Lower body power enhancing exercises

[alexpollijr]

Hi there gentleman


Early on, I remember that Hyaku mentioned that most gaijin kendoka he has seen in Japan had a lack of 'kahashin', which I suppose translates to lower body power.

Do anyone actually practice some kind of drills to enhance it? Be it on kendo practice or Gym training.

[Inouye02]

you can do the m_french one handed suburi while doing squats , remember to keep your back straight going down ..

[Ares2907]

I reckon the gym thing has about been done to death as far as lower body power goes.
The thing I mentioned in a thread about 'leaning', ie practising using the left leg is something that was recently one of those 'light bulb' moments for me.
Now that I'm dedicating some serious time in the dojo to getting it right, I've found that the power my lower body generates is significantly greater, as is stability.
Something to think about, I guess.
hth.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Do a search for "weight training", you'll find a couple of threads. Short version: squats, deadlifts.

As far as dojo-specific exercises - try lowering yourself into and out of sonkyo as slowly as possible. I'm talking 10 seconds down and 10 seconds up here. Do that 5 times and your legs will let you know you've done something. Also you can try lots of taiatari men, so long as you're using your lower body for the taiatari and not just pushing with your arms. Back in the bad old days we used to do sonkyo suburi but that's hell on your knees.

[Old Warrior]

In Karate we used to use a rank belt around the waist of a partner to add resistance (parallell to the floor) when they took advancing steps. We would go up and down the floor literally dragging a partner. Eventually when the resistence was removed the increase in initial acceleration was clearly noticeable. I think the same exercise would work for Kendo.

[Marine_Boy]

To get good lower body strength, I do at least 100 sumo squats. You know, the one where you lift one leg in the air and squat down after putting it back on the floor.:jaguar:

Stan

[Hai_hai]

Eat a burrito.

[IRJ]

Originally posted by Ares2907
I reckon the gym thing has about been done to death as far as lower body power goes.
The thing I mentioned in a thread about 'leaning', ie practising using the left leg is something that was recently one of those 'light bulb' moments for me.
Now that I'm dedicating some serious time in the dojo to getting it right, I've found that the power my lower body generates is significantly greater, as is stability.
Something to think about, I guess.
hth.

Hi Ares,

I was wondering what you mean about 'leaning' as a way to generate more speed and stability. Could you explain further?

[Ares2907]

Actually I was talking about avoiding leaning to generate power and stability. If you can keep your right leg 'free' and use only the power from your left leg to kick off, then your right leg will always be under you when you land. Gives you much better stability, much stronger fumikomi and I find that you once you start to get the feel of it, your cuts begin to feel so much more direct and dynamic.
It's nowhere near as easy as it sounds. Try not using your right leg at all as you move around. Once your calf stops cramping, you'll start to notice the difference ;)

[Jerry Wellbrock]

I have a serious knee problem with tendonitis and brusitis. I was immobilized for several weeks last October and lost much of the strength in my left leg. I am training hard but still don't get much out of the left leg. I have started using elastic exercise bands for some supplemental training. First I attach bands to both ankles and to a steel pole in the dojo. I assume kamae and practice moving forward. Each step gets harder and harder. This works both legs pushing forward and pulling the rear leg up after the forward movement of the front leg. Second I put the bands around my hips and practice moving forward without the bands on my feet. Last I practice moving forward without the bands. I seem to get a lot of distance from this but somehow that distance shortens after an hour or two of practice in bogu. :old_man:

[emitbrownne]

Try a pilates class.... It is good for breathing and providing core strength.
There are quite a few endurance/stretch excersises for the hips, and the legs.....

Just an idea.....

[Hongsermeier]

Jerry...where do you get the bands?? I started Kendo after a motorcycle accident that almost cost me my right leg. I'm always looking for more ways to regain more strength in that leg.

[Jerry Wellbrock]

You can buy the elastic exercise band at most any sporting good stores. Look like thick rubber tubing with a handle or strap on either end. You can put a couple of them together by looping them through each other. In the old days at my karate school we used old bicycle tire inner tubes. You can use inner tubes but have to be very careful of the valve stems.

[Hongsermeier]

Thanks, I'll look next time I'm at the store.

[Chusan]

´Sonkyoburi` may be a nice idea: stand in tachi-ai and while assuming sonkyo and rising up again practise suburi. A routine of ten to twenty rounds will do it.

[alexpollijr]

Isn't that supposed to be 'matawari suburi' ?

[Chusan]

I`m sure you`re right.

BTW: sorry, been busy with webbing some stuff the last days...