Special Fumikomi?

[PaulK]

Hey Guys!

I have been to the European Kendo Championships last year and i´am planing to go to the Euros in Finland this year as well.

Now comes a lot of my blabla as introduction to my question, please bare with me ;)

2007 (my first time ever to see international kendo competition) i recognized something special, no matter which national team i watched (especially the middle European one´s) i always saw some kind of strategy in they´re Kendo that they must have been working on during they´re preparations.

Of course, with my limited experience of 8 years i was not able to see all kinds of strategies in every persons Kendo, but you could clearly see, which team seems to had they´re focus on strength, oji-waza or speed. Same goes to the seme, some of the teams clearly showed that they´re national team trainings included special seme practices with focus on "faking" attacks, or others who showed that they´re focus was irritating the aitei by fast renzoku waza attacks.

But my Question is: i saw, felt and heard as well a very very strong Fumikomi by nearly every member of a national team.I espacially noticed a young german guy named "Kampf" or "Kumpf" who was sempo of team germany. And believe me, his fumikomi was extremly strong.

I´am now asking myself. After lot´s of years training kendo, musha shugyo in different dojos, lot´s of seminars and all this stuff, are there special fumikomi exercises existing??

Yes of course, many exercises of kakari-geiko, uchikomi or basic strikes from one end of the hall to another can bring you a good and strong fumikomi.

But during my time in Tokushima, i saw High school youngsters who had as daily kendo routine lots of kakari geiko and uchikomi, and even they did not had a fumikomi so strong like those on the EKC.

So my opinion is: There are special fumikomi exercises existing in national team circles, it cant be just the repetition of basic kihon lots and lots of time.

What´s your opinion on this?

PaulK

[Chaby]

...I espacially noticed a young german guy named "Kampf" or "Kumpf" who was sempo of team germany.


Roberto Kumpf- from the Frankfurt Dojo "Katana"

He is from a Kendo Family.
I had the privilege of attending seminar led by his parents.

Uwe Kumpf,nanadan and Kazuko Kumpf,I believe a godan.
Their daughter Sabine is also very successful in Kendo.

[ne0r]

I don't know any special exercises nor can I speak of national team circles, but in the last time our sensei emphasize the weight-shift needed for proper footwork. Of course this weight-shift is one very important element of fumikomi-ashi.

Perhaps their footwork is just very good?

Just my thoughts.
Sorry, I know that's not exactly what you're asking and I'm not exactly experienced enough...

[PaulK]

Hello!


Perhaps their footwork is just very good?

Of course their footwork is very good. But if you had been to the EKC and had talked to some of the national team members, you had recognized and noticed, that even the newbies in the team, who had been practicing with the squad for only about 8 month, allready owned that style of executing the fumikomi.

From my observation (and this was really interesting to watch) no matter which country, kendo experience, kendo style, or kendo curriculum vitae one´s national team member had, this special kind of fumikomi cold (beside the tenouchi) seen by nearly every national team member.

PaulK

[Fonsz]

If you don't mind my asking, but I guess that you haven't encountered this footwork in the US? Don't the US team members or other big guns perform this what you think is European. I'm just wondering because I can't imagine that there is a real difference between the continents. Care to elaborate?

[JSchmidt]

Yeah..as far as I'm concerned it's the same: Strong fast footwork.
I can't recall Kumpff having exceptionally strong fumikomi the times I've seen him.

[PaulK]

I know this is kinda stupid, but i have not found any useable videos of the EKC 2007 on the internet, so i prefer using this:

http://blip.tv/file/217734

This video here, actually shows GB against ESP (Fisher versus Castro) but in the background you can see germany competing against france. It is R.Kumpf vs. G.Sicart from france i believe. Either the sleepless nights (the burden of being the father of 2 kids) have made me paranoid or something like that, or he´s fumikomi is on this video as well significant loud as it was when i was at the EKC.

Yes i know it is stupid wachting this bout only in the background, but i didn´t discovered any other videos.

PaulK

[JSchmidt]

Seems the same to me as the other 3 guys fighting. Check the other videos and the floor does sound a bit like a drum.

[chainz]

US tryout that my sensei attended he told us the level were high and really strong Fumikomi specially the Yang Brothers and other kenshin

[Robobob]

Maybe it´s the other way around. Maybe there is no special training, but people that have very good Fumikomi from the first hand get into national teams more easily?!

[H.Sandsleth]

I´am now asking myself. After lot´s of years training kendo, musha shugyo in different dojos, lot´s of seminars and all this stuff, are there special fumikomi exercises existing??

Yes there are special fumikomi exercises existing. I do not know whether the germans use any, though.

[NigelSponge]

also, this is kinda a left field idea. But i remember in my limited time training in a Japanese school dojo, the floor was much more springy that the typical basketball gym etc. most of us may practice on. The kind of floor that is being used can allow very different sounding and feeling fumikomi. I'm sure we've all gone to a dojo where their floor just didn't give, greatly affecting how we were able to carry out fumikomi ashi. Same on the other end of the spectrum, some floors have more give than we are used to.

Of course they also must have very good footwork/kendo in general, i'm sure that helps lol.

[Karaken]

Fumikomi is transitional. If you can do great Kendo without fumikomi " According to my nana-dan sensei" It's a better Kendo. But most can't, so we need fumikomi. Let's not put too much emphsis on it. Watch hachi-dan torny and see how much fumikomi there is..

[Chaby]

... Watch hachi-dan torny and see how much fumikomi there is..

I was attending a short seminar with four hachidan masters:Yutaka Furuta, Masaaki Endo, Soidji Mijahara and Tetsuo Yoshimura, and let me tell you:
When they did a fumikomi, the roof was about to come down!
Even when demonstrating a simple strike.
It was very impressing.

