Andoru's Kendo Blog

Sunday, April 17, 2005

Blessings in disguise

At last Saturday’s training, my right heel felt tender still but it was getting better. Catherine estimated that I was 75% to 80% (how did she get those numbers I wonder). In any case, due to the injury to my right heel, fumikomi-ashi was out of the question. I had no other choice but to focus on executing cuts with suri-ashi.

Incredibly, I found that I was able to reach further with suri-ashi, and I was definitely more relaxed as well. Perhaps I was lifting my right foot too much before, thereby compromising distance and wasting energy. I did mostly men cuts as I practised it more. Interestingly, if my heel hadn’t been injured, I wouldn’t have discovered that! The Kendo Gods are definitely looking out for me.

Other thing I want to work on is the snap at the end of the cut. Sano sensei been making fun of my soft cuts (or cuts that don’t land because I applied too much “brake”). He means well though, so I have to work hard on this as well.

So many things to work on, but hey, I’ve got a lifetime don’t I? ;)

I’m in my last 3 months of my PhD thesis, so I may not be able to practise more than twice per week. It pains me to think that I have to restrain myself from kendo practices, but I have to get my priorities right. For now, I have to concentrate on the doctoral thesis. I want to graduate!

7 Comments:

  • I am looking forward to your Party! Gambatte!

    By Blogger Vivian Yung, at 12:35 am  

  • You are fast in making new entries to the blog after each sessions..Lol...Haven't got much time for my blog lately. :( Good luck for your thesis Andrew! Join our Friday training if you can, it's just near your office! Taek Yang, Michael Henstock, and Anna Wong came last Friday. It's great fun! Takeshi-san will be there too.

    By Blogger Scientive, at 4:41 am  

  • Yeah I'm definitely exploring that as an option.

    By Blogger Andoru, at 8:41 pm  

  • Andoru,

    I had a similar experience with fumikomi-ashi and saw a podiatrist. I was told I had plantar fasciitis. I explained kendo footwork to him and he told me I was crazy to do that on wooden floors. I then did dome research on kendo footwork. Mizobe Sensei told me that the famous Mori Torao Sensei never did fumikomi-ashi, that he didn't even do kendo as we know it but what Omoto Sensei terms "dancing with a shinai."

    Bolling Sensei calls it doing the "swoop and glide." Your reach is longer, and your kendo looks much prettier.

    I still do fumikomi-ashi as my foot is better (but not yet 100%) but I mix it up with suri-ashi. Keeps your opponent off guard as well. Use your noggin, not your body.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:04 pm  

  • Hi Steven - I entirely agree with your post about fumikomi-ashi. In fact, I would go as far as to argue that fumikomi is not a necessary element for a cut to conform to the concept of ki-ken-tai-ichi.

    Having said that, if one pushes hard and stretches the stride (via suri-ashi), fumikomi is an inevitable by-product as the foot takes the impact from the shift in balance.

    My problem, as I discovered, is that I tend to raise my foot off the floor too much, thereby increasing the risk of hurting my plantar fasciitis and compromising horizontal distance. I'm flat-footed to boot. :(

    Having those type of footwork, with the right foot basically gliding along the floor, is definitely more desirable. In that regard I agree entirely with Bolling sensei.

    This issue has really consumed me since my injury. Since I was forced to do suri-ashi, I've discovered a new aspect of my kendo. It's another big light bulb moment for me.

    Now that my right heel feels much better, I have to try even harder to maintain that suri-ashi feeling. Damn hard! ;)

    By Blogger Andoru, at 8:11 pm  

  • Can you explain about executing cuts using suri-ashi a bit more Andrew? It's kinda hard for me to visualize it.

    By Blogger Scientive, at 9:55 pm  

  • Andrew,

    The purpose of fumikomi is to stabilize the body quickly after executing a cut. The topic of fumikomi along with some other footwork issues are discussed in Kendo World's Kendo Clinic section in, I think, Vol. 2 No. 2.

    By Blogger Vivian Yung, at 7:47 pm  

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