Waza for women?

[tantadi]

I mostly do kendo with big guys. Is there anything I should focus on, technically? I think some things don't work because they are stronger than me, have longer reach, more speed etc...I'd like to know what works.

Some will say that there is no waza/tactics for women, but I'd say that big, strong guys sometimes use their strength against us and I'd like to find a way to work around that. So no offence ment here.

[streetcleaner]

in this situation you can only focus on speed and reaction, i think. be faster than you opponent, you dont need much strenght for this

[dorkusxmaximus]

play the girl card :smiley:

[tantadi]

If you know a way to do that in bogu I'd like to know....

[elssha]

play the girl card :smiley:
*wonders if he means the "Oh no, my nail!" bit*...

[Stephen]

tanuirin might be abe to elaborate a little more if she see's this, but she asked the same question to a visiting female yondan from japan; she advsied her to focus on debana kote and do...

From personal expierience, I used to regularly play against another japanese yondan who was tiny in stature but used to cane me all the time - although she didnt use any waza different to the guys (or favor any waza), i noticed her timing was perfect and her movments very fluent, alowing her to score any where with ease..

[Stephen]

*wonders if he means the "Oh no, my nail!" bit*...
Nah, I rekkon he means the smile and wink through the mengane while in sonkyo:)

[nodachi]

to focus on debana kote...

although she didnt use any waza different to the guys (or favor any waza), i noticed her timing was perfect and her movments very fluent, alowing her to score any where with ease..

There was a member of our dojo who did these very things and she was awesome. Because height was an issue against tall people, she often went for kote because men was just too high or far away.

And timing and finese seemed to work for her. Nothing fancy, just superior timing. She would hold a nice strong kamae, wait, and then get ippon at that perfect moment. Her matches would end with just two hits.

[mingshi]

http://www.kendo.org.uk/newsevents/newsletter/june04/

Just scroll down towards the bottom for the "Attitude towards jikeiko part 2" article.

As written by S. Honda who used to train the girls at Fukuoka University of Education, this is always an inspiring read.

[tantadi]

I see in the article just posted that the advice is to stand close, because that is a difficult position for the taller ones. But one of my sempai adviced me that because of my range I should never let anyone closer than the kensen?

Debana kote is probably the only technique were I as a beginner/female feel that I can score with at this time...men and do is to slow. But I'd like to be more agressive and score directly and not wait. I think that is important for me as a beginner.

[yondanny]

i think tsuki it would be approprieted

[Miyu]

Hey tantadi,

I know how frustrating it is to go against a bigger guy who all they do is push you around, but it can't be helped. From what it sounds like the guys you go against are probably huge and aren't really using technique as much as their body size. It is unfortunate that they do that, but that's their advantage right now and they're using it to the fullest. You've already been told that your advantage can be speed, but with speed and any skills in kendo, it takes time. When you do jigeiko against a larger opponent, watch his/her movements and once you see or notice their intention to strike, try to hit them before they hit you. Also try to strike them when their mind is relaxed and/or they have no intention to strike. I know when I was a beginner, the most common mistake I made was just striking at the same time as my opponent not really paying any attention to timing. Once you can get that timing of your opponent then it won't really matter how larger your opponent is as long as you can get the hit in before them. I know that you're hoping for some immediate solution to help you in your jigeiko, but everything in kendo will take time and practice. Just have patience and good luck!

[Gerald Audette]

Hi Tantadi,

Our sensei uses nuki-do with devestating effect. She lulls larger opponents in, and when they attack, BAM, she's got nuki-doh. It's timing and pressure, and it works. Its always neat to see the bigger kendoka drop their head when she's tagged them that way (myself included :wink: ) She does not rely on it, but its in her bag of tricks.

I suspect other timing techniques would work well for you: dekote, ai-kote, ai-kote-men. But always be moving...big guys like standing targets. Move and pressure.

HTH

[Old Warrior]

Hi Tantadi,
Our sensei uses nuki-do with devestating effect. She lulls larger opponents in, and when they attack, BAM, she's got nuki-doh. It's timing and pressure, and it works. Its always neat to see the bigger kendoka drop their head when she's tagged them that way (myself included :wink: ) She does not rely on it, but its in her bag of tricks.
After two years of Kendo I am hardly an expert. But, my extensive experience in European fencing has allowed me to form an opinion that I believe applies to kendo. The most important issue to be faced by women bouting with men -is the need to conquer all fear. I am 6' tall and over 230 lbs. In seconds, I can tell if my opponent is suffering from the paralysis of fear. On the other hand, when I move forward and my opponent doesn't budge, but instead has that steely gaze of a person ready to strike, it gives you cause to pause.

I never use my size or strength to muscle an opponent and therefore such fear would be totally misplaced. As a matter of fact, I have won a number of bouts due to my opponents being overly aggressive and commiting fouls because of a misplaced idea that they needed unbridled aggression to defeat a bigger opponent. My point underscores one of the reasons kendo is so beneficial to personal development. When you can face down a "giant" with a stick and hold your own, the rest of life gets a lot easier.

[Hisham]

I'd like to add a small advice ,use the left ,right and diagonal footwork ,helps a lot with "locomotive" minded opponents :)

[Louis X]

The articles pointed by Mingshi are really interesting. I need to go through all these NL for more usefull advices :D

[nalogg]

Some will say that there is no waza/tactics for women, but I'd say that big, strong guys sometimes use their strength against us and I'd like to find a way to work around that. So no offence ment here.
I'm no kendo expert, nor am I a woman....

however a couple of my sensei go on for hours about the folly of using too much strength.
It would seem that putting too much strength into your strikes makes them less stable and harder to recover from and get back to chudan. you can probably get lots of points off of over-exaggerated cuts.
Talk to your sensei and i'm sure he/she knows a bunch you can practice up on that take advantage of these guys' extra "MAN power"

[tantadi]

Thank you all for your advice!

[tanueirin]

Nah, I rekkon he means the smile and wink through the mengane while in sonkyo:)

I SEE - that's how I won my last shiai against a certain person at the Western Derby, was it, Stephen? :rolleyes:

Well, until the do-that-turns-transparent-and-stuns-my opponent-so-I-can-get-a-flawless-men-in prototype I'm working on is ready, I think the waza that work for me (and what the yondan sensei confirmed) are debana kote and do, mostly do because those big men like coming in for big men cuts (hohoho) when they do jigeiko against (comparatively) little girlies like me.

Also because they seem to expend a lot of energy in one big cut routines, if you keep attacking e.g. kote-men, turn, kote-do, chances are you will get a nice scoring cut in.

Another thing the yondan sensei told me was that you should never do your one-step/two-step cut and then think that's it. You should keep moving and following up your cuts (with appropriate zanshin, of course) until the shimpan calls "Yamei!"

- I only _look_ like a lady, you know.

[Stephen]

hahahahahaha, yep thats exactly how you won....dont worry, i wont forget...2 Nil:)