Kote-Men speed...

[rainmaker]

I understand that hitting correct Kote-men is very important. But I was also heard that you have to hit fast with Kote-men in order to be effective. I am onkly ikkyu but my Kote-men is not fast enough. I have seen many high rank dan who are super fast with their Kote-men. I have heard foot step plays very important role here but is there anyway I can practice Kote-men more effectively in order to increase speed ???

[runsyi]

I understand that hitting correct Kote-men is very important. But I was also heard that you have to hit fast with Kote-men in order to be effective. I am onkly ikkyu but my Kote-men is not fast enough. I have seen many high rank dan who are super fast with their Kote-men. I have heard foot step plays very important role here but is there anyway I can practice Kote-men more effectively in order to increase speed ???

I don't know about how to increase your speed hitting kote-men. I usually get scolded because I don't lift my shinai high enough after the initial kote. My suggestion would be just to work on having the proper form and ki-ken-tai-ichi when hitting kote-men and eventually the speed will come.

[tantadi]

Instead of taking two separate steps where you lift the left leg up at every step, you move the right forward, do two fumikomi and leave the left behind. Like a big lunge. Or just do the kote withiut fumikomi, while the right is still going forward. The shinai should should go in a forward arching motion, no big lift on the kote (or the men..). And don't start to close, it will cramp the movement and speed. Anyway, that is what I've been thaught.

[Paburo]

i've always been told, don't think of it as two movements. you should think of fast kote-men as just one movement.

thats theory, IMHO in practical terms, it means that you should NOT kote-think-stop-breathe-men. more like. think you're doing men but adding an extra cut in the middle of your airborne.

and first of all, work on fast fumikomi. fumikomi will decide the speed your arms can operate to have correct kikentai-ichi. no offence to anyone, but i personally think kote-men with just one fumikomi at the end is poor-waza and doesnt look good at all, lol.

and remember the 'strongest hit' in nidan-sandan-renzoku waza should ALWAYS be the last attack.

ok, and just ask your sensei first as always... lol.

[tantadi]

I prefer the kote-men with only one fumikomi, because then the left foot can come faster up from behind...

Now I'm waiting for someone to tell me this is wrong..:-)

[samurai999]

I understand that hitting correct Kote-men is very important. But I was also heard that you have to hit fast with Kote-men in order to be effective. I am onkly ikkyu but my Kote-men is not fast enough. I have seen many high rank dan who are super fast with their Kote-men. I have heard foot step plays very important role here but is there anyway I can practice Kote-men more effectively in order to increase speed ???

Actually, footwork is soooo key in kendo from what I have learned. If you were at San Jose and learned from Matsuda sensei or onitsuka sensei (if you were there when he had input to the practices), they might have mentioned instead of taking long strides when doing suriashi, you take "short choppy steps".

Doing kote men as two steps without bringing that left foot up would usually leave your body in an awkward "forward-leaning" position and after your kote-men is executed, it would leave you sorta "stuck" not ready for the next attack. I say that because from what I have experienced, you have to be ready to attack or counter all the time. If your aite notices that you are stuck after kote-men, he/she will try to take advantage of it.

I think that doing short choppy steps would make your kote men more faster and more strong..

Tim

P.S. -cool pics on your thread. You have all the SJ ppl i used to practice with on there. (gen, linda, tyson, ookuma-san, kaori, etc.)

[JSchmidt]

The trick is to make your feet move faster, not your hands.

Jakob

[rainmaker]

rrrr.. that is what I heard from all other senseis... I have seen many senior members do fast kote-men with two step fumikomi, not moving left foot is kinda cheating... But how can I increase the speed ??? practice will eventually make me faster ??

Actually, footwork is soooo key in kendo from what I have learned. If you were at San Jose and learned from Matsuda sensei or onitsuka sensei (if you were there when he had input to the practices), they might have mentioned instead of taking long strides when doing suriashi, you take "short choppy steps".

Doing kote men as two steps without bringing that left foot up would usually leave your body in an awkward "forward-leaning" position and after your kote-men is executed, it would leave you sorta "stuck" not ready for the next attack. I say that because from what I have experienced, you have to be ready to attack or counter all the time. If your aite notices that you are stuck after kote-men, he/she will try to take advantage of it.

