How to get faster?

[KiraCastle]

Every time I seem to train, I would usually not be the first to attack. Say someone would go for men, I would be fast enough to put my shinai up but by the time I'm ready to go forward and hit them they are already too close.

I've tried practising slowely using timing. Say your opponent would say "1" and bring the shinai up. We would both say "2" and they would go for men and I would block and then go "3" and strike. When I try to do this fast, I do not have enough time to strike. I've been practising so hard and it's just not working.

Should I just go for a cut without thinking of blocking then cutting? I think I'm too slow....

[turboyoshi]

I don't think you should worry so much about getting faster. There are a few things that will affect your overall speed:
1) improving your technical proficiency so that you execute the movements with less wasted motion and unnecessary tension.
2) improving your timing and distance control with your motodachi
3) improving your speed with exercise designed to work your muscle's fast twitch fibers.

1 and 2 simply require more practice, lots of repetitions and paying attention to what works. 3 is probably the least useful contributor to your overall speed, so I think it's probably not worth a lot of effort trying to achieve.
It just requires you to practice more explosively. Muscles learn how to be faster but being forced to work faster, that's all but like I said, it's probably the least important ingredient here.
These things take time to develop so you'll need to be patient, there is no quick fix. If you're focused too much on being faster, you're not likely to be paying attention to the things that are most important to executing well. Learning the correct timing and the right distance to be at when you start executing the technique and also learning how to execute efficiently are more important than muscular speed and take a lot more time to understand. You'll basically be spending the rest of your life on those 2 things so you really need to be patient. And yes, you should try to avoid blocking as much as possible but that's not the main issue here I think.

[Bokushingu]

you are wasting a lot time & resources by blocking: we learn from getting hit.

[rfoxmich]

What technique are you trying to apply? men suriage x? Men kaeshi do? Men kiri-otoshi men?
Or are you trying to block and _then_ counter.. which will always fail. Several keys to oji waza, physical and mental:
1. Try to make contact with the opponent's shinai well in front and above so you have space and time to complete your strike.
2. Try to make your contact part of the strike rather than separating them as 1-2. As soon as contact is made your continuing on to strike.
3. You can't do any of these by sitting back waiting for your opponent to strike with the idea that you will apply a specified technique.
you have to develop proficiency, step-by-step in the techinque and make it your own through practice.. then what usually happens is that you are making your pressure and applying your seme and holding a very alert mental state while doing so. The pressure causes the opponent to attack and your readiness lets you read their attack in time to apply your technique. Oji-waza and Shikake waza are not two separate subjects but interplay between attacking pressure and response to attacking pressure.

I _almost_ like the drill you are doing as a way to gain proficiency in the physical aspects of the technique. I'd like to propose two drills very much like that.
Drill the first:
1. You are holding your shinai in the position at which you will make contact.
2. At 1. your partner strikes as soon as you feel contact you strike; so this is one-step but you get a feeling for where your arms will go to make contact and how to continue from that contact to the strike.

Drill the second:
1. Partner raises shinai
2. As they swing down you meet and immediately strike.. This is a two step version of the drill you described. The problem with your drill is that it separates mentally the act of 'blocking' the shinai from striking and inevitably teaches a _slower_ technique.

Third drill.
Partner cuts and you move to meet and counter. Do this slowly starting at a speed that you know you can handle. Bit by bit the partner increases their speed until you can just hold on with the technique.. at which point you drill that speed until you are comfortable.

To do this with the right mental mind frame.. start all of these drills a bit out side of your distance. Begin them with _you_ stepping to your uchima and applying your shinai to the centerline with the idea that when you complete your step to maai if conditions are right you are going to strike men. Your partner then starts their action as you are completing your step.

[dillon]

Also try to incorporate ju-ha-kyu into the timing of the waza. Ju-ha-kyu is a concept found in many Japanese arts (martial or otherwise) in which an action speeds up as it progresses. So for example in a basic shomen cut you lift the shinai fast and then execute the downward cut even faster. This helps to make the timing of your cut difficult to judge, especially if you can coordinate this with footwork in which you only step forward on the downward portion of the cut so that the strike lands at the same time as the fumikomi.

