Basic Men Uchi

[Kote-Men]

Something very disappointing and annoying happened to me a while back..... I was in keiko scoring Men after Men after Men but I was never awarded any points at all! I had ki-ken-tai-ichi as far as I knew, but nothing happened? We went into encho and he scored a kote on me and won.. I don't understand, I think I hit him on Men at least 4 times...

After this experience my kendo has been, well, different. My mindset has been somewhat distorted and I'm beginning to question my basics...

When you hit men your right foot comes down at the same time. At this position does your left foot stay back or does it come up with the right foot at the moment you make contact?

When doing footwork the right foot and left foot move almost at the same time..

I have been watching other members of my dojo in shiai and it half of them hit men with their right foor down and left still back, and the other half with right foot down but left foot moving forward...

What is correct?

[Nanbanjin]

Something very disappointing and annoying happened to me a while back..... I was in keiko scoring Men after Men after Men but I was never awarded any points at all! I had ki-ken-tai-ichi as far as I knew, but nothing happened? We went into encho and he scored a kote on me and won.. I don't understand, I think I hit him on Men at least 4 times...

After this experience my kendo has been, well, different. My mindset has been somewhat distorted and I'm beginning to question my basics...

When you hit men your right foot comes down at the same time. At this position does your left foot stay back or does it come up with the right foot at the moment you make contact?

When doing footwork the right foot and left foot move almost at the same time..

I have been watching other members of my dojo in shiai and it half of them hit men with their right foor down and left still back, and the other half with right foot down but left foot moving forward...

What is correct?
Your footwork should be based on "nami-ashi". Nami-ashi is simply moving forward as you would when working. Even if your walking footwork isn't suited to kendo, think about this; moving forward in kendo should be the same as moving forward when walking. I find this concept overwhelming.
To answer your question directly, your back foot should start coming up as soon as your right foot hits the ground. To look at it probably looks more like the right foot is down and the left foot is moving forward. The people who are hitting and still have their left feet back are probably letting their hips twist to the left too much.
Please take this as a suggestion only. I'm not a kendo expert.
What looks better?

[taganahan]

i've been hitting men constantly during the first months of my bogu experience. sensei told me that i was really predictable. this opened my mind up and changed my style a bit.

right foot moving and left foot left at the back: this is a way of reaching out for the target. something like lunging.


~taganahan

[Mizukaze]

What about Zanshin?

[Kirin]

Do you have video of your match?
It is always good idea to video shai for yourself and dojo mates.

This topic has been discussed on other threads, at least 2 or 3 judges did not recognize your 'hit' as a score.

We did not see you match, so it is best to ask your sensei or senpai. :wink:

[Hai_hai]

[size=3]Something very disappointing and annoying happened to me a while back..... I was in keiko scoring Men after Men after Men...
You were scoring or you thought you were scoring?
Since it was keiko, you could ask why you didn't get a point? Mmm, you probably suck. That's all.

[Kage Ki Ken]

The moment your Shinai strikes the men your right foot should hit the ground. you want to bring your left foot up quickly so you can turn the action into a flowing movement. That way you can carry through, and continue with zanshin.

[Kingofmyrrh]

If you watch most accomplished people closely (realistically, you need photography for this) then you`ll see that in fact people do NOT strike men and stamp with the right foot at the same time. The strike always comes slightly earlier, although when watched at normal speed it`s almost imperceptible. The photograph here:
http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~ichini/index2.htm
is a rather extreme example, but I think you can see that it`s a firm strike. I don`t have any pictures to hand, but every top-level person I`ve ever seen does it the same way. Well, there are some older people who have their own style, but pretty much anyone under the age of 50 is like the photo. However, I don`t think it`s profitable to try and copy this. Just think of hand and foot landing at the same time, and with experience things will sort themselves out.
Anyway, you can probably also guess from the photo that her left leg is still firmly planted to the floor. If you lift your left leg before you actually hit the target, then I tend to find that your body jumps upwards slightly, which will decrease the power of the blow and leave you unbalanced. So, as far as I`m concerned, the left leg stays back until you`ve hit. As soon, as you`ve hit, draw the left leg back up very quickly.
However, if you consider the fact that experienced people hit before stamping, it is possible to fit the start of the left-leg-drawing-in motion before you actually stamp, while still keeping to the `left leg stays back until you`ve hit` rule. For example:

start lunge -> strike with hand -> start drawing in left foot -> stamp with right -> finish drawing in left foot

However, this is not something that I think you should try to do. Just stick to the basic:

start lunge -> hit and stamp with right foot at same time -> quickly draw up left leg

[Kingofmyrrh]

http://jns.ixla.jp/users/kendoshashin240/mokuji_001.htm

These are some leftover photos by Emiko Ikeda, photographer for kendo nihon and all round nice person.
If you look at the pages (just guess randomly if japanese is a problem) you should find plenty of examples of what I`m talking about. IBM and Kodansha are particularly obvious.

