help with, tenuchi and fumikomi.

[samuel]

I have been doing Kendo for about 8 or 9 months now and would like some advice on how to do proper tenuchi when cutting and how to improve my tenuchi, as I tend to still cut a little heavy handed, the proper way to do the fumi komi footwork and how to improve my fumi komi footwork.
I would also welcome any advice on any aspect of Kendo that you feel a beginner should know about.

Many thanks, I appologize if any of the Japanese words are not written properly. :D


Samuel Keen.

[supernils]

For the fumikomi I've use to have my beginners do "the plow" as i call it. You can find a sketch at http://www.e.kth.se/~e00_nbj/kendo/exercise/

[samuel]

thanks for replying the sketches were very helpull.


Many thanks.

Samuel Keen.

[Ted Bouck]

Samuel,

Think Relaxed hands with balance in both. Meaning that the hands both do the jobs they are supposed to do in balance. One does not over bear the other. Being very one handed, will easily make tenouchi more difficult to obtain. Further, it was at least 2.5 years before I really began to understand tenouchi, so do not dispair. ;)

I would also say that the strike should feel as though you have struck a bell, to make it ring, not to knock it across the hall.

Hope this helps,
Ted

[samuel]

thanks for replying, you were very helpfull.

Many thanks,

Samuel Keen.

[supernils]

I would also say that the strike should feel as though you have struck a bell, to make it ring, not to knock it across the hall.

Very pretty likening :p

[Ted Bouck]

Thx Nils. It just seemed to make sense to describe it that way.

Just like describing the shomen strike follow thru as if there is a rope attached to the kensen, that someone pulls at about your shoulder height after you complete the strike. Thus causing you to be propelled forward and past opponent.

Ted:)

[Boso]

Fumikomi ashi.

Anyone brave enough to explain this one so that it makes sense ?

I'm not.

[supernils]

Do you mean how it's done or why it's done?

[samuel]

how is it done

[Boso]

Yes, thanks Samual, for restating the question. I wish someone would answer it.

Nil's, I would have thought why it is done would be a pointless question if only because that's what we do in kendo. I really want to know, like many many others too shy to post the question, How is fumikomi ashi correctly done ?

It's just one of those things that seems impossible for anyone to explain. I don't know why. But as it is a fundemental basic someone surely reading this board can give some viable discription. This is a genuine question. I'm really not trying to test.

[Santiman]

Why fumikomi other than for quickly 'bridging the gap'? What is its historical relationship to Japanese swordmanship?