What is your concept of SEME

[Nik.Koch]

Hi Kendokas,

I would like to Know your defenition of "Seme". How do you train it. How do you practice. What does your Sensai say?

Thanks and waiting for good disussions

Nik

[Musha]

Hi Nik.Koch,
In Japanese Seme literally means attack Semeru 攻め. I'm working on it now and the different types of Seme. Seme pushes your opponent into opening Suki and enables you to attack but if your opponent is not open it is extremely hard to attack.

As in Japanese chess you must also push your opponent into opening or making a mistake so you can take his or her piece.

[dorkusxmaximus]

too many threads about this, go look at the old threads.

[JSchmidt]

"In Japanese Seme literally means attack"

My dictonary says it's 'Invade', which I think is a far more accurate translation in terms of kendo, as you are invading the opponents private space and forcing a reaction. The attack itself, doesnt happen until after seme.

[Musha]

What dictionary are you using JSchmidt? Seme means atack in all my dictionarys.

'Kodansha Kanji Dictionary'
攻め　Attack Kou; se(meru) Name osamu

Attack, take the offensive

攻撃　kougeki attack, assault; criticism; baseball batting
攻略 Kouryaku capture, conquest; invasion

Semeru　攻める
攻め　seme [also suffix] attack, offensice, bombardment; batting

It can mean 'Invade' but the main meaning is Attack. Maybe offensive is a better term because if you are doing Seme your partner usually does not have the advantage over you.

[JSchmidt]

Kodansha's Japanese-English Dictionary. It actually got both attack and invade, but invasion is a far more accurate term, IMO.
(I also believe it's the term used in the AJKF dictionary)...but hey..since you seem so certain on seme, please explain how to do it;-D

[emitbrownne]

Seme = Pressure..... :devious:


still learning.... I'm too jumpy

[Musha]

It is kind of a secret :D, but there is


Umote Seme

Take a step forwards and take the center.

Ura seme

Take a step forwards and put your kensen on the right side of his Shinai as if you wanted to strike kote


Gedan
Take a step forwards and put your shinai under the persons Shinai discreetly.

It says this alone is not Seme, you can Seme in other ways but these are the easiest. I can't do it yet, maybe I'm not thinking right. I am also not even Ikkyu yet so should not be thinking of Seme at all just getting good cut in, but this is what it says seme is in my book .

I heard once some one say 'I feel when fighting with sensei my energy all going away', I think I good Seme is one where you Seme enough to collaps your opponent then just hit him easily :calm:.

[Nik.Koch]

Thanks to all for your replies. Concerning the Seme of high Sensei (8.Dan) it seemed to me often like sucking my batteries low. My head was allmost exploding due to all the psychological pressure by the master. It tried to stand against but found myself often with my back against the wall. Do you think or beleive that good seme has also something to do with KI? What were your experiences fighting with high class teachers?


Best Regards from Germany
Nik

[Neil Gendzwill]

I can't do it yet, maybe I'm not thinking right.
Perhaps then you should not explain it, nor rely on dictionary definitions for the meaning of specific kendo terms? The words we use in kendo have far more weight than the dictionary definitions, and are often different than a more common usage might indicate.

Seme is about managing your opponent through pressure.

[Hai_hai]

... My head was allmost exploding due to all the psychological pressure by the master...

Uh yeah. Kopf-schlagen ohne schlagen.

[JSchmidt]

" I can't do it yet,"

That's because there's a lot more to it than just the physical motions. I'm only at the very beginning at trying to understand, which is why I'm insisting on using 'invade', rather than attack.

[Musha]

Sorry Neil Gendzwill I don't think I know any 8th dans like Eiga sensei, not sure if he is or not...

I have been learning Japanese for 3 years or more now and passed a high excam in it to A level. Kendo terms are just Japanese not some mistical word and Seme means Attack nothing else then I tryed to explain what it says about Seme in my book that was writen by a 6th dan. If you think it is some mistical power that is held by Marishiten you can, but as I said "I don't know how to seme" so I am not a power in this. I know I am not making this up :wink:.

[mingshi]

Sorry Neil Gendzwill I don't think I know any 8th dans like Eiga sensei, not sure if he is or not...

I have been learning Japanese for 3 years or more now and passed a high excam in it to A level. Kendo terms are just Japanese not some mistical word and Seme means Attack nothing else then I tryed to explain what it says about Seme in my book that was writen by a 6th dan. If you think it is some mistical power that is held by Marishiten you can, but as I said "I don't know how to seme" so I am not a power in this. I know I am not making this up :wink:.

