The following was written by one of the members in my club about what he learned from Chiba Sensei's visit and the grading weekend we hosted as part of the Founders Cup celebration. I believe this is very well written and thought it would be nice to share this here. So credit to Louis Estrada for writing it.
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First of all, congratulations to those who passed their grading. A special shout-out goes to Rocky for getting his 3rd dan. Another shout-out goes to Derek for winning the Fighting spirit award during Founder's cup. I learned alot from the grading and seminar held on Sunday. For those who didn't go or didn't stay around, here is what was said (from what I remember)
1) Ki-Ken-Tai-No-Ichi. Spirit, body and sword as one. The grading panel noticed that many of the kyu grades did not synchronise their fumi-komi with their strike
2) Junior graded players should not focus on defense. If we are fast enough to block or evade an opponent's attack, we are fast enough to retaliate. We should never just defend, because it shows a weakening of one's spirit. This was evident during the 2kyu grading, where my partner was the only one in the group who unfortunately did not get 2nd kyu, because during the ji-geiko all that person did was block.
3) One cut, one kill. Chiba sensei and Sano sensei both emphasized on the importance of delivering one decisive attack on the opponent. Machine gunning (kendo slang for rapidly attacking like crazy for those who don't know the term), might look cool but shows a lack of confidence in one's ability to secure an ippon. It is also bad form. However, nidan/sandan/renzoku waza is acceptable. The difference is that multi-step waza is planned, while machine-gunning is desperation. This leads to the next point:
4) We should not just rush in to attack the opponent. Sano sensei tells us that we are wielding swords, so an awesome men strike means nothing if you ran into your opponent's kensen because they maintained kamame. In order to make a good strike, a kendo player must overcome his opponent's spirit, sword or waza. This can mean many things, like a sudden step forward, a feint, parrying the opponent's shinai to the side and so forth. The important thing, though, is to expose your opponent's suki, or weakness. That weakness is your opening to attack.
5) For Oji-waza (defensive techniques) to work, you must make your opponent expose himself. You cannot just wait for your opponent attack (generally if you do that you will not have enough time or space to execute the counter attack). You must seme, or pressure, him to the point where he has no choice but to attack or otherwise expose himself. So even though you are using a 'defensive' approach, you are still in the spirit of offense by pressuring your opponent.
6) Remember the importance of the fundamentals of kendo. Holding a shinai and footwork may be something we all know and have done to death, but there is always room for improvement. When cutting, Chiba-Sensei recommends powering your cut 70% left hand 30% right hand. This allows your shinai to hit the men dead on, rather than it glancing to the side (which is what happens if you put to much power in your right hand).
7) Finally, the point that Chiba-sensei said that made me think the most is the reason why we do kendo - it varies, but we are basically improving ourself by the study of the sword. Therefore, our attitude and behaviour must be tempered accordingly. If we score a hit on our opponent, don't just celebrate. Reflect on how you made that hit happen, and think of how you can improve it. It will take thousands, hundreds of thousands of cuts in order for us to say we have an understanding of a technique. If you are struck by your opponent, do not beat yourself about it, nor say stuff like 'it was a crappy hit, it doesn't count' That is a bad attitude. Even if it was a crappy hit, your opponent still exposed a weakness in yourself. Be thankful to your opponent, and learn from the experience. Most of all, respect your opponent - he or she is the only reason why you are able to practice, and they are putting their health on the line in order for you to improve. Sano sensei emphasis this point most of all - as we grow and rise through the ranks of kendo, our personalities must reflect this improvement. As Sano sensei says, 'Wouldn't the world be a much better place if we respected one another?'
Louis
****
Some things to think upon.
****
First of all, congratulations to those who passed their grading. A special shout-out goes to Rocky for getting his 3rd dan. Another shout-out goes to Derek for winning the Fighting spirit award during Founder's cup. I learned alot from the grading and seminar held on Sunday. For those who didn't go or didn't stay around, here is what was said (from what I remember)
1) Ki-Ken-Tai-No-Ichi. Spirit, body and sword as one. The grading panel noticed that many of the kyu grades did not synchronise their fumi-komi with their strike
2) Junior graded players should not focus on defense. If we are fast enough to block or evade an opponent's attack, we are fast enough to retaliate. We should never just defend, because it shows a weakening of one's spirit. This was evident during the 2kyu grading, where my partner was the only one in the group who unfortunately did not get 2nd kyu, because during the ji-geiko all that person did was block.
3) One cut, one kill. Chiba sensei and Sano sensei both emphasized on the importance of delivering one decisive attack on the opponent. Machine gunning (kendo slang for rapidly attacking like crazy for those who don't know the term), might look cool but shows a lack of confidence in one's ability to secure an ippon. It is also bad form. However, nidan/sandan/renzoku waza is acceptable. The difference is that multi-step waza is planned, while machine-gunning is desperation. This leads to the next point:
4) We should not just rush in to attack the opponent. Sano sensei tells us that we are wielding swords, so an awesome men strike means nothing if you ran into your opponent's kensen because they maintained kamame. In order to make a good strike, a kendo player must overcome his opponent's spirit, sword or waza. This can mean many things, like a sudden step forward, a feint, parrying the opponent's shinai to the side and so forth. The important thing, though, is to expose your opponent's suki, or weakness. That weakness is your opening to attack.
5) For Oji-waza (defensive techniques) to work, you must make your opponent expose himself. You cannot just wait for your opponent attack (generally if you do that you will not have enough time or space to execute the counter attack). You must seme, or pressure, him to the point where he has no choice but to attack or otherwise expose himself. So even though you are using a 'defensive' approach, you are still in the spirit of offense by pressuring your opponent.
6) Remember the importance of the fundamentals of kendo. Holding a shinai and footwork may be something we all know and have done to death, but there is always room for improvement. When cutting, Chiba-Sensei recommends powering your cut 70% left hand 30% right hand. This allows your shinai to hit the men dead on, rather than it glancing to the side (which is what happens if you put to much power in your right hand).
7) Finally, the point that Chiba-sensei said that made me think the most is the reason why we do kendo - it varies, but we are basically improving ourself by the study of the sword. Therefore, our attitude and behaviour must be tempered accordingly. If we score a hit on our opponent, don't just celebrate. Reflect on how you made that hit happen, and think of how you can improve it. It will take thousands, hundreds of thousands of cuts in order for us to say we have an understanding of a technique. If you are struck by your opponent, do not beat yourself about it, nor say stuff like 'it was a crappy hit, it doesn't count' That is a bad attitude. Even if it was a crappy hit, your opponent still exposed a weakness in yourself. Be thankful to your opponent, and learn from the experience. Most of all, respect your opponent - he or she is the only reason why you are able to practice, and they are putting their health on the line in order for you to improve. Sano sensei emphasis this point most of all - as we grow and rise through the ranks of kendo, our personalities must reflect this improvement. As Sano sensei says, 'Wouldn't the world be a much better place if we respected one another?'
Louis
****
Some things to think upon.
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