fumikomi

[tamaki]

hi! this thread is related to the " kendo progress problem-girls opinion wanted" i started.So, i would like to ask you, did you ever have problem with making strong and loud fumikomi? how did you get over this problem?any technical advice?
does your knee-cap ever hurt while doing fumikomi?(mine does)

[Commander]

I myself am a girl too and no matter what effort you put into to fumikomi-ashi i always end up making almost no noise at all. Quite light on my feet. Though i would like to improve on this too. :(

[yiuheng]

Hehe.....just dont try and stamp too hard ! I bruised my foot over xmas trying to make some noise on some hard furnished wooden floor !

X-ray showed nothing ! tho I suspected a fracture !

Out of proper kendo for almost a month ! Yikes !!!!!!!!!

I think correct posture and pushing forward with the hip and landing the WHOLE foot on the floor at the same time gives it the sound.

I think it doesn't matter if u are small and a girl ! my Sensei is a little over 5ft, and she can do LOUD fumikomi.......I think it must be the correctness that makes the sound !

my 2 cents :D

[Neil Gendzwill]

I talked about this in the other thread a bit but here's some tips:

- make sure you're landing on the whole foot at once, not the ball or heel.
- make sure you are stretched out so that your shin is vertical or even better your knee is slightly behind your heel at contact. Many people step too short so that their foot hits the floor with the knee way ahead.
- don't raise your foot more than a couple of inches off the floor.
- make sure your hips are correct - tilt your pelvis so that your butt goes back and your stomach forward. If correct, the koishiita (the hard part at the back of the hakama) should press into the small of your back. If your hips are correct, you will have a strong mechanical connection between your left leg and your hips
- drive forward with the left leg, don't step with the right
- practice without a shinai, and have a partner check your form to make sure that you are stepping wide enough and that your knee is not ahead of your foot on contact

[KenShi_JoB]

When I start doing fumikomi, my first problem is no sound. After that I do have loud fumikomi but my knee hurt because I intend to stomp hard to get a sound. Now I can have loud fumikomi without try to stomp.

Practice and you will get better. I read old posts about fumikomi in this forum and Neil sensei's advice help a lot.

[kuzu70]

When you are in the chu-dan kamae position, the majority of the weight should be on your right foot. I would venture to guess about 70-80% of your body should be supported by your right foot. If you lift your right foot a couple of inches, your body should fall forward. Before you fall, stop your fall with your right foot. You should get somewhat of a fumikomi practicing that. (Keep your back straight though).

Good luck, and let us know how you are doing!

[nodachi]

danger danger... controversial topics.... weight distribution of the feet will get so many different responses...

Yes, your weight is all transfered forward to your right foot when you strike and fumikomi, however, when in chudan no kamae, your weight should be more 50-50, or close to that, so you can react and move in any direction without having to shift your weight... if 80% is forward, your balance is gonna be all funky... you may be able to respond in certain directions quickly, but not in other directions because you are going to have to shift all that weight before you can move and that fraction of a second will kill you...

Feel free to disagree as this has been discussed in the past and everyone has different preferences..

As for fumikomi, good posture, straight back, moving from the waist, etc., these basic things make a good fumikomi. I think it's more of an issue of good posture and shifting your weight completely forward when you kick off your left foot that produces good strong fumikomi...

[Neil Gendzwill]

When you are in the chu-dan kamae position, the majority of the weight should be on your right foot.I disagree with the heavily weighted front foot/fall forward style. If you keep either foot too weighted, you'll get stuck. Keep your balance even or slightly forward, and drive your motion forward off the back foot.

[kuzu70]

I have been taught to distribute my weight more on my right leg, but I suppose there are diffent ways to stand. But, before striking don't you have to shift more weight to the right foot, as a matter of mechanics/physics?

[Mikeyprime]

hi! this thread is related to the " kendo progress problem-girls opinion wanted" i started.So, i would like to ask you, did you ever have problem with making strong and loud fumikomi? how did you get over this problem?any technical advice?
does your knee-cap ever hurt while doing fumikomi?(mine does)
There is no rule that stiplates you must perform fumikomi. If you are moving your body forward and effeciently, it does not matter if you are producing any noise or even lift your foot off the floor for that matter. The issue is ki ken tai no ichi. Meaning you body, hands and feet all come together at the moment your cut impacts.