1. Eiga is 7th Dan.
2. I have been studying Kanji for ...at least 18 years.
3. Kendo terms are explained within their context, and NOT literally.
4. What you find about the meaning of certain kanji, depends on its root in Chinese as well. That can be slightly different comparing to how it is used in Modern Japanese.
5. If Seme is just an attack, a straight Men cut is an attack. Why will people say, "you need to work on the attack"?

IMHO.

[Musha]

1. Eiga is 7th Dan.
2. I have been studying Kanji for ...at least 18 years.


I guess you are Chinese so of course you have been learning Kanji for 18 years :D. My friend is Japanese and she has been learning for over 30 years hehe. But if you are talking about Chinese that is Hanzi isn't it? I watched a Japanese anime with Chinese subs, it is almost like Japanese compared to German, almost impossible for me to read. Even Japanese person :).

5. If Seme is just an attack, a straight Men cut is an attack. Why will people say, "you need to work on the attack"?

I don't think you understand what I mean by attack. For excample if your Sensei wanted to say attack men, he would say 面を打つ　'Men wo utsu'　 or 面を打ち込み 'Men wo uchikomi' This is the action of striking your opponent not seme. It could be invade like some people say, but to me invade does not really lead up to an action. If you were to invade a country you would just enter that country. In WWII Germany invaded many countrys but did not even have to fight in most.

Seme is when you take the initiative. Try to imagine a kendo match were no one takes the initiative and the two kendoka are just standing waiting for the other kendoka to do some thing for 3 minutes :D.

[Hai_hai]

...Try to imagine a kendo match were no one takes the initiative and the two kendoka are just standing waiting for the other kendoka to do some thing for 3 minutes :D.

Some kendoka purposely stand and not attack to catch their breath in the latter part of a match. You hear a lot of kiai but don't see any attacks. You also see the ole' attack and wait in tsuba-zeriai so you can catch your breath while leaning against your opponent.

Showing seme (pressure) or resting? You be the judge.

[Neil Gendzwill]

I don't think you understand what I mean by attack.[snip]Seme is when you take the initiative. Try to imagine a kendo match were no one takes the initiative and the two kendoka are just standing waiting for the other kendoka to do some thing for 3 minutes :D.
We understand what you mean by attack. You don't understand what seme is. It is not simply an attack. It is not simply stepping in on your opponent. There can be seme with barely any perceptible movement. There can be seme, with movement, that results in no attack. There can be seme that results in an attack by the opponent creating an opportunity for oji-waza, where the opponent did not even realize any seme occured.

You sound like one of these people who endlessly debate the meaning of budo and bujutsu by translating the terms into english and then arguing about the english terms - its simply not a relevant thing to do. A word like "seme" pretty much defines why we use the Japanese terms for the technical language of kendo - it defines a concept for which there is no clear, one or two word equivalent in english. It's something you will start to understand as you prepare for your 4th dan exam, should you stick with kendo another 8 or 10 years.

[hyuna]

Nik:

I practice seme in two parts. The most important part is normal practice. There can be no pressure without a threat. There is no threat unless one can hit. Your ability to apply seme is limited by your normal kendo ability. Something that I have come to understand over time is that my ability to even understand seme is limited by my normal kendo ability. Without an understanding of how to hit effectively, one does not understand the conditions that make a hit possible. Without understanding those conditions, one does not understand what makes a certain stance, posture, movement, attitude, etc threatening. Without knowing that, one cannot even understand when they are being threatened (except in the most obvious way), much less threaten someone. As my ability to hit accurately and effectively has improved, my understanding of seme has improved with it.

The second part is to practice attacking with the correct attitude for my opponent. If I try to seme physically and the movement is too subtle, the opponent does not see the threat and so there is no pressure. If I surprise my opponent, that is not an attack that succeeds because of pressure either, although the experience may allow me to use seme later on. But this is secondary, since if you cannot hit, there is no threat, and once your opponent figures that out, there is nothing that can be done.

There are, of course, techniques that we practice to try to improve. But it is pointless to describe them here. If you knew enough to understand it, you would already understand how to practice seme. It is not a "mystical secret" or anything -- it is like issoku itto no maai "one step, one cut distance". Someone can describe it but it doesn't really mean anything until you see in real life how big it is. So I can describe what we do to practice seme but it won't mean anything until you feel it to see why it works. And if you get that, you already are being taught how to practice it.