[Nanbanjin]

If you watch most accomplished people closely (realistically, you need photography for this) then you`ll see that in fact people do NOT strike men and stamp with the right foot at the same time. The strike always comes slightly earlier, although when watched at normal speed it`s almost imperceptible. The photograph here:
http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~ichini/index2.htm
is a rather extreme example, but I think you can see that it`s a firm strike. I don`t have any pictures to hand, but every top-level person I`ve ever seen does it the same way. Well, there are some older people who have their own style, but pretty much anyone under the age of 50 is like the photo. However, I don`t think it`s profitable to try and copy this. Just think of hand and foot landing at the same time, and with experience things will sort themselves out.
Anyway, you can probably also guess from the photo that her left leg is still firmly planted to the floor. If you lift your left leg before you actually hit the target, then I tend to find that your body jumps upwards slightly, which will decrease the power of the blow and leave you unbalanced. So, as far as I`m concerned, the left leg stays back until you`ve hit. As soon, as you`ve hit, draw the left leg back up very quickly.
However, if you consider the fact that experienced people hit before stamping, it is possible to fit the start of the left-leg-drawing-in motion before you actually stamp, while still keeping to the `left leg stays back until you`ve hit` rule. For example:

start lunge -> strike with hand -> start drawing in left foot -> stamp with right -> finish drawing in left foot

However, this is not something that I think you should try to do. Just stick to the basic:

start lunge -> hit and stamp with right foot at same time -> quickly draw up left leg
Funny that you dragged that picture up.
One of my first posts on Ichinikai was on this very topic.

http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~ichini/bbs7/89984130859375.html

Excuse my odd use of Japanese....

[Andoru]

I wonder if this phenomena is at least partially caused by not pushing from the hips sufficiently. I am no expert of course.

[Kingofmyrrh]

Bizzarely, that was also one of the first threads that I ever read there, which is why that photo was the first one to come to mind... it`s a small world!

[Nanbanjin]

Bizzarely, that was also one of the first threads that I ever read there, which is why that photo was the first one to come to mind... it`s a small world!If you don't mind my asking, do you have a handle on Ichinikai and if so what is it?

[Nanbanjin]

Bizzarely, that was also one of the first threads that I ever read there, which is why that photo was the first one to come to mind... it`s a small world!Very rough and very quick translation of the main bit of the thread of the post mentioned above. Hope it is useful to someone.


In regards to kikentainoitchi, I have been taught that for a tatotsu to be awarded the following elements need to be present in unison.

* Ki : Kiai, sufficient spirit etc.
* Ken : The monouchi of the shinai needs to contact the datotsubui.
* Tai : Fumikomi-ashi etc.

So the following all needs to come together at the same time for ippon to be awarded.
However, if you look at the men-uchi performed at the All Japan Championships it seems that fumikomi-ashi occurs after the point of impact of the datotsu. Is this still considered correct Kikentainoitchi.
For example, please refer to the following image from this site's home page.

http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~ichini/index2.htm

In this case Masuo-san is performing a beautiful men-uchi. However if you look closely the shinai is in full contact with the opponents men, but the fumi-komi has not landed yet.
The shinai is actually flexing, but the right foot is still several centimetres from the floor.

I am not intending to criticise Masuo-san's men-uchi, but I just wanted to know whether this type of men-uchi is considered to be correct in terms of kikentainoitchi.
To be considered yuhkoh-datotsu you need to "have sufficient spirit, have correct posture, hit the correct target with the correct datotsu-bu and with the correct hasuji and you must also maintain zanshin".
For experienced players the datotsu usually occurs slightly before the fumikomi. For beginners there is a tendancy to hit without moving forward, pulling the hips and stepping before the cut, so we instruct to have the datotsu occurring at the same time as the fumikomi lands. Masao-san is putting her hips into it and hitting with correct posture, so I think her men is a great example of kikentainoitchi.
So to a point to be awarded the timing of the landing of the foot and the timing of the landing of the datotsu don't have to be exactly the same.

