blocking

[decembersnow6]

Hi! i have been wearing bogu for about 1 month now and my sensei wanted me to compete with others in a match but i don't know any blocking moves, can you guys tell me how you block attacks from opponets?

[nodachi]

don't block, attack before they do, or at the same time as them, but get them first! trying to block will make you act too defensively when you should just focus on attacking.

I asked a similar question about blocking a long time ago and I was told that all I should be worried about is attacking. Be agressive and that will defend you.

[Haggis]

Somehow I think that that view is rather too one-sided for there are always times which you must defend yourself from an opponent, these are what the Oji-waza are there for. Oji-waza are defensive or counter-attacking techniques.

Perhaps what the others meant when they were saying always attack, always attack regardless of defending. That is, dont just 'block' an attack and leave it at that...block and attack then counter-attack them. It is said that you should never 'check' your opponents shinai or movements without responding with an attack yourself.

[kendomushi]

Any blocking movement must lead to an attack, i.e. oji-waza. If it doesn't, you might be in the running for a role in the next Star Wars flick, but you aren't doing good kendo.

[Craig Jones]

When i first started to wear bogu i was told not to worry about blocking, my primary concern should be to attack. Learning to block too early can lead you to become to defencive and to never attacking. As a beginner it is far more important to learn to attack. Blocking will come in time when your sensei feels you are ready to learn how.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Hi, Craig. Exactly right.

[KendoShiai]

100% Correct. Most people that have been doing Kendo less than 4 or 5 years that usually tries to block me ends up getting hit even more. Not because I am fast, actually I am very slow, but because they end up looking like a car windshield wiper and as they are trying to block right I am on the left, if they are on the left I am on the right. Better to simply attack than block. I took a new guy out on the floor last night and as he was trying to block me I placed my shinai down to the side and "GAVE" him the target. He could not strike it for anything. I did this repeatedly about 15 times to him. Needless to say he did not like it, but it showed him to look for the target rather than look for the oncoming cut. That’s my two cents anyway.

[Deco]

Hello, I´m new in this forum, but i´d like to make my contribution. Here in Brazil we try to simplify things a little bit. But it feels like right. Here if you are a sandan you have the duty to both atack and block, and just if you good in both you can get this dan. Last time i saw a very strong kenshi be eliminated becose he din´t block. My point is simple: if you pesue the hit with all your strenth when the time cames you´ll fell that you can start to block. And if you are not a nidan yet don´t care about it just atack with all your kokoro. I´m talking about simple block, not waza... thank´s all for welcome me!!

[Jarlaxle]

It is useless to evade or block a blow at beginning.Dont seal your soul by going defensively,choose the offense instead.

[decembersnow6]

how come no one uses the gedan stance?

[Jarlaxle]

It is hard to attack from gedan kamae.I didnt see any gedan player,it must be extreme

[tango]

FWIW, I use gedan ONLY when I'm trying trying to set up an opportunity for suriage-men. I should note, however, that my gedan in shiai is not very pronounced at all, but I try to make my men noticeably open...and I normally only use this with lower ranked opponents. I think it helps me a little bit to work on my maai. But that's just me.

As for blocking, there have been several good responses. I think it's vital for beginners to understand the attacking-mindset of kendo and they need to understand that blocking, in and of itself, does not accomplish that task.

The best way to block is to simply kill your opponent first. Period. I've seen a lot of beginners get tied up with trying to block too much and it leads to a lot of backward movement. It's very weak kendo and, IMO, displays a very weak spirit (such as, I'm more interested in not getting killed rather than dispose of the person in front of me).

There *is* a time for blocking, but it's something that beginners should not at all be concerned with for a good, long while. Just my opinion.

[KendoShiai]

Hey Tango, You practice with Dach Sensei? Tell him Eddie Miller said he is still ugly. hahaha

[tango]

Hehe... hai, bozo.
Dach sensei says you're still short and fat.. and probably still very slow. He says your new nickname is 'Turtle of the Kojiki Way'.. hehe


aaaahhhh... the good ol' days of Memphis kendo.. where insults fly as furiously as the shinai.. all in good natured fun, of course ;)

[KendoShiai]

hahaha Tell Harry San he is still ugly and I can deit. LOL Oh and I have seen him fight so I am not worried about him.

[Rawoo]

I think blocking itself is the mistake beginners make
it's the tendency to move backward awhile blocking
it gives the attacker some more distance to launch another strike
it puts u in a very bad defensive position especially when ur opponent is taller
and bigger.

