Strange Question: How to Relax

[nodachi]

I know this seems like a strange or dumb question, but...

How do you relax?

I hear it again and again, but I am not sure how to go about it. I am new to Kendo so when I go to strike, my body still has this reflex of tensing too much as I swing.

[hobbit]

nodachi san, I've been doing kendo for years, and still hear it. If you find the answer Please tell me.

[KhawMengLee]

Hmmnnn...maybe its "don't think, just do it".

Well, thats what I try to do...and my other suggestion to relax is illegal except for in South Australia, Holland and Jamaica.

[etherknot]

I think an answer would be: only tense for a second, the rest is fluid.

So, fluid at the onset, tense only for a moment when your strike lands and melt back into fluidness.

Relax, breathe, enjoy...

[cklin]

I think this just takes time. When you first start out, your body still gets all excited that it's doing something unusual and so it tends to tense up. Only with practice does your body realize that it's just routine and then it'll relax of its own accord.

Of course, like Meng said, don't think too much.

[saki_wooah]

I just think about what's going to happen if I'm too tense (stiff and painful arms...) and I also concentrate more on how to win (in keiko, shiai). I get less tensed this way.

[Kuri]

As everyone has said, it takes time.

Here's one way in which you can see if you're tensing. Stand in front of a mirror (hopefully you have one at your dojo) and do a basic men cut and hold the shinai in place at the end of the cut. Now, if you can drop your shoulders (watch your self in the mirror) by exhailing, you were tense. Practise until you can't drop your shoulders, and try to remember that feeling. As you practise, see if it feels the same, if not, you're probably tensing your shoulders.

Tensing your legs is another big one. If you're left leg is too tense, it will be rigid and you'll drag it forward rather than bending your knee, relaxing and snapping it into postition.

There are many other ways to see if you're tensing up. The easiest way to see it is if you can see yourself doing it rather than just being told that you're doing it. Persevere, and with time, you'll feel the difference.

[ben]

b--r--e--a--t--h--e

b

[Haowen]

As a beginner, I find it easier to relax when doing practicing my strikes slowly. That way I'm less likely to instinctively use brute strength to force my shinai to accelerate, and can concentrate on form.

[Gorget-the-Frog]

Originally posted by KhawMengLee
Hmmnnn...maybe its "don't think, just do it".

Well, thats what I try to do...and my other suggestion to relax is illegal except for in South Australia, Holland and Jamaica.

Actually, the particular substance your referring to is also illigal in Jamaica. The law just isn't enforced very throughly....

...unless your white. This isn't racist though, it's simply that tourists have the money to get out of jail. The country is third-world afterall.

{I spent some time working in the country so this isn't just baseless speculation or hearsay}

[KhawMengLee]

heehee, I hear ya mon'.

[Keith Hong]

The method favored at our dojo for achieving that fully-relaxed, zero-tension state is to do lots and lots of suburi.
Warm-up with enough kihon. Before putting on our bogu, we do the following:
The recommended stretching routine
30 reps each of shomen, left-and-right men, kote and do in "three motions"
30 reps each of the same in "two motions"
50 reps of the same in "one motion" - step forward, step back
100 reps of each as chouyaku suburi
20 or so shomen while squatting(if the sensei feels particularly gung ho).
All this in just over 40 minutes. Very little rest during intervals. Ends up being aerobic as hell.
I usually need to take a breather in the middle, though, as I always come dangerously close to throwing up.
Still, no tension(no strength, really) in my posture or swing when we do kihon-uchi or practice in bogu after the 5-minute break. Not that I have a particulary good swing, but I end up almost throwing my shinai as I swing it.
It's also helping me lose weight.:)

[munenmuso]

Nodachi,

"Mu-nen, muso". No mind.:)


munenmuso

[rottunpunk]

in the MJER summer seminar in iaido we were concentrating on using hara and not the strength in our arms to cut like we have previously been doing-being westerners. i found this helped my cut as i have no real upper body strength and it took the emphasis off using my arms. this i found helped my to relax a bit more-but its hard trying to use hara-still its worth a go.

:p
:jaguar:

[Nishi]

I believe the mind leads the body, so i would say relax your mind, leave your troubles outside the dojo, and let it all go.