To change the question a little, is it better kendo to have the foot land at the same time as the datotsu?

We are often told about kikentainoitchi, but are we taught to have the foot land at the same time as the strike is made simply to correct the form of beginners, or is that actually better kendo?
In regards to the picture of Masao-san's men cut, if you actually saw the cut in action the landing of the foot and the men datotsu would seem to occur at the same time. The time the point where the photo was taken to the time when the foot reached the floor would have been a moment of hundredths of seconds. Looking at the picture in freeze frame is a bit misleading.
I guess the timing of the cut is:
"badan"
| |______ The sound of the foot landing
|________ The sound of the shinai striking
I think it is safe to say that the cut and foot stamp are occur at the same time.

The sound as described should not be "bandan", as opposed to the correct "batan". If the datotsu is occuring say 0.5 seconds before the fumikomi then you couldn't really call it kikentainoitchi.

I think it is impossible to say whether having the timing precisely the same is better or not is impossible to say. More important is whether you are kicking (pressing) with the left foot and projecting your body enough and whether your hips have moved forward, and also whether your posture at the time of the datotsu is correct.

If your right foot hits the ground before the datotsu then the flow of power of floor -> left leg -> body -> arms -> shinai and this will excape at the point wheter the right foot lands. No power will be transferred to the shinai and you won't be able to cut effectively. Then you will tend to hit with your arse (translator's note: sorry for the foul language Alex) sticking out at the point of impact of the datotsu and your posture will be incorrect.

More importantly you should make sure that you can hit without compromising your posture, with fumikomi at the same time or a little later than the datotsu, but with power held in the tanden and with the left foot pushing down on the ground firmly and the hips moving forward. In this regard kendo can be difficult for people with weak legs and waists, and expecially for people who start kendo as adults.

I almost forgot to add that when your right foot lands your right knee is bent, but from the point of impact of the foot use the muscle of your right thigh to straighten your knee and pull your body up. Your body will come up, so the left leg will be pulled from behind at the same time. The quicker you can straighten your knee the quicker the pull-up (hiki-tsuke) of your left leg will become. The point I am trying to make is that it is difficult to pull your left leg up immediately after the datotsu has been made. I think that the last little bit goes some way to answering this thread's original question.

An interesting subnote is that my original assumption that kikentainoitchi is directly linked to yuhkoh datotsu was mistaken. The rules pertaining to yuhkoh datotsu don't actually mention kikentainoitchi at all. However, the term kikentainoitchi could perhaps be used to encompass as a whole the rules as they are written.

[Kingofmyrrh]

No, I must confess that I`ve never posted. There have been times when I`ve wanted to, but a search always revealed that a multitude of high school kids had got there first.
Good work on the translation, btw. I can`t really think of anything that needs to be added after that :-)

[Disciple.k]

To score a good men you need to follow it throught with good ze-chi
most newbie lack in that area .

[Andoru]

An interesting subnote is that my original assumption that kikentainoitchi is directly linked to yuhkoh datotsu was mistaken. The rules pertaining to yuhkoh datotsu don't actually mention kikentainoitchi at all. However, the term kikentainoitchi could perhaps be used to encompass as a whole the rules as they are written.
Hmm...that's very interesting indeed! Thanks for the translation mate!

[Nanbanjin]

No, I must confess that I`ve never posted. There have been times when I`ve wanted to, but a search always revealed that a multitude of high school kids had got there first.
Good work on the translation, btw. I can`t really think of anything that needs to be added after that :-)
Yeah, you can find answers to pretty well any question you could imagine. Even the question I asked the other day about Kirby's (Deathbykendo's) kote cut was more a case of confirming what was already written. There had been a few references to the around the side cutting technique, but nobody had really asked whether it was really OK. From the way he was replying I could tell Hide.-san didn't really like it, but he never said it directly. My question was pretty well loaded because I was 99% sure what the answer would be.

I don't know how Hide.-san finds time to reply to so many questions. Well considered and helpful replies too. When does the guy find time to sleep?

