For me, Seme is also different to how it was described in Ervin's reference to the Kendo Dictionary.
I think and feel that Seme is not only an initiative to close the distance. I feel that you can Seme while at Chudan no Kamae without even moving your feet. You can Seme someone who comes into *your* distance. So if you stand there, holding center, there is no reason why you can not also hold Seme with full spirit.
If that sounds a little strange and confusing, then consider this. The 'diseases' of Kendo that Ervin mentioned (Fear, doubt, surprise, perplexity) can be brought out and generated by someone who is stronger and better than you, WITHOUT them doing a single thing to you. If you have been a beginner, and you come up against say Peter, or Mark, or Rocky in Jigeiko, have you ever experienced that feeling where you are afraid to try to make a cut on them because you sense that you're going to get smashed?... That is them having a passive Seme.
To break it down then by what I think, it seems that for me, you can have passive, and active Seme.
Active Seme then would be when you move into distance to prepare for making a cut, going from itto maai to chikama, using kiai to create openings by generating the fear of being hit, the doubt of where you will attack, the surprise of when you will attack, and the perplexity of if you're going to attack. Everyone must be able to do this to become a good Kendoka. If you can not, then you will never be able to make good ippon cuts.
Passive Seme then is what I have mentioned, where you generate your own 'ken-ki' (as stated in my threat on Ki), where your opponent steps into your distance and they are the ones that feel the fear, the threat that they will be killed. This is also Seme because if they step in and then are "put off balance mentally and physically" by you just standing in Chudan no Kamae, then it gives you the opportunity to make the attack without moving. Being able to generate this Seme is going to make you and even better Kendoka. Mind you, kiai is also important. We are encouraged, while being motodachi, to use kiai, not only to train our kiai, but also to use it as a Seme breaker, and to generate our own Seme.
Seme breaker? you ask? Well, if someone steps in with good strong solid Seme and you feel that doubt, fear etc, if you Kiai out your spirit as strong as possible, it blows all of that away because you have 'turned on' your own attacking spirit, in defiance, saying something like "come get some" or "I'm not afraid, bring it~". Try it sometime if you don't understand what I mean.
Keeping center plays an important part of Seme because it is part of the threat. If your opponent can not control the center with their shinai, the effectiveness of their Seme is weakened because there is less likelihood of them being able to cut you well/properly, and more likelihood of you cutting them since you have center. Someone stepping into you with their Seme, can have their Seme broken if you can break their center because it puts a 'dampener' on their intended attack. Though, if you attempt to break their center during their Seme and you fail, it will leave you clean open to their attack. You need to be careful when doing so.
As for how I Seme, right now I don't think I have much of one. I feel that my Ki is still weak when it comes to attacking, and I am naturally on the defensive, generally attempting counter-attacking motions than forward attacks, which is something that I need to work strongly on. It is one thing to think these concepts, to know these, but to be able to do them and put them to use is a very different thing altogether.
My two cents.
I think and feel that Seme is not only an initiative to close the distance. I feel that you can Seme while at Chudan no Kamae without even moving your feet. You can Seme someone who comes into *your* distance. So if you stand there, holding center, there is no reason why you can not also hold Seme with full spirit.
If that sounds a little strange and confusing, then consider this. The 'diseases' of Kendo that Ervin mentioned (Fear, doubt, surprise, perplexity) can be brought out and generated by someone who is stronger and better than you, WITHOUT them doing a single thing to you. If you have been a beginner, and you come up against say Peter, or Mark, or Rocky in Jigeiko, have you ever experienced that feeling where you are afraid to try to make a cut on them because you sense that you're going to get smashed?... That is them having a passive Seme.
To break it down then by what I think, it seems that for me, you can have passive, and active Seme.
Active Seme then would be when you move into distance to prepare for making a cut, going from itto maai to chikama, using kiai to create openings by generating the fear of being hit, the doubt of where you will attack, the surprise of when you will attack, and the perplexity of if you're going to attack. Everyone must be able to do this to become a good Kendoka. If you can not, then you will never be able to make good ippon cuts.
Passive Seme then is what I have mentioned, where you generate your own 'ken-ki' (as stated in my threat on Ki), where your opponent steps into your distance and they are the ones that feel the fear, the threat that they will be killed. This is also Seme because if they step in and then are "put off balance mentally and physically" by you just standing in Chudan no Kamae, then it gives you the opportunity to make the attack without moving. Being able to generate this Seme is going to make you and even better Kendoka. Mind you, kiai is also important. We are encouraged, while being motodachi, to use kiai, not only to train our kiai, but also to use it as a Seme breaker, and to generate our own Seme.
Seme breaker? you ask? Well, if someone steps in with good strong solid Seme and you feel that doubt, fear etc, if you Kiai out your spirit as strong as possible, it blows all of that away because you have 'turned on' your own attacking spirit, in defiance, saying something like "come get some" or "I'm not afraid, bring it~". Try it sometime if you don't understand what I mean.
Keeping center plays an important part of Seme because it is part of the threat. If your opponent can not control the center with their shinai, the effectiveness of their Seme is weakened because there is less likelihood of them being able to cut you well/properly, and more likelihood of you cutting them since you have center. Someone stepping into you with their Seme, can have their Seme broken if you can break their center because it puts a 'dampener' on their intended attack. Though, if you attempt to break their center during their Seme and you fail, it will leave you clean open to their attack. You need to be careful when doing so.
As for how I Seme, right now I don't think I have much of one. I feel that my Ki is still weak when it comes to attacking, and I am naturally on the defensive, generally attempting counter-attacking motions than forward attacks, which is something that I need to work strongly on. It is one thing to think these concepts, to know these, but to be able to do them and put them to use is a very different thing altogether.
My two cents.
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