s'pose to come from the calves and pushing off with your 'feet' i know its a bit 'fussy' but just curious to wt i shud/shudnt do coz i dont experience ne forward momentum.. the step with my right leg seems very stationary..
thnx for ne replies.

P.S Doing the fumikomi with a men and a kote cut feels different.. weird yes.. but ne answers? or do i just need alot more practice

[slidercrank]

k3nsh1n,

Your question is not fussy at all. It's a rather important one actually. I think for most beginners, it is preferrable that they do fumikomi with a somewhat straight left leg (without locking your knee joint). The idea is that if you don't have them do it that way, they will starting flexing their left legs as you have described. The problem is that this flexing gives a minute pause before the body actually starts moving forward.

I started with a straight leg, then over time my left leg becomes more and more bent, and now my forward momentum in men-uchi is suffering and I'm now trying mighty hard to go back to basics.

[Kiki]

My sensei says, make a big step, but don't raise your toes. Keep your foot parallel to the floor, just as if you would make a normal slide-step, but a lot further.

If I lead/guide in with my right knee, so to speak, my foot always lands flat. It's just a subtle thing nothing pronounced but it keeps my foot parallel to the ground. The initial thrust still is coming from the left leg/hips. If only I was consistent....

I didn't figure this out for myself, it was an "a-ha" moment. Thanks Sensei.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Kiki, careful with leading with the knee. That can result in a very short step. I usually encourage people to lead with the toes, and keep a relaxed ankle. Also bear in mind that you are not so much stepping out with the right foot as pushing off with the left.

[Kiki]

Thanks Neil,
I see the potential problem now, especially if I do not keep my knee parallel to my foot and over shoot it. I am sure I only grasped a small percentage of what my sensei was trying to explain. Your advice is well taken.

[k3nsh1n]

Hello all..

I have a few questions to anybody that would be generous enough to answer 4 me..

1. When im trying to do three men cuts in succession while applying fumikomi i cant control the forward momentum and hence i move forward too quickly and cant bring my arms up in time to make the last two cuts. Trying to 'halt' between each step to give myself time to bring the arms up leaves me taking a few steps forward instead of a stop. Am i even s'pose to be able to come to a stop after doing fumikomi? Coz if not i guess the solution for my problem would be to just slow things down but if i am s'pose to be able to stop then what could be wrong with what im doing? coz i cant stop after fumikomi..

2. With the fumikomi.. how large should the step be and how far off the ground should the right foot be brought up? Im sure there is no 'rule' for this
but generally.. is it kept low?

3. As you land with the right foot is the leg supposed to be relatively straight?

Thx in advance

-Kendo Newbie

[Neil Gendzwill]

1. You shouldn't halt, one attack should propel you into the next. In this case, you just need more practice.
2. How large a step depends on how far away your opponent is. But for basic practice, as large as possible. You should be quite stretched out when you land. Your right foot should only be 2" off the floor at most.
3. At landing your shin should be straight up and down or possibly your right foot a little ahead of your knee. Your feet should be straight, your back should be straight, and your hips and shoulders square to your opponent.

[k3nsh1n]

Thnx for the answers Neil, gratefully accepted.

Argh..cud not train tonight, too much work for uni..
*sigh*
Hopefully Wed will clear up ^^
Train hard every1

[Rick Danger]

A friend of mine experienced the "flying nun" syndrome. A friend of hers made the following illustrative drawings:

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/6964283/
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/6964211/

Have fun! :)

[souljah]

A friend of mine experienced the "flying nun" syndrome. A friend of hers made the following illustrative drawings:

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/6964283/
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/6964211/

Have fun! :)

haha, they're very good drawings. :D

[Wout]

hehe that's cool, the drawing is amazing too.

[Andoru]

Ahahahaha! You should submit those drawings to KW Mags.

[regularyojimbo]

The drawings are terrific I look forward to seeing more...

In regard to fumi-komi its still somethiung I don't feel totally convinced that I am doing right yet. Only been doing kendo for 3-4 months...for me not to take too large a step seems to be the key. All I can do is observe listen and persevere...till the light bulb goes 'bing'. If there are any videos online of fumikomi I'd be interested in seeing them...

Thanks

Jaa abayo