[slidercrank]

...when your right foot lands your right knee is bent, but from the point of impact of the foot use the muscle of your right thigh to straighten your knee and pull your body up. Your body will come up, so the left leg will be pulled from behind at the same time. The quicker you can straighten your knee the quicker the pull-up (hiki-tsuke) of your left leg will become...
I find the highlighted passage very interesting. Does anyone actually agree with it?

I have always visualized pulling my left leg up by using the left thigh muscles, specifically the muscles in the front of the left thigh. It's sort of like the same motion when you draw up the leg in a normal walk. And I have always have the problem of leaving my left leg behind in a strike. Just pegged it to insufficient training. But this passage has got me to start thinking....................

[kendokamax]

i agree that hide san dude is nuts, and its not only the kendo related question he is answering ..

[Kirin]

Hide. san's sequal to 'joutatsu book' shold be released this summer in format of DVD w/ english sub-title.
Also he is planning to open up an international forum section.

Ichini kai forum is great 'cause many 5-dan up sensei answering questions (unlike here, no 3-kyu sensei :wink: )

I will start new international kendo thread there.
http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~ichini/bbs2/

[JSchmidt]

I find the highlighted passage very interesting. Does anyone actually agree with it?

Yups..it matches pretty well what I've been taught. Use the front leg almost as a spring, so that it will propell the body upwards and forwards and the rear leg will follow automaticly. (But you need to relax the rear leg or it will be left behind)

Jakob

[Nanbanjin]

Hide. san's sequal to 'joutatsu book' shold be released this summer in format of DVD w/ english sub-title.
Also he is planning to open up an international forum section.

Ichini kai forum is great 'cause many 5-dan up sensei answering questions (unlike here, no 3-kyu sensei :wink: )

I will start new international kendo thread there.
http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~ichini/bbs2/
Hide.-san is planning to set up a forum for off shore kendoka. He's looking for a good name. Any ideas anybody?

My choice would be

南蛮掲示板

Someone has to be able to come up with something better than that!!

[kendokamax]

My choice would be

南蛮掲示板

Someone has to be able to come up with something better than that!!

uh and what does that means?

[Nanbanjin]

uh and what does that means?
Sort of the same as my handle name.

南蛮人　= Nanbanjin = Southern Barbarian (old Japanese term for Westerners)
南蛮　= Nanban = Southern Barbaric/Barbarism etc.
掲示板　= Keijibann = Bulletin board/forum
南蛮掲示板　= Nanbankeijiban = Southern barbarian bulletin board

Nanbankeijiban has a nice ring to it in Japanese, though I'll admit it is a completely stupid idea.

[DCPan]

I find the highlighted passage very interesting. Does anyone actually agree with it?

I have always visualized pulling my left leg up by using the left thigh muscles, specifically the muscles in the front of the left thigh. It's sort of like the same motion when you draw up the leg in a normal walk. And I have always have the problem of leaving my left leg behind in a strike. Just pegged it to insufficient training. But this passage has got me to start thinking....................

Well...in some ways, this relates to a book I've read called the "science of aikido".

In this book, instead of "ki" theories, they explain the need to relax in terms of inhibitory synapses and feedback.

Basically, according to that book, people "feel" exertion ONLY through the use of their flexsor muscles (i.e. bicep).

So, the process of relaxation is a means through which you learn to use your extensors to move, instead of your flexors. See, if you "feel" the use of your flexors, in the process, inhibitory signals will be sent to keep your extensors from working against your flexors.

Try this with a friend. Have them grab your wrist.

Now, try to pull your hand back and away while your friend resists.

Now, try to do an elbow strike to your opponent behind you instead of pulling your hand back?

Which one is easier? Can you feel the difference? I can! :rolleyes:

Now, for you anatomy folks, during the embryonic development, you actually rotate around your midsection somewhere at some point in time; in your lower limbs, your "extensors" and "flexors" are flipped, in terms of muscle assignment.

So, in order to use your extensors, you have to "push" with your upper body and "pull" with your lower body.

Amazing how this coincides with the description of "pulling yourself forward in the follow through by straightening your right leg"? It makes anatomical sense.

If you maintain your elasticity by being relaxed, the straightening of your leading leg in fumikomi should be sufficient to bring your back leg forward.

However, the relaxed part can be hard because I've been experimenting with locking the knee of the back leg and getting good results. I don't buy that whole "straight but not locked" on your left knee thing anymore.

FWIW.