I think that doing short choppy steps would make your kote men more faster and more strong..

Tim

P.S. -cool pics on your thread. You have all the SJ ppl i used to practice with on there. (gen, linda, tyson, ookuma-san, kaori, etc.)

[Neil Gendzwill]

Taking two steps with the right but only one with the left is more of a competitive technique than a correct one. It works OK if the maai is close or if your opponent is also moving towards you. But you should practice the full two steps.

Here's the key points I usually make when teaching this:

The fumikomi on the kote should be much lighter than on the men. If you have a strong fumikomi, then your motion will tend to stop and you'll have kote, then men rather than kote-men. So think light. You can also say "te-men" rather than "kote-men" to emphasize this. Remember that most of the action is with the left hand. Keep it light on the kote and let the shinai naturally rebound up so that you're ready for men. The right hand should just be moving on a steady path towards the kote and then smoothly up towards men rather than pulling back. Make sure you get a nice little rhythm with the light kote and stronger men - pa-PUM, not BAM-BAM.

[samurai999]

The short choppy steps thing I told you about is, I think, key. It shortens your stride and therefore shortens the time between strikes. In addition you are still taking two valid steps.

When you practice this, although it feels as if you are moving slower, you are still moving your feet very quickly so you should feel tired quicker.

Tim

[taganahan]

rrrr.. that is what I heard from all other senseis... I have seen many senior members do fast kote-men with two step fumikomi, not moving left foot is kinda cheating... But how can I increase the speed ??? practice will eventually make me faster ??

here's how murao sensei described how to do it( i'll try to remember all the details but it might seem kinda blurry from your point of view).

stance: chin is slightly faced down, not up. this will discourage your right foot to go way too high when you move forward. also, most of your weight should be on your right foot.

execution: always remember the SNAP!! when ever you hit kote, you should always snap it back up, so that when the shinai is about head level you can hit it down towards men nice and easy. takes less time if you do kote-men instead of doing kote and men.

hopefully i explained it properly.

~taganahan

[Flylkorean]

I prefer the kote-men with only one fumikomi, because then the left foot can come faster up from behind...

Now I'm waiting for someone to tell me this is wrong..:-)

Its wrong.

[asian_knight]

I was able to practice with Onitsuka sensei once when he came to Dallas. HIs form is really nice. . I really like his Kendo.

kote-men...... Im still working on this to be more efficient. IM still woking on my doh at the moment. All of my other kihon is ok, but my doh still lack a LOT of polizing. Its still really rough around the edges.

[JSchmidt]

. I have seen many senior members do fast kote-men with two step fumikomi, not moving left foot is kinda cheating... But how can I increase the speed ??? practice will eventually make me faster ??

Not moving the left foot depends on the distance. If you can reach the men, then you don't need to move it.

To move the feet quicker, you need to keep yourself balanced over your feet. If your natural stance isn't balanced, then you can't move quickly. For most people, just *thinking* about moving the feet quicker helps,because they usually only think about their hands.
So, forget about the kote and the men and focus on getting the "pa-pam!" action with the right foot. Once you get that, focus on the distance and then finally on actually hitting the targets.

Jakob

[Fonsz]

Not moving the left foot depends on the distance. If you can reach the men, then you don't need to move it.

To move the feet quicker, you need to keep yourself balanced over your feet. If your natural stance isn't balanced, then you can't move quickly. For most people, just *thinking* about moving the feet quicker helps,because they usually only think about their hands.
So, forget about the kote and the men and focus on getting the "pa-pam!" action with the right foot. Once you get that, focus on the distance and then finally on actually hitting the targets.

Jakob

I would like to add that if you put your right foot in the same line as your opponents right foot all you have to do is swing your shinai down (Oki kote), or strike with left hand through the middle (Zashi Kote) and you always hit a clean kote. You don't even have to lower your head you can keep looking at the men of the opponent. When you hit men you can put your right foot in the line between the two feet of the opponent. This way you don't have to think about aiming so you can concentrate on the form and the proper te no uchi.
Also if a Men is one step then kote is half a step, and the men will be the next half step. Beginners usually make the kote step as big as a men step and then adjust the distance with their hands.