My Fumikomi Sucks

[Tsunemori]

Helloe guys,

I'm a massive Kendo beginner noob (about 7 months, ungraded), so I'm not sure if fumikomi is considered a waza or not (I'm not sure if the word only applies to cut-techniques), but nevertheless I am posting here requesting help.

As far as I know, to do a proper cut, I should only start swinging my shinai up *after* I lift my right foot off the ground, and then of course hit the target at the same time as my right foot stomping the floor. However, perhaps due to my weakness or lack of proper technique, I can't seem to do a kihon cut fast enough to time it right.

Basically what usually happens is:
1. I lift off my foot, swing up, then my foot comes down before the shinai does. This off-balances me and makes my zanshin feel really messy.
2. I swing my shinai up, then step forward. With this method I'm able to time the hit and the stomp at the same time, however I usually miss the target due to having less reach on the step. I was told that this method is wrong anyway.

So I've kinda been doing sashi cuts instead of kihon, but in a recent training i was told off by my 5dan sensei, because I should just practice kihon if my sashi cuts are awful (and they were, it was a really embarassing night for me).

Several times during some waza-geiko, I'd freeze at issoku-itono-maai (I think that's how you spell it?), not knowing how to step forward. I'm a relatively short person (5'5" or 165cm) so the distance always feels too far for me. I feel like I need to take a small, extra step forward before proceeding to step for the cut, but doing so makes me feel like I'd then be too close and would leave myself open.

What can I do to fix my fumikomi? Am I doing something wrong? Do I need to learn to step further? Or do I just need to train my swinging speed to match the step?

Thanks very much in advance, and I apologise if I make any mistake or spell anything wrong. I'm still very new to Kendo so I'd appreciate any advice, even if it seems obvious.

[ne0r]

Basically what you need is experiance, I'd say :)

The next piece of advise I can offer you is to ask your sensei. He can judge you a lot better than people from the internet.

And then, the short version:
Transfer weight onto left foot (don't move yet)
Swing shinai up
Push from your left foot and strike with your left hand
Hit men with ki-ken-tai-icchi (Mind, Sword and Body as one. I.e. Right foot, sword and kiai, etc. you know what I mean :) )

But that's only how we are taught men-uchi. There are other ways, too^^


The best piece of advise is always: Ask sensei.

[Mosquite]

First of all, don't think fumikomi as a stomp and don't start your hit lifting your right foot up from the ground. Think fumikomi more like long step. You should slide your foot horizontally (don't lift it so much vertically) and at the end of step stomp it to the ground to create the correct sound and specially to bounce your left foot to under you. Try practising it by starting from a sliding step but instead of pulling your left foot under you keep moving your right foot even further and at the end of step lift your right foot off ground and stomp it to the floor and pull your left foot under you. That is the way I corrected my fumikomi, timing and even distance problem.

BTW. I am only 160cm so distance is a life and death question to me (Luckily my dancer background helps me a lot with my footwork)

[Lady_Kitsune]

What Ne0r said... But most of it, ask your sensei or sempais (if you don't have a sensei as instructor) for help they can give you a better advise cos they can se you.

[yoda-waza]

Your sensei is the best person to work with but for what it's worth I'll try to describe how we help beginners with the timing of large men-uchi fumikomi strikes:

First, remember that fumikomi means to "step into", not stomp. As mentioned already you should step forward off the left foot, but don't bend the right knee too much. Raise your right leg not as much up as out forward.

On the backswing, resist stepping out too soon. Instead use the momentum of your arms moving rearward to thrust your hips forward from the left leg, only starting to step out with the right as you're winding up the backswing. The forward swing will then be lead by the hips as your left leg launches your body forward with explosive energy - the swing must be done swiftly and not lag behind. You should have a fleeting feeling of an impending fall because your lower body is leaning forward at the hip, not a vertically upright position. Your upper body quickly whips forward with the arm swing finishing in the final whip from the wrists in tenouchi as your full body weight lands onto the flat of the foot, and the left leg immediately comes up as a consequence of the body's forward momentum.

This description is not meant to substitute for the advice of your sensei who certainly may have a different illustration and deeper insight.

[Neil Gendzwill]

As far as I know, to do a proper cut, I should only start swinging my shinai up *after* I lift my right foot off the ground, and then of course hit the target at the same time as my right foot stomping the floor. However, perhaps due to my weakness or lack of proper technique, I can't seem to do a kihon cut fast enough to time it right.Either you have misunderstood your sensei, or I disagree with him. Swinging your shinai up after your foot leaves the ground is advanced timing. At your level, I recommend swinging the shinai up without moving your feet, and then stepping forward when the swing is already going forward. As your swing becomes more relaxed, this timing will change.

[ne0r]

I thought about this, too.

But I can think of another possibility: We are told (as an exercise) to put the weight onto the left foot (and lifting the right foot a bit to ensure this) and then to start swinging the shinai up and then to hit men.
As opposed to: Start pushing forward (and thus lifting the right foot) and then start the upswing.

These are quite different (of course), but can be both interpreted into the line "I should only start swinging my shinai up *after* I lift my right foot off the ground".

[Neil Gendzwill]

Another issue is that the usual timing taught for suburi is to raise with the right foot coming forward and then strike with the left foot drawing up. Now for fumikomi-men, we want to strike with the right foot. Actually the timing of the two is eventually very similar but you can't get there in 7 months.

[ne0r]

Just on a side note:
Remember the thread I started some time ago?
What I meant there was:
In suburi we are told not to start our step when we lift our bokutou but when it passes jodan-no-kamae so we use the usual timing.
(But better forget about that thread - I didn't behave in a very mature way then...)

[Tsunemori]

Thanks for all the replies!

All my teachers are currently away for the national competition over the weekend. And I'm just frustated and need a quick fix before tomorrow's training. But I will definitely mention this to him when they're back.

About my teacher: Yes we did get taught to swing up, then step forward while swinging down. It's just that when I asked him to be specific, he said that supposedly, you shouldn't lift your shinai up until you move forward. He was probably, as Neil Gendzwill suggested, teaching something advanced with shiai in mind, so I'm extremely sure in this case I was the one that misunderstood.

I'm also aware of this theory that the noise from the fumikomi stomping should be the *result* of good technique as opposed to being the *objective* of it. That is, I should focus on just stepping forward properly, instead of actually focusing on making a loud noise, since that should come naturally.

You guys are correct though, I'm probably thinking too far ahead, 7 months is a very short time to be expecting any result. I'll keep practicing and hope I will eventually get to a comfortable point where I don't be an embarassment.

My teacher also wants me to go for the next grading next month, so that's even more pressure for me to get everything right : (

[ne0r]

And I'm just frustated and need a quick fix before tomorrow's training

Be patient^^ Kendo takes a lot of time, you'll have enough time to work on your technique. Don't worry, everyone started this way. No need to be frustrated, if you don't get it right now you will surely get it right in some time. By the way: you could take into consideration that every mistake you make is another opportunity to become better.

[Gideon]

My teacher also wants me to go for the next grading next month, so that's even more pressure for me to get everything right : (

My understanding is that teachers don't tell you to test until you're already ready. Along with the finer points of technique, you might also want to talk to your sensei about the nervousness and pressure you're feeling. They usually have outstanding advice on that topic as well. Good luck.