My experience with high ranking sensei is that they take advantages of weaknesses I didn't even know I had, and when I allow this to make myself feel anxious, it makes their seme all the more powerful. It helps greatly when I can make myself focus on what I'm doing instead of what they are doing, and on simply not giving up.

[Nik.Koch]

Nik:

I practice seme in two parts. The most important part is normal practice. There can be no pressure without a threat. There is no threat unless one can hit. Your ability to apply seme is limited by your normal kendo ability. Something that I have come to understand over time is that my ability to even understand seme is limited by my normal kendo ability. Without an understanding of how to hit effectively, one does not understand the conditions that make a hit possible. Without understanding those conditions, one does not understand what makes a certain stance, posture, movement, attitude, etc threatening. Without knowing that, one cannot even understand when they are being threatened (except in the most obvious way), much less threaten someone. As my ability to hit accurately and effectively has improved, my understanding of seme has improved with it.

The second part is to practice attacking with the correct attitude for my opponent. If I try to seme physically and the movement is too subtle, the opponent does not see the threat and so there is no pressure. If I surprise my opponent, that is not an attack that succeeds because of pressure either, although the experience may allow me to use seme later on. But this is secondary, since if you cannot hit, there is no threat, and once your opponent figures that out, there is nothing that can be done.

There are, of course, techniques that we practice to try to improve. But it is pointless to describe them here. If you knew enough to understand it, you would already understand how to practice seme. It is not a "mystical secret" or anything -- it is like issoku itto no maai "one step, one cut distance". Someone can describe it but it doesn't really mean anything until you see in real life how big it is. So I can describe what we do to practice seme but it won't mean anything until you feel it to see why it works. And if you get that, you already are being taught how to practice it.

My experience with high ranking sensei is that they take advantages of weaknesses I didn't even know I had, and when I allow this to make myself feel anxious, it makes their seme all the more powerful. It helps greatly when I can make myself focus on what I'm doing instead of what they are doing, and on simply not giving up.
Hi Hyuna,

thanks a lot for your text. It was a plesure to read. For my self I regard seme similar to you. It is a long way to go and hard to practice. I find it more difficult than exercising Uchikomi or something else. In Gigeiko it is best to practice. Hitting without seme has no meaning. This brings Kendo down to "Who is faster makes the point". For me breaking the Kamaii with Seme is the Key to everything else in Kendo.

Regarding 8.Dan or 7.Dan fighting with, I found that they can feel, if you are gooing to make pressure on them (Of course they can :-)). So they go one gear up. Thats fun! For them too, because they have to be aware not to be too relaxed. Seme is kind of comunication with your opponent through your shinai, body and mind.

Once I had a fight with a 7.Dan japanese sensei. He was in Germany for 6 months. In this fight I had a small period where I had the right timing to hit debana kote. I could get him several times. He of course realized that I found his timing and switched to another like tuning in another station on the radio. That was it with my debana. No more chance. That is also a great ability.

Best regards
Nik

[Musha]

You sound like one of these people who endlessly debate the meaning of budo and bujutsu by translating the terms into English and then arguing about the English terms - its simply not a relevant thing to do. A word like "seme" pretty much defines why we use the Japanese terms for the technical language of kendo - it defines a concept for which there is no clear, one or two word equivalent in English.

Sorry Neil Gendzwill I wanted to translate because I thought not every one on this forum could speak Japanese.

だけど、もし二ールさんが日本語分ければ今から僕が日本語で書こう。　俺は日本のチェス？と言う将棋を二年 間してたがそれもまだ上手になってないが将棋を習い途中少し剣道の「攻め」について分かるようになったと思 う。　将棋も剣道も戦争のような物だからそれらは「攻め」のような物があるが剣道は体の方「攻める」、将棋 は心で攻めると思う。　そうそう「宮本武蔵」の「五輪書」に読めれば、宮本先生もそうな物を言 っている。
したがって、実は先輩もおれのような新心身でも何か習えることを考えれば剣道上達できる！。

[Musha]

http://www.shogidojo.com/

[xvikingx]

Sorry Neil Gendzwill I wanted to translate because I thought not every one on this forum could speak Japanese.

何じゃこれ？自慢？アホウ！二ールの話しと関係がないやろ　恥ずかしくないのかい？Musha,ほんまに頭 弱いな。　バイビ～
:lick:

[Musha]

xvikingxさん日本語が分かる冗談しないでよ。　関係あるよ、これで訳してください

http://uk.altavista.com/babelfish

Use babel to translate my text even if it is so bad lol :D.