[chainz]

my sensei says it very important when you pull your left leg, the impuse comes from the left leg and the importance of pull fast the leg, some exercise that helps is hiya suburi and the normal fumikomi and just try to keep the body strainght with the left feet

[bobdonny]

Hey Guys!

I have been to the European Kendo Championships last year and i´am planing to go to the Euros in Finland this year as well.

Now comes a lot of my blabla as introduction to my question, please bare with me ;)

2007 (my first time ever to see international kendo competition) i recognized something special, no matter which national team i watched (especially the middle European one´s) i always saw some kind of strategy in they´re Kendo that they must have been working on during they´re preparations.

Of course, with my limited experience of 8 years i was not able to see all kinds of strategies in every persons Kendo, but you could clearly see, which team seems to had they´re focus on strength, oji-waza or speed. Same goes to the seme, some of the teams clearly showed that they´re national team trainings included special seme practices with focus on "faking" attacks, or others who showed that they´re focus was irritating the aitei by fast renzoku waza attacks.

But my Question is: i saw, felt and heard as well a very very strong Fumikomi by nearly every member of a national team.I espacially noticed a young german guy named "Kampf" or "Kumpf" who was sempo of team germany. And believe me, his fumikomi was extremly strong.

I´am now asking myself. After lot´s of years training kendo, musha shugyo in different dojos, lot´s of seminars and all this stuff, are there special fumikomi exercises existing??

Yes of course, many exercises of kakari-geiko, uchikomi or basic strikes from one end of the hall to another can bring you a good and strong fumikomi.

But during my time in Tokushima, i saw High school youngsters who had as daily kendo routine lots of kakari geiko and uchikomi, and even they did not had a fumikomi so strong like those on the EKC.

So my opinion is: There are special fumikomi exercises existing in national team circles, it cant be just the repetition of basic kihon lots and lots of time.

What´s your opinion on this?

PaulK

I'd be surprised by that as the floor in portugal was terrible and we were told to not fumikomi hard. That said, its difficult not too in shiai but i sont hink it was "extra"

[Shazzanzzz]

the key to fumikomi, IMO as always.... is not trying to do it.
It should come from the natural movement of your attack. Loud fumikomi comes from power of your hips bringing your left foot forward and speed going forward. It shouldn't be something that came out from TRYING to fumikomi hard. There is NO point trying to fumikomi hard. Doesn't help your kendo one bit.

[yoda-waza]

Fumikomu means "to step into" more than "to stomp". Ashibumi is a stomp as I understand. Language experts correct me if I'm wrong.

In a forward attack, the body weight transfer from fully-off the launching left leg to fully-on the grounding right leg requires the hips to be launched out with the step. As Shazzanzzz points out, the sudden sound of fully-grounded body weight and the nearly simultaneous follow-up of the left leg will result from proper fumikomi - stepping into the strike.

[Kagerou]

the key to fumikomi, IMO as always.... is not trying to do it.
It should come from the natural movement of your attack. Loud fumikomi comes from power of your hips bringing your left foot forward and speed going forward. It shouldn't be something that came out from TRYING to fumikomi hard. There is NO point trying to fumikomi hard. Doesn't help your kendo one bit.

Trying to fumikomi leads to one thing....

"Agh god my foot!" :grin:

[Robobob]

A (former) member of my dojo had a very loud and good fumikomi almost from the start. He just naturally had a way to hit the floor with his flat foot that made a loud, hollow sound. If you clap your hands with your palms slightly hollowed you can clap very loud (I hope you get what I mean). He could do that with his foot and it was very impressive. Shimpan where impressed also. He didn´t need much kiai since the strike was so loud from fumikumi.

[NigelSponge]

Its all about how your foot lands and weight distribution. Not stomping the ground like u are squishing a cock roach =P Just go to class, it will get good eventually.

[Chaby]

Okay, here is another vid about special (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjyetiJhviw) fumikomi...

[Kagerou]

Okay, here is another vid about special (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjyetiJhviw) fumikomi...

looks more like a ho down than kendo...

one more reason to distrust any adult wearing white himo on a blue men. :ermm:

[kairi]

As far as I can say there aren't special excercises for fumikomi only. But for a strike with fumikomi. And national team members insist in a strong fumikomi. So if your fumikomi/footwork is weak you have to work on it, if you want to get into the team.
I thinks that's why all national team members have a strong fumikomi as well as other kenshi also, which are not in the national teams.

[Shazzanzzz]

Trying to fumikomi leads to one thing....

"Agh god my foot!" :grin:

We had a japanese exchange student from keio last semester. He was on the University team... So needless to say, he was absolutely sick in kendo.
He has this really loud slap in his fumikomi. It's an incredible sound everytime i hear it, hehe. He raises his toes when he does fumikomi to slap the ground. I tried to immitate before.... Have you ever seen police slapping bottom of someone's feet during interogation? yea... it hurts. I don't know how he can keep doing it... I guess he's used to it.

[Robobob]

Okay, here is another vid about special (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjyetiJhviw) fumikomi...

Oh my god! This looks so funny! I hope they don´t read this, sorry. But it looks so funny!

[Koki]

If you move in with your whole body, you will have very strong fumikomi. The loud sound is a byproduct of correct footwork, not the goal. Instead of focusing on making a louder sound, focus on moving in with your body.

[NigelSponge]

If your fumikomi is strong and well done, you will know it. From there it just keeps getting better and better. Not a lot to contemplate whether or not its good. If it was, you know, and the judges know, i guarantee it.