kamae stance

[qpuppy]

Hi guys

well few days ago my girlfriend and I had a bit of a discussion about the correct stance during a kamae. (ohh.. yes... she has been learning kendo for about 3 years {nikyu}, and I {gokyu}, only have been learning it for about 5 months, but yet my fighting ability is the same level as her and the people in her level).

The problem is that what I was taught is that we have our weight mostly on the right foot (the back leg), approx 70% right and 30% left and also most of our weight going forward. But what she was taught is to have 70% on the left and 30% on the right and having most weight of our wieght going forward.

Now the question is... who is correct???
Is most of our weight suppose to be on the left foot or the right foot???


hope you guys can answer the problem....

[John W]

Hi,
Lets see now, I have been told that you should have 30% on the front foot (right) and 70% on the back foot (left).

Basically if most of the weight is on the front foot it will be very difficult to do the correct footwork rquired to deliver a good, concise cut. By this I mean fumikomi-ashi (stomping footwork), all your weight will go forward and downwards meaning that when your back leg comes into the cut you will "stall", leaving you open for a counter-attack from your opponent.

By leaving all the weight in the back leg your front foot will have less restriction in movement and you will be able to go forward strongly and have that "snap" in your back foot. This will enable you to move pass the opponent after the cut with enough distance between you and your opponent that you can either attack or defend effectivley.

My instructor told me that when you cut your movement should be stable but you should feel like a bullet/missle (something that moves fast and is deadly) towards and past your opponent. Easier said than done though, I have to constantly work on my kamae!!

Hope this helps!

[Will]

I've always been told to keep my weight evenly distributed for better balance. If someone goes men i can easily react with a debana kote or a hikimen, whichever suits the occasion. If they try to run into me (ugh...iforgot how to spell it...taitare or something) I can easily push back and try to deck them on the floor. If I go men and they completely dodge me, I can easily correct my balance and and get back to kamae...I've noticed if I go men with my weight flying forward, they can move out of the way and easily push me out of the court.

[supernils]

If you have too much weight on the front foot you have to redistribute it in order to lift the front foot when you do fumikomi.

[qpuppy]

Hi john....

Yes, that is what I thought... well my girlfriend admitt that her senior was wrong... and what she said is that now she has to change the way she does kendo... she wasnt happy, but ok now since she knows what she has to improve on....

Thanks for your help...

[alexpollijr]

Hi all

I don't really understand all these formulaics to describe a simple procedure such as fumikomiashi. You just kick back with the left foot taking a large stride forward with the right now with enough momentum to go past the opponent enough to, when you turn, you're at least in issoku ito no maai.

Most of you weight will be carried bu the kicking leg, the left. How can you carry weight in a foot that is up in the air?

Cheers,

Alex Polli

[qpuppy]

Hi alex...
hmmm about passinng the opponent.... just wondering.. isnt it abit unsafe to be at least issoku ito no maai distance... becasue if you miss.. and you reach that distance.. once you turn around, you will be very exposed for your opponent to get a point.
What I was taught is that you should have enough momentum to pass the opponent and be about double the distance of issoku ito no maai.... well approx....

[Hagakure]

Well, it is my understanding that Kendo (BTW I have been practicing Kendo for about 2 months) is ground in the abillity to quickly respond to the actions of your opponent, and to judge his/her actions as a foregone conclusion through the art of prediction. In this respect, it would be most advantageous to balance your weight at the center (as I was taught) so you can avoid and deliver blows with good speed and reaction time.

Although however, one can argue that the sword IS its wielder, and the particular style preference could influence your desicion.

I.E You are committed offensively, thus you place more momentum on you right (front) foot.

In any respect, slouching in posture is obviosly not an option.

[ben]

This is a really good thread. The mechanics of correct kamae are quite subtle but fundamental. Alex has the right idea above when he talks about it all in terms of what it's supposed to achieve. He obviously has no problem with fumikomiashi (at least none that I can see from here ). The "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" school of thought.

Weight distribution is very important though and worth discussing I think. It doesn't just allow you to do correct footwork, but also informs the ability to put pressure on your opponent.

[deanoclark]

I find the big thing with fumikomiashi (and any footwork for that matter) is that everything comes to a head when you start ni dan waza. We have been working on it for a few months now and it totally destroyed my footwork. I thought I was doing fine until I had to have my feet in the right spot under a lot more pressure.....

P.S to add to the debate, I have been taught that the balance should be 55% back, 45% front. This will allow a good forward pressure, but also allow you to move back while holding a strong position

[JSchmidt]

"This will allow a good forward pressure, but also allow you to move back while holding a strong position"

I've been taught never to move back

Jakob

[deanoclark]

I find nuki waza a very successful technique. You can only use it once in a shiai, but when you do, it really destroys the opponents spirit as they then begin to second guess their attacks.

[deanoclark]

p.s we also do a bit of work on moving back strongly, to draw your opponent into a false sense of security. We are all taught form early on that when your opponent moves back, he is retreating. I can't remember the amount of times I have moved back, then a little bit more, then a little bit more until my opponent gets really keen to strike, but I am already there and gone through.

Food for thought.

[ben]

Weight exchange between front and back foot is always fluctuating. It has to because kamae is never totally static. Sometimes it's (for the sake of discussion) 55 back/45 front and sometimes its the opposite. Of course sometimes the weight exchange is much less than that. I don't believe a totally static kamae is a good, or natural, thing.

A connected aspect to this which is very important is posture. Many mudansha have a tendency to flex their left knee in kamae, especially as they push off for fumikomi. This has the effect of tilting their spine backwards and puts their centre of gravity behind them. Their centre of gravity then has to travel extra distance to reach their opponent.

[Kendoka]

Bens got it !

Your weight distribution must change depending on what you are doing,.

Eg., in when attacking (fumi komi ashi) maybe rear 90/ front 10, at the instant you commence 100/00, when your front foot lands after the cut - 00/100, moving around (hiraki ashi) varying constantly. However, you cannot attack if you have more weight on the front, as it is the rear foot that provides the propulsion.

Last weekend an 8th dan explained that 80/20 was a good commencing distribution, but that 50/50 may have been appropriate a seciond before or after.

Whatever, you must be positioned and balanced to attack and move forward and you can't if you are flat footed.

Kendoka