[Musha]

Viking what I am saying is not irrelevant. Neil said that I am the kind of person that just translates dictionary terms into English. So I explained in Japanese :wink:.

[mingshi]

For excample if your Sensei wanted to say attack men, he would say 面を打つ　'Men wo utsu'　 or 面を打ち込み 'Men wo uchikomi'
Uchi/ 打ち simply means "to hit"
When Sensei says, "Men-uchi", it is a Men cut, which has no implication of attacking.
"This is the action of striking your opponent not seme." -you said it yourself. Therefore even in your own definition, seme doesnt not equal an attack.

A google search on "seme" returns 城攻め, 鎌倉攻め, etc, using in the context of "invasion of a castle/city/fortress". When you invade, normally that'll mean you are the one who are in control (ie winning). If you just attack (in the offensive/active side) there is a chance you can be defeated. Remember in Kendo Kata Uchidachi is the one attacking first, and the one losing.

[Shazzanzzz]

My concept of smes is pressuring the opponent into what i want them to do, and to fear and doubt themselves, make them think they have to strike or back away.

Seme is most importantly the attitude you exert and the confidence you have in your own abilities.

[hyuna]

Viking what I am saying is not irrelevant. Neil said that I am the kind of person that just translates dictionary terms into English. So I explained in Japanese :wink:.

Musha,
the source language is not relevant. A jargon term explained in its native language makes it no less jargon. "Pressure" is not quite correct. "Attack" is not quite correct. "seme" is correct but only by definition -- we might as well "translate" "seme" into "splunge" where we decide that "splunge" means precisely what "seme" means. Then the English word "splunge" would be correct also, but the word still wouldn't mean anything in the sense of being able to impart any useful information to anyone.

Dictionary definitions are misleading for that reason. If you have ever felt a strong emotion, say love, look it up in the dictionary and see if it really communicates the feeling. The dictionary only gives a hollow description. One does not know the feeling until one experiences it. So it is with seme, or indeed, most technical language or jargon. A short dictionary definition is hollow. It is useful to someone with no idea, but when one has an understanding of the subtleties, paragraphs are necessary. So while one can look up "seme" in the dictionary, one should not feel that they understand seme in the same way that someone who only looks up "love" in the dictionary does not really understand love.

Since you apparently play shogi, you should be able to see the difference between an attack on the board and being pressured by your opponent. You know if you have pieces being attacked but your opponent worsens their position by taking them, there is no pressure for you to defend. You are free to act as you want. This is attack without seme. You know that people who play someone much stronger than themselves often see threats where none exist and play in an overly defensive and stifled way, or people can be made to feel overconfident and lured into a trap. Those are both cases of seme without attack. In the same way, just because someone attacks you by trying to hit men or stepping in as if to tsuki or whatever, there is not necessarily any seme. And, there can also be seme between people who are just standing there. Seme and attack are not the same thing.

[Karaken]

Can we consider "Lack of Seme" as a form of Seme? I meet this 7-Dan or 6-Dan senseis with seemingly no movement and I feel a lot of pressure to attack. Of course a part of the reason is that we're supposed to attack but if you are expecting Seme and there is none, is that a form of Seme too?

Just wondering.. Center

[Shazzanzzz]

Can we consider "Lack of Seme" as a form of Seme? I meet this 7-Dan or 6-Dan senseis with seemingly no movement and I feel a lot of pressure to attack. Of course a part of the reason is that we're supposed to attack but if you are expecting Seme and there is none, is that a form of Seme too?

Just wondering.. Center

THat's what they want you to feel like. That is seme. Like i said on my previous post. :)

[Musha]

"This is the action of striking your opponent not seme." -you said it yourself.
Mingshi when I first answered this post I said in the line of "The dictionary defernishion of Seme is attack". After three years I know what Seme(ru) means but I was always told that it is good to add quotes because even if you think you know some thing it is better to Quote some one that knows even more. What I understand is that people have the impression Seme means a hit or kick, punch or shooting a gun etc. But I am not stuck to thinking of the dictionary definition or I would have not added to my post.

Any way, in Shougi. Maybe even English chess almost every move is Seme not just taking some one else’s piece. If you were to move your piece in a place where you could take some ones piece but not actually take that piece, your opponent would get nervous and maybe make a mistake.

[hyuna]

Any way, in Shougi. Maybe even English chess almost every move is Seme not just taking some one else?s piece.

Almost any good move has seme. When you play a total novice and they move randomly, is there seme? What about when that novice makes a direct and obvious attack -- is there seme?