In oji waza you would catch your partner's blade with one speed (which will depend on their cut speed) and then apply the counterstrike with an even sharper quicker speed. If your opponent is cutting and going through this will go a long way towards making sure you strike the opponent with the monouchi.

To practice ju-ha-kyu it's useful to start with exaggerated slowness so you get the feel for the difference.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Should I just go for a cut without thinking of blocking then cutting?

For most beginners (I'm making an assumption here), suriagi or kaeshi-waza is too difficult to execute in competition. If you're being asked to try it in class, then some of Ron's suggestions can help.

How long have you been playing kendo?

[hl1978]

I don't block, at all anymore. It isn't needed if you start thinking that a block is the same as a strike instead of a means to cover a target and deny a point (rfoxmich's point #2). Let your extension forwards and into aite divert their sword (unless you are doing kaeshi waza) instead of trying to knock their sword away.

As for speed there are two basic ways to get more speed, one is faster footwork, the other is a more efficent cut. If you are doing small waza, don't pull backwards to power the cut, instead push forwards in and down. If you are doing big waza, don't pull it back in close to your head, open you body to pull the sword back, and close the body forwards to add to the swing. This makes your spine like a hinge and accelerates the cut further. You can also use this motion to speed up and power your small waza.

[rfoxmich]

And of course hl1978's signature applies as well to this thread.

[nimrod19]

I don't block, at all anymore. It isn't needed if you start thinking that a block is the same as a strike instead of a means to cover a target and deny a point (rfoxmich's point #2). Let your extension forwards and into aite divert their sword (unless you are doing kaeshi waza) instead of trying to knock their sword away.

As for speed there are two basic ways to get more speed, one is faster footwork, the other is a more efficent cut. If you are doing small waza, don't pull backwards to power the cut, instead push forwards in and down. If you are doing big waza, don't pull it back in close to your head, open you body to pull the sword back, and close the body forwards to add to the swing. This makes your spine like a hinge and accelerates the cut further. You can also use this motion to speed up and power your small waza.

This is such good advice.

[KiraCastle]

For most beginners (I'm making an assumption here), suriagi or kaeshi-waza is too difficult to execute in competition. If you're being asked to try it in class, then some of Ron's suggestions can help.

How long have you been playing kendo?

I have been playing kendo only for about 10 months.

This is all very good advice, thank you very much. I will apply it to my kendo. I have a grading tomorrow and usually we would do a little competition, so hopefully this will help.
I will tell you how it goes!

In the meantime, practise, practise, practise. I was told that no matter what anyone says is right, it's what ever works for you that's right. I'm sure I'll find out sooner or later...

thanks for your help again!

[Bokushingu]

I have been playing kendo only for about 10 months.

This is all very good advice, thank you very much. I will apply it to my kendo. I have a grading tomorrow and usually we would do a little competition, so hopefully this will help.
I will tell you how it goes!

In the meantime, practise, practise, practise. I was told that no matter what anyone says is right, it's what ever works for you that's right. I'm sure I'll find out sooner or later...

thanks for your help again!

Listen to Neil Sensei...
...at this point, just attack...attack...atack...don't block...don't try to block...don't think about blocking...attack & attack...don't worry about countering...don't worry about advanced concepts...focus on your form & footowrk...trust in your Sensei & Sempai to correct you when needed.

[Neil Gendzwill]

I have been playing kendo only for about 10 months.

I wouldn't sweat about "losing" or whatever at 10 months. When we drill oji-waza (counter-attacks) I usually tell people of your experience to regard the drills as being something for fun, and not to worry too much if they have trouble with them. You should concentrate on basic straight attacks.

As for your speed, all I can say is just think about where you were now next year when you get a chance to play the next crop of beginners in bogu. That will give you a satisfying sense of how far you've come.

[Chris Sauthoff]

1. Go Big Make Big Motions..HUGE...STRETCH!
2. Go Strong Better to say Go Accurate...don't waste energy or motion...footwork,posture...all that stuff.
3. Go Fast Speed comes only after you can go big and accurate.