We have had a lot of shiai (competition) practice lately due to there being two competitions within a few weeks of each other coming up. While I am not orientated towards competition yet, it is part of our training and thus I partake in it. Shiai practice comes in both individual and team format, and while if you think about it on the base level, team format is still an individual thing, there are nuances in the team aspect that are very important but I shall get to them later.
I have played a few shiai practices now, and for most part, either drawn or lost to those equal to my kendo time or better, while winning at least in ippon matches against my juniors. It of course is not embarassing to lose to my juniors either because some of them are very talented and work extremely hard. Further more, shimpans, and with inexperienced shimpans, it is easy to for them to make mistakes and either not give points when they should, or they give points when they shouldn't.
My main concern with shiai practice initially was that it made for bad kendo. People drive away from the perspective of scoring ippon, and ensuring they do not get hit and this leads to some really poor kendo form, for example, doing small kote cuts with appalling posture to dodge debana men cuts (someone in our club does this and it is very disturbing, I wish to just throttle him because he is a beginner and has these terrible habits....). However, discussing this with another one of the seniors, there is truth to the fact that the more shiai you do, and more shiai practice you do, the less focus on points because it then turns into doing more kendo overall. This then leads to less thoughts on "must score a point" and more to do with working on timing and making good cuts for the shimpan to award. Very true.
So with this new perspective on shiai, I don't mind so much, and while I don't actually ever expect to win in shiai practice or shiai, making a good cut feels much better when it happens, and someone raises their arm with the ippon.
A standard shiai is a two point match. Keeping your wits about you is very important and during one of the shiai practices, I learnt the point of not rushing. If you score the first point, do not rush. I scored the first point in a shiai practice against a Shodan player, but then I threw the match away by rushing to finish. This meant I played less of my proper kendo, and exposed more gaps, trying waza that I couldn't execute effectively and so on, which led to my opponent gaining the point to bring it to a draw, and then a point to winning. If you have the lead, use it. Make your opponent feel the pressure and keep your wits for the openings they will expose because they have no option but to attack you for the hikiwake (draw).
In terms for team practice, in a five person match, the positioning of players is important. Besides the obvious of who will be matched up against your opposing team (trying to guess their order so you can match up appropriately if there is mixed skill level), the actual ordering is important. From my observations, the first match is usually one you want to win. This provides a morale boost to your team. In some situations however, if it is mixed Kyu/Dan, the Kyu players must play first, which then you have no choice but to put your Kyu player.
The next important person is the third player. They are the central pivot. If the first two win, then the third person has the ability to take home the match and there is a lot of pressure there. If the first two lose their matches, then there is a lot of pressure for them to win so ensure they still have a fighting chance. Typically your strongest or second strongest will fill in this spot because it is so important. Regardless of the situation, a win from the third player is a strong boost also for morale. The fourth and fifth are almost equal, with the exception of the fifth which is always the face saving player. If you get wiped in the first four, the fifth player always attempts to win to save face for their team, which if you already won, then the last player will be able to play good kendo for themselves without the pressure.
We will have more shiai practice in the next few weeks to come for sure until both the competitions are over, but I will not get to partake in them much since I am going overseas. What practice that I have had however has been good and that is all that really matters.
I have played a few shiai practices now, and for most part, either drawn or lost to those equal to my kendo time or better, while winning at least in ippon matches against my juniors. It of course is not embarassing to lose to my juniors either because some of them are very talented and work extremely hard. Further more, shimpans, and with inexperienced shimpans, it is easy to for them to make mistakes and either not give points when they should, or they give points when they shouldn't.
My main concern with shiai practice initially was that it made for bad kendo. People drive away from the perspective of scoring ippon, and ensuring they do not get hit and this leads to some really poor kendo form, for example, doing small kote cuts with appalling posture to dodge debana men cuts (someone in our club does this and it is very disturbing, I wish to just throttle him because he is a beginner and has these terrible habits....). However, discussing this with another one of the seniors, there is truth to the fact that the more shiai you do, and more shiai practice you do, the less focus on points because it then turns into doing more kendo overall. This then leads to less thoughts on "must score a point" and more to do with working on timing and making good cuts for the shimpan to award. Very true.
So with this new perspective on shiai, I don't mind so much, and while I don't actually ever expect to win in shiai practice or shiai, making a good cut feels much better when it happens, and someone raises their arm with the ippon.
A standard shiai is a two point match. Keeping your wits about you is very important and during one of the shiai practices, I learnt the point of not rushing. If you score the first point, do not rush. I scored the first point in a shiai practice against a Shodan player, but then I threw the match away by rushing to finish. This meant I played less of my proper kendo, and exposed more gaps, trying waza that I couldn't execute effectively and so on, which led to my opponent gaining the point to bring it to a draw, and then a point to winning. If you have the lead, use it. Make your opponent feel the pressure and keep your wits for the openings they will expose because they have no option but to attack you for the hikiwake (draw).
In terms for team practice, in a five person match, the positioning of players is important. Besides the obvious of who will be matched up against your opposing team (trying to guess their order so you can match up appropriately if there is mixed skill level), the actual ordering is important. From my observations, the first match is usually one you want to win. This provides a morale boost to your team. In some situations however, if it is mixed Kyu/Dan, the Kyu players must play first, which then you have no choice but to put your Kyu player.
The next important person is the third player. They are the central pivot. If the first two win, then the third person has the ability to take home the match and there is a lot of pressure there. If the first two lose their matches, then there is a lot of pressure for them to win so ensure they still have a fighting chance. Typically your strongest or second strongest will fill in this spot because it is so important. Regardless of the situation, a win from the third player is a strong boost also for morale. The fourth and fifth are almost equal, with the exception of the fifth which is always the face saving player. If you get wiped in the first four, the fifth player always attempts to win to save face for their team, which if you already won, then the last player will be able to play good kendo for themselves without the pressure.
We will have more shiai practice in the next few weeks to come for sure until both the competitions are over, but I will not get to partake in them much since I am going overseas. What practice that I have had however has been good and that is all that really matters.
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