[Sanjuro]

Just my 2 cents...

From my personal experience as a beginner, the mindset one should have at this time should be an offensive. So...don't think of it as don't block/parry;even if you constantly think that way, you may still reflexively block. My kendo is very stiff if I think that way becase blocking is still on my mind, even if I am telling myself not to. Just think that whatever you do is done to achieve the aim of cutting your enemy. In that mindset, even if you reflexively block you are moving forward with the intent to cut (as opposed to blocking and then thinking "damn...i shouldnt have blocked!", which is when your opponent takes advantage of your indescision and scores a point) If you think that way, you will feel more at ease during jigeiko and ultimately shiai. I suppose as one is more experienced, they can experiment with those fancy countering wazas that involve non-passive blocking.

[Chusan]

Just do not try blocking.
The time you need for any blocking-technique can be used much better for real and useful waza, I think.
Try hitting, hit first and keep hitting :dead:

[Nanbanjin]

Just do not try blocking.
The time you need for any blocking-technique can be used much better for real and useful waza, I think.
Try hitting, hit first and keep hitting :dead:

Also, don't worry about getting hit. Try to read openings in your opponent, withouth thinking about how they are going to attack you.
"Blocks" are generally just ways of creating opportunities. If you think of blocking without thinking of how that is going to lead to your next technique the blocking motion is likely to become too large and this will leave you open to other attacks. Remember that the difference between hitting and missing is only a matter of centimetres.

A common problem is when people try to block from omote. The arms lift and the right shoulder usually goes forward as well as the hips. It is very difficult to strike effectively from this position. Many people make this mistake when performing kaeshi-do and kaeshi-men. The block is performed with the hips rotated to the left and the following technique ends up being too slow.The correct way to do this is with the hip square and with the body ready for the next attack.
I believe that this is the reason that most people seem to be better at ura kaeshi men than omote. With ura the natural action forces the body to rotate to the right which results in a more natural position to strike from. Ideally omote kaeshi waza should also be performed with this type of body action in mind.
This leads on to "ura-yoke" which is like ura-kaeshi-waza without the waza. Many Japanese people use this effectively and it is very difficult to get around.
From a purest point of view this is perhaps not really kosher either, but if you are going to "block" I recommend ura-yoke rather than omote because it will do less harm to your posture and you may learn some body control.

When doing jigeiko don't worry so much about getting hit. Kendo is a sport where we help our opponents. Encourage your opponent to hit with good straight cuts by not blocking wildly. Make your movements as efficient as possible. Do not take it personally if your opponent hits you with a nice cut. Take it as a compliment that your kendo is good enough for them to perform a good technique. It might sound weird but it is quite difficult to score a really good point against a beginner. Maybe the tension in the beginner effects the quality of the strike. While effective strikes are fewer against advanced players, the quality increases.

[demon hiei]

I think it,s ok to block if your taller than who your fighting with and if you can think far enough ahead of the block to come up with an attack then there you go

[Halcyon]

I think it,s ok to block if your taller than who your fighting with and if you can think far enough ahead of the block to come up with an attack then there you go
don't block, especially if you're a beginner. and forget about thinking "far enough ahead." of course, at some level you have to think about strategy, but if you're pre-occupied with which waza you're going to use, it will actually leave you more vulnerable to attack because your mind is fixed on only what YOU are going to do, rather than being open to the moment. besides, if you block, you're missing a prime opportunity to counter-attack.

yes, this take a lot of training to achieve. but you can't practice that timing by blocking. you get good at what you practice. and if you practice blocking, that's the thing you'll get good at.

[Hai_hai]

I think blocking itself is the mistake beginners make
it's the tendency to move backward awhile blocking
it gives the attacker some more distance to launch another strike
it puts u in a very bad defensive position especially when ur opponent is taller
and bigger.

Well, once one learns the "block" move, I think it is okay to use if one applies it as it was taught. So, stepping back and blocking is wrong. Blocking and not stepping back is correct.

[yangs]

I am a beginner. My sensei never taught me how to block. He says that there are always opening when you want to protect something (like protecting men your do is open etc). So I think attacking is the best way to defence.

[forbidden]

Hi all.
Good replies.

I agree concerns about attacks comes first... however, if you are in armor already, im sure you have done lots of kiri kaeshi with and without armor. There are some tricks there i guess....

[naruto]

Just a quick thanks for all of the information that I was able to glean from the posts on blocking. I was actually going to post a question regarding this subject today.


so Thanks All!

-=Naruto=-