[JSchmidt]

"invaded many countrys but did not even have to fight in most."

Kinda also describes seme. Often the fight is won with seme as the opponent will be left with no defenses, if the seme is strong enough. The cut is just coup de grace.(spelling?).

Jakob

[Nik.Koch]

Defenition of 7. Dan Nakamoto Sensei concerning Seme:

"Seme is to let your opponents heart weaver"

Question: What Seme is more Powerfull: Physical or Psychologyical?

[baysun]

[QUOTE=Nik.Koch]Hi Kendokas,

I would like to Know your defenition of "Seme". How do you train it. How do you practice. What does your Sensai say?

This is from a Japanese Kendo magazine article on Kobayashi Hideo Sensei(8thDan) Translation> forgive punctuation

"Even if you don't hit you have to always be hunting. This is seme.

If you stop seme, only your opponent will be in a the state of seme; you will be the hunted; your opponent will be hunting you... Your mind must always be in the state of hunting... Imagine a hunter in the forest... searching, hunting waiting for the chance for the prey to appear.

When you are hunting, it will be difficult for for your opponent to find an opening. (Assuming you are in a correct posture.)

Just because you are going forward and attacking, it doesn't necessarily mean that you are hunting your opponent. It could mean that you are doing what your opponent wants you to do.So seme is much more than attacking and invading.

When in chudan no kamae, jodan no kamae, nitoh no kamae, or whatever kamae the players HUNT. BUT, You should start hunting even before you bow (rei) to your opponent...Seme begins before "hajime"...

If you are fighting a tiger, would you try to kill him directly? Generally that would be a bad idea. However if you used a pig as bait, the tiger would attack the pig and then you could kill the tiger...

Long ago Kobayashi Sensei asked his teacher how to avoid "Doyo"
[ nervousness, agitation, being disturbed]..."What can I do to avoid doyo?"
***>The answer was to “keep hunting”>>>***

If you are calm and keep heijo-shin (calmness), as you mind is in a state of hunting, you use half of the physical energy that many people use otherwise... also you won't do careless things....

Kobayashi Sensei: "When I was young, I would retreat often, Why did I retreat ( move backwards?) Because I was afraid"

If you want to protect yourself by retreating, you are wrong... If you want to protect yourself, move forward...
If you are moving backwards/retreating, it should be so that you are in fact planning to move forward..."

Ice

[kendokamax]

I think seme is something you can motsly only learn by fighthing much stronger people than you.

This kinda sounds stupid, but the teachers in my club in Japan would say stronger people than you in kendo can read your heart and then they know what they can hit and what you will aim. It really felt that way when I played some of old man over there. It feels impossible to break their walls.

Actually, I think even beginners can be able to practice some kind of seme towards more advanced (intermediate) people. They do super weird techniques and you become at loss, sometimes even scared and lose your calm. Thus, they will be able to hit you (maybe not an ippon but still), and you wont be able to 'dominate" them as you would like. When your emotions are instable your kendo is too.

ya!!!

happy kendo :p

[not-I]

I think seme is something you can motsly only learn by fighthing much stronger people than you.

This kinda sounds stupid, but the teachers in my club in Japan would say stronger people than you in kendo can read your heart and then they know what they can hit and what you will aim. It really felt that way when I played some of old man over there. It feels impossible to break their walls.

Actually, I think even beginners can be able to practice some kind of seme towards more advanced (intermediate) people. [...]
Hi Max,
That doesn't sound stupid at all. I've experienced it like that too. Tonight I fought a novice who exhibited so little seme, I could strike him at will and pressure him back to the wall with hardly any taitari force. I guess i was using seme, but it didn't feel like it. It just felt like a beatdown as there was hardly any resistence, no "wall" to really focus on breaking.
Then I fought some sempai and THEIR seme made me aware of mine and especially of my lack thereof. And looking back, those couple of kote with good zanshin i got in were because of my seme in reaction to theirs. And most of the men they rained down on me were due to their seme breaking my kamae/focus. Fighting with seniors makes you much more aware of it. And surely seme has a very strong psychological aspect. If you think you're gonna lose becasue you THINK your opponent is so good/big/strong/aggressive/etc., i.e. his seme is so strong, you've already lost.
Our sempai always tell us, "Go for it, more fighting spirt, more seme, especially against higher grades, as YOU have nothing to lose."
Greetings.

p.s. did you talk to any of the guys from the university who were in Austria?

