Awkward Oppenents

[KendoN0ob]

This is a subject that really annoys me as im really small and my favourite strike is do. There is this guy in my dojo that is huge and whenever I hit his do he immediately brings his arms down and sticks his foot out so i lose my balance.

Does anyone have some suggestions on what i can do to try and combat this problem

Joe

[stealth_monkey]

I'm big and favour men. When people learnt that I was good at men, I needed to start throwing different attacks.

[KendoN0ob]

i do other strikes but his size is sowewhat of an issue an i cannot really get a good men on him as hes so tall and he is careful about kote so my only real option is do

[JSchmidt]

i do other strikes but his size is sowewhat of an issue an i cannot really get a good men on him as hes so tall and he is careful about kote so my only real option is do

So..make it your own personal challenge to hit his men. It'll improve your kendo more than hitting his do.

[Neil Gendzwill]

One option is to create a better opportunity to hit kote or doh. Small against big, a good waza for you is debana-kote or nuki-doh. Either one depends on getting your opponent to commit to his attack. Perhaps your kendo is not there yet but that is a goal for you to think of.

You should also think about improving your men so you can hit the tall opponents.

[jjcruiser]

What do you mean he sticks his foot out so you lose your balance? Is he trying to trip you?

[JByrd]

This is a subject that really annoys me as im really small and my favourite strike is do. There is this guy in my dojo that is huge and whenever I hit his do he immediately brings his arms down and sticks his foot out so i lose my balance.

Does anyone have some suggestions on what i can do to try and combat this problem

Joe

Joe, the first thing that comes to my mind is, "hit his men." Of course it's hard to hit taller people on the men, and that's a good reason to work extra hard at it. Even if you can't quite make a really good men strike, the pressure of your attempts may help change the dynamic in your favor. Forcing people to defend their men can create better target opportunities elsewhere.

BTW, I'm almost 6 feet tall, and a 5 foot, 2 inch woman in my dojo pretty much owns my men.

[rainmaker]

I am a kote guy... I got my 90% of scores from Kote... However, I execute more men in order to hit his kote.... Now you know my secret, I have to kill you...

[KendoN0ob]

i do nuki do but i cant avoid their men enough (it just hits the side of men)

[KendoN0ob]

lol he probably does try and trip me but his excue is that he "lowers his centre of gravity"

[jjcruiser]

If your nuki's not fast enough to avoid his men, stop trying nuki and change it to kaeshi. As to the tripping/center of gravity thing, maybe you can try to just bounce off, like when someone comes in too hard in taiatari?

[KendoN0ob]

thanks for the suggestion. ill try and implement them in my practise this week

[dwez]

If you don't attempt men then statistically 25% of your options have automatically gone although in the real world discounting men is probably more like 40%. You're also going to be letting your opponent know he doesn't have to worry about that as a real target. It's something you're going to have to overcome, just like this situation at the Bowden in 2007

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42139296@N00/541053718/

[Mako]

If your nuki's not fast enough to avoid his men, stop trying nuki and change it to kaeshi. As to the tripping/center of gravity thing, maybe you can try to just bounce off, like when someone comes in too hard in taiatari?

I thought it might be a taiatari issue too, especially if the bigger guy is deliberately trying to push KendoNoob off balance.

[The great I AM]

Like Neil said, and being one of the big guys that does it when I see it coming, if you are being obvious about it then the men uchi coming is just a tester, it's nto really intended to be ippon because the commitment isn;t there. When I do this I'm usually thinking about something else. If I can fool you into thinking I've taken the bait and am coming for men, then as you go for my do, your kote is ready for the thrashing that it deserves. You need to convince your opponent that what he's about to do is an opportunity for ippon, not a ruse for you to hit do. If your attempt at ojiwaza is obvious then it loses its impact, as is happening here.