Kyoto Kendo Connect

Kendo can be one of those frustrating endeavors that even if you are doing everything correctly, there are still hundreds of things that are going wrong. Combine that with learning it in its native language, a language that I am still myself learning, and the frustration is tenfold.

On Friday I went to practice feeling good, and Nakano sensei and Koyama sensei both helped me with my suburi, as they promised, Nakano sensei in particular was trying to get me to understand that I don't have to use a lot of power from my shoulders to get the shinai swinging. It was, of course, a difficult concept to grasp at first. I'm still not sure I have it down, but what I understand is, if the swing is started from the wrists, not a lot of power needs to be struck downward. The weight of the shinai on its own can provide the power. The snap at the end is made by snapping the the wrists at the last second before the strike. Of course, there's much more to the technique of actually landing a strike than this, but I'm going back to the basics, ask Okusa sensei says, and this is a new way of looking at things. Nakano sensei also suggests pushing the elbows forward, instead of dropping them , or at least keeping that image in mind when striking. They will make the whole strike one, smooth motion, instead of breaking it into two, which is a habit I have picked up.

Today doing mawari-geiko my back started hurting again. So I took Fukao's sensei's advice and, when I could no longer do an entire keiko, I bowed out. I tried to leave the dojo, so as not to take up room, but there were too many people and I was trapped, so eventually I went back to my partner, and crouched on the ground. I'm not sure what Fukao sensei saw, but he got on my case again about quitting in a keiko. It was one of those times when I really wished I could understand what he is trying to tell me completely, and am able to explain myself again. This is why:

Two weeks ago he told me that if I cannot complete a whole keiko, it is OK to sit out, but don't start a fight and then bow out in the middle. I took this advice to heart and, after completing a whole match with Koyama sensei on Friday, I judged that the pain in my back was too great to complete another one, so, I bowed out. Perhaps Fukao sensei thought that I quit in the middle of my match again. Something has been lost in translation here and I'm neither able to understand what it is, nor clarify my own actions. So, I can only nod my head and try again next time. Hopefully my back will allow me to comeplete however many rounds of mawari-geiko Itou sensei has us do tomorrow. I don't want to risk Fukao sensei's lecture again.