[JByrd]

Hi Everybody! This is my first post here.

I've been giving a lot of thought to seme lately, and here is how I currently grasp it:

In Kendo the distance to the opponent (issoku itto no maai) is fairly large, and the sword tip can be moved very quickly. The consequence is that there is not enough time to successfully attack an opponent who faces you with a strong kamae and a calm mind. As long as they remain calm, they have plenty of time to stop you with their kensen, step out of the way, or parry your sword.

Many beginners think that by getting closer to the opponent and making a small swing, they can cut down the time it takes to attack enough to succeed. The actual result of making their Kendo smaller is that their strikes become weak and lose their sharpness. It requires a certain amount of time to develop power, and if you don't take the necessary time, you don't get the power.

As I see it, the role of seme is to break down the opponent, and ruin his calm state of mind. Seme is intended to infect the opponent's mind with one or more of the four sicknesses (fear, doubt, surprise, confusion). Once his mind is broken down he cannot react properly. At that moment, a big strike, from a far distance, can be effectively delivered, and the opponent will not be able to do enough to stop it.

To paraphrase my teacher: "The most important time in Kendo is before hitting, and after hitting. If you do those correctly, the hitting is the easy part." As I interpret it, the 'before hitting' part is seme, and the 'after hitting' part is zanshin.

[JamesB]

I think I read somewhere that "seme" can be described as "laying siege on", not really "invasion".

But I can't remember where I read that.

greetz,

J.

[gsx1100s]

Is it that people see different angles on the one phrase? Is it that the art is as much a personal expression as a physical activity? In this case I'd say whatever is stated must be correct....... or am I sounding a tad like Yoda?? :wink:


cheers michael

[emitbrownne]

Hi Kendokas,

I would like to Know your defenition of "Seme". How do you train it. How do you practice. What does your Sensai say?

Thanks and waiting for good disussions

Nik
Nik asked for our definition of Seme. not various readings from books (English, japanese, or Whatever).
I've read books, and I know what other people think... but I still stand by pressure.

[ben]

I've enjoyed reading most of this thread, especially Baysun's quote, which made a lot of sense to me. Thanks for posting it. ;)

In answer to Nik's second question, the more powerful is without a doubt psychological seme.

People who have natural, neutral kamae are the most frightening, I find. As soon as someone starts bobbing around, displays nervy, 'pumped-up' shrugs of their shoulders or hyperextends their spine to exaggerate an 'upright' posture I know their kendo has a flaw that I can find. It might take me a while...

The ones who don't reveal themselves through their kamae are more of a worry. This is a very advanced form of seme I think, because it is the one that induces fear and doubt in *your* mind. It will also induce you to make the first attack because you want to draw them out in order to examine their waza. But of course if you do that then you might get hit and still not learn anything. Then the doubt and fear increase in a kind of feedback loop. Meanwhile... "PON!" And then you have to reset your maai and try and shrug off the last hit, wake up, stop thinking about their kamae... etc, etc, etc.

I had a revelation in training a few months ago. I realised that the only way to eliminate all suki from your kamae is to use seme. Not only that but that seme 'transfers' the suki to your opponent. This is the proof of whether or not it is actually seme.

For two trainings I consistently manifested this realisation against kendoka my own level in jigeiko. Then I somehow 'forgot' how to do it. Now I get confused by the notion that seme is mostly a physical 'moving-in' to uchi-ma...

I hope to get that ability back one day and make it stick.

b

[Tholon]

I agree, it's an interesting thread. Being a newbie, I might not be able to add that much. But in business meetings you often see a similar thing to Seme.
When the participants are pressing each other around.
The original question was if you can train your Seme, and in the business world you do train it. It's about timing, there a meeting techniques, you train your ability to ask the right questions.
But the most important things to train is your knowledge in the subject and to understand where you want to go. What do you want to achive by pressing the counterpart?
So in Kendo, train your techniques, train your timing. And train to understand what you want to achive by pressing your opponent.

There has been a trend that businessmen train martial arts to improve their ability in businesslife. I might try the other way around :-)

[Marine_Boy]

Tholon,

That is a really good example of seme.

Personally, I believe that seme is mostly psychological pressure. Forcing your opponent into making an opening.

But this kind of psychological seme is difficult to achieve because one can very easily get "caught up" in the moment of mental activity and thus opens oneself up to attacks.

I believe that this kind of seme is very much depend on the person's physical and mental state during practice. Extreamly hard to put pressure on someone when one is physically or mentally tired.

Stan