[richard haly]

David,

Interesting post. Do you have an exact title/author for the _Science of Aikido_ book? I looked on Amazon and got too many hits as is. Sounds interesting as I am always curious about different ways in which kendo is explained. Sometimes things click and I can feel that I learned something, (i.e. I suck a little less).

Thanks,

Richard

(Sorry, I would have sent this as a private email or message but couldn't)

[DCPan]

David,

Interesting post. Do you have an exact title/author for the _Science of Aikido_ book?

Hi Richard,

I hope you can read Chinese or Japanese...I read the Chinese edition. I'm not aware of an English edition.

The original is as follows:

Aikido No Kagaku by Keisetsu Yoshimaru.
Copyright 1990 by Baseball Magazine

[slidercrank]

Dr. Pan:

Can you elaborate more on flexors and extensors? Are all muscule groups classiified to either one or the other? If biceps are flexors, then what are extensors??

Thanks!

[DCPan]

Dr. Pan:

Can you elaborate more on flexors and extensors? Are all muscule groups classiified to either one or the other? If biceps are flexors, then what are extensors??

Thanks!

Dude, I quit med school after year 1, so I didn't get my MD! :rolleyes:

For all I know, some guy who "really" knows what he's talking about is laughing at me. :confused2

Basic rule: Think fetal position. Flexors bring you closer to the fetal position. Extensors "extend" and straighten your body.

So, for your upper body, normally, your extensors are behind you, like your back muscles, your tricep. But for your lower body, because of that rotation, the front of your legs are your extensors. Make sense?

For more, you really should just browse in an anatomy book.

[Andoru]

Extensors extend! Like your triceps for example.

[Nanbanjin]

Extensors extend! Like your triceps for example.For extending your "enormous member" right?:wink:

[Andoru]

Shhh not too loud! :D

[hyuna]

So, in order to use your extensors, you have to "push" with your upper body and "pull" with your lower body.

I'm not sure what you mean by this. "Pushing," as in thrusting your hands forward and away from you, is a chest flexion, not an extension. Extensions in the upper body are activities that most people would call "pulling" actions. I'm sure I must be misunderstanding you somehow...

However, the relaxed part can be hard because I've been experimenting with locking the knee of the back leg and getting good results. I don't buy that whole "straight but not locked" on your left knee thing anymore.

Here, I think I understand you. I am not really sure what the proper movement is supposed to be, really. I have seen two motions in common use and they conflict when it comes to the "straight but not locked" thing.

First, I'm assuming a starting position where one is standing tall with a straight (or mostly straight) back leg.

If one moves forward immediately and directly from there and has a movement where the head, geometrically speaking, stays as high as possible, then the power for the movement must come primarily from the hips and glutes and perhaps a tiny little bit from the ankle. The knee cannot be involved in this motion because it is already straight and bending it will not give any forward motion (but see next paragraph for more about the knee). If ths is the motion, since the back foot is load bearing, powering the hip will straighten the leg further, which will either lock the knee or cause you to have to put power into your knee flexors to keep it unlocked. So in this case, "relaxed" but "straight but not locked" is not possible during the movement. The leg is straight, but either locked or not relaxed throughout the movement.

The second possibility is that there is a preparatory movement before moving forward. If one starts the motion by bending the left knee and drops down, then the knee as well as the ankle and hip can be involved in the movement. This form of the movement is quite like a fencer's lunge. In this case, the back leg is not straight (so, obviously not locked) but can be relaxed through the movement. It is straight only at the very end of the movement, at maximum extension.

The first movement has less of a tell because there is no preparatory movement. It emphasizes the hip more than the leg, which is important for cutting, not that it matters for kendo. It allows for a greater body drop, which would add more cutting power without using more muscle strength, which, again, is of questionable modern value.

The second movement's tell can be eliminated if one starts out with the back leg bent, and this is commonly seen, but I think generally frowned upon. Because the entire leg powers the movement instead of just the hip, it allows for greater acceleration and so is faster and more powerful. This is important in modern kendo but of course taiatari is modern, as is the long shinai, so these are probably not as important attributes in a "real swordfight." There is no significant body drop adding to the cutting power because in this case largest part of the drop occurs out of sync with the strike (beginning instead of end).

A similar analysis can be made with arm motion as well.

All in all, I am not sure what is the "right" way to do it. At my current level of understanding, all I know is that it seems like there are times where one works better for me and other times where the other works better. So, I just keep practicing both and hope that one day I'll get it.