The vast majority prefer to perform fumikomi, some kenshi merely slide their foot. If you prefer to perform fumikomi, neil has excellent advise.

[EzzzE]

jipp neils advice is quite good, had to find out all that the hard way... don't try making the sound. when performed correctly u automatically make the sound. if you try to stomp on the floor to hard you may end up like me, with a huuuge hole in your heel leaving you out of kendo for a month( we only did fumikomi an hour stright.... *g*) my sensei is also a quite small and light person, but his does make sound..

not lifting your foot to much and getting back on the floor with the whole foot are the key pount to sound i think.. and of course the movement makes the difference. take neils advice. its about as complete as it gets...

for weight distribution..*gG* try various and see what suites you best i find a balanced way is mine...

gl and hf :)

[Neil Gendzwill]

But, before striking don't you have to shift more weight to the right foot, as a matter of mechanics/physics?
Some people do that, but I don't. It's certainly not required by any physics, unless you are moving forward by only moving the right foot. I find it better to drive forward from the left foot. This has a side benefit of making the left leg follow along almost automatically, whereas if you step with the right you'll have more of a tendency to leave the left leg behind.

[Kingofmyrrh]

I agree entirely with Neil. I believe that if you allow your weight to be balanced towards the front foot, you will never do good kendo. You won't be able to push off properly or perform linked techniques, and you won't be able to employ your right foot for seme as it will have the weight of your body impeding its mobility.

[JSchmidt]

Yups. In order to get any kind of speed and distance, you need to push with the left foot. If your weight is on the right foot, you will need transfer that weight before you move, which is often easy to read and a perfect time for the opponent to attack.

Jakob

[tamaki]

thank you really-really much,everybody,for all this advice!!!



- make sure you are stretched out so that your shin is vertical or even better your knee is slightly behind your heel at contact. Many people step too short so that their foot hits the floor with the knee way ahead.

What part is the shin?I am sorry but my english is not the best.

[nodachi]

Shin - Front part of your lower leg

[tantadi]

This might sound weird, but to me fumikomi feels more than a slap than a stomp. To make the "slap" you have use your ankle, sort of lift the front part of the foot up. Like you are tapping the rythm to music. To assist to that, you have the weight transfer which (IMO) takes place from the left, to the right, and then to the left again, in the fumikomi.

So my suggestion is that you start practicing tapping loud to music, whilst keeping tension in the left leg and the heel off the floor. Then you go on to making a tap whilst moving forward.

Now you experts can shoot me. But try it.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Slapping the foot is one of the big no-nos. You're very likely to bruise your heel if you land with any force.

[tantadi]

You hurt your heel when you stomp. What I'm describing is focusing on the whole foot and the flexibility of the ankle. Whilst the foot is going forward in fumikomi, the toes are higher than the ankle, to avoid landing on the heel you have to flex the foot down, like slapping.

I've never hurt my heel, btw.

[Neil Gendzwill]

What I'm describing is focusing on the whole foot and the flexibility of the ankle. Whilst the foot is going forward in fumikomi, the toes are higher than the ankle, to avoid landing on the heel you have to flex the foot down, like slapping.
Oh, that's different. But I'd recommend that rather than doing that, you relax your ankle while your foot is in the air so that as much as possible, the sole of your foot is parallel to the ground. The toes higher than the ankle style is what I think of as a "kendo goose-step".

[tantadi]

Yes..I do try to relax the foot; otherwise I can't make fumikomi.

[indigo0086]

I used to do fumikomi pretty well but recently my heel has been hurting. I don't think it's so much the fumikomi as it is my heel. I've noticed that they are always tender, is there a pad or something that would help it while still making strong and loud fumikomi.

[tantadi]

If it is not the fumikomi, but the heel...and you still need a heel protector when you do fumikomi, maybe you use the heel to do fumikomi after all?

[kuzu70]

If it is not the fumikomi, but the heel...and you still need a heel protector when you do fumikomi, maybe you use the heel to do fumikomi after all?
Ya, I have a big callous on my right heel. Well, it is more like a piece of leather is attatched to my heel.