[Kote-Men]

Thanks a lot, Hyuna.

This has been an interesting experience for me...

I think I realize my mistakes.

I have regained myself! I am freeeee

[Nanbanjin]

posted in the wrong thread. sorry

[DCPan]

I'm not sure what you mean by this. "Pushing," as in thrusting your hands forward and away from you, is a chest flexion, not an extension. Extensions in the upper body are activities that most people would call "pulling" actions. I'm sure I must be misunderstanding you somehow...

Hi Arthur,

You've reached the limits of my understanding of exercise physiology! :rolleyes:

The take away message is that martial arts is at times about unlearning how you are conditioned to move.

I saw a documentary about those women that carries very heavy baskets of stuff or water jar or whatever over their head. They are able to walk with very little effort because they actually use the weight above their head to move in a pendulum-like motion. Can't remember too much more about it because I saw this a while back...hopefully someone else who saw this documentary can comment.

Why is it that a baby knows how to cry with the strength of their diaphragm? Why is it that we as adults do not?

I just threw that stuff out as food for thought...I'm still trying to figure it out as well.

FWIW.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Something very disappointing and annoying happened to me a while back..... I was in keiko scoring Men after Men after Men but I was never awarded any points at all! I had ki-ken-tai-ichi as far as I knew, but nothing happened? We went into encho and he scored a kote on me and won.. I don't understand, I think I hit him on Men at least 4 times...

After this experience my kendo has been, well, different. My mindset has been somewhat distorted and I'm beginning to question my basics...

When you hit men your right foot comes down at the same time. At this position does your left foot stay back or does it come up with the right foot at the moment you make contact?

When doing footwork the right foot and left foot move almost at the same time..

I have been watching other members of my dojo in shiai and it half of them hit men with their right foor down and left still back, and the other half with right foot down but left foot moving forward...

What is correct?
Just getting back to the original post here. Like others have said, you should hit while your left foot is still back. In fact, we often do an exercise where we deliberately leave the left foot back in order to check posture, stability, maai and other such stuff. Just strike men on somebody and stop in the fully extended position without drawing the left foot up. This is great for making sure you are square and stable at point of contact.

Having said that, I really doubt whether your left foot was moving or not would be the basis for denying you a point. You refer to playing in keiko yet you were being judged - was your opponent junior to you? You may well have been judged by much harsher criteria in that situation. Also, if this was practice rather than a real tournament, this is the exact opportunity to ask questions of the judges, since presumably they are trying to teach what is ippon amongst other things.

[Old Warrior]

"Something very disappointing and annoying happened to me a while back..... I was in keiko scoring Men after Men after Men but I was never awarded any points at all! I had ki-ken-tai-ichi as far as I knew, but nothing happened?"

So what? I had almost the same experience on Saturday, and never thought twice about it. I assumed precisely what Neil said, that I was being held to higher standard and didn't meet it (or perhaps there was a higher teaching purpose in the match). The result was - I kept trying harder, concentrating more intensely and a 60 second bout went on for five minutes. Later, the junior took me aside and said "he couldn't believe so many of my cuts didn't score" and I just smiled and said thank you for the bout. I didn't think about it again, until I read Neil's post.

[KotatsuSama]

Yes, very nice translation it took me a while to translate it myself but you did much better than I. I found it sort of odd how everyone used really REALLY polite Japanese, is this how it normally is because everyone I talk to in Japan uses slang and informal speech.
翻訳はすごいんです。
ありがとうございます

-KotatsuSama

[Nanbanjin]

Yes, very nice translation it took me a while to translate it myself but you did much better than I. I found it sort of odd how everyone used really REALLY polite Japanese, is this how it normally is because everyone I talk to in Japan uses slang and informal speech.
翻訳はすごいんです。
ありがとうございます

-KotatsuSama

KotatsuSama-sama,

"You humble me..."

Thanks for the positive feedback.
Yes, even I am polite (well, I try to be) on Ichinikai. I found Ichinikai years before I found the KW-forum and have to say that I was genuinely shocked by the level of language and general disrespect and arrogance shown by the posters here. Didn't take me too long to get the hang of it.

If you want to see an informal Japanese forum try any of the 2チャネル forums. Scary stuff.

Ichinikai is a true Oasis of reason and humility.