Better Basic Attacks

Hello everyone, 

Thank you for reading the following blog post!
I'm Kota Suzuki from Japan. I've been practicing kendo since I was seven years old in Japan－I am currently 3rd Dan. Right now, I am studying abroad in the United States and regularly practice at the university kendo club here.

Today's topic: Kihon-Uchi which means kendo basic techniques such as men, kote, dou, kote-men etc. Many people practice these kihon-uchi every time in dojo or kendo clubs, so it is important to make kihon-uchi better in order to improve kendo.

Today, I'm going to show you three things you should focus on when you practice kihon-uchi. Although kihon-uchi is the very simple practice, it doesn't mean they are easy to do. By focusing on three things that I'll introduce today, your kihon-uchi should be improved gradually.

1. Make a loud voice

First, you should make a loud voice when you hit each parts such as men, kote, dou. This is important because making a loud voice has some positive impacts on your kendo. One thing is that you are able to feel confident by making a loud voice. Confidence is one of the vital elements in kendo because it makes techniques more smooth and powerful. Another thing is that you can make an opponent be afraid of you.

However, many people feel nurvous in actual kendo matches because they have much more pressure there. Therefore, they cannot make a loud voice at that time. It is important to make a loud voice in the usual practice since you will get used to do that, and you will also be able to make a loud voice in kendo matches.

2. Make correct attacks

Second, you should attack hitting parts correctly. In the kihon-uchi practice, you partner gives you a enough chance to attack, so you should not make any mistakes. If you make a lot of mistakes in kihon-uchi, you would make mistakes in kendo matches because your attaceks are not stable. As you know, it is more difficult to get a point in actucal matches since there are a few chances there. Therefore, correct attacks are very important thing you should do.

For experienced players, one thing I recommend doing in the kihon-uchi practice is making corrections of hitting ways each times. There are many things you should pay attention such as the swing speed, posture, wrists use, and so on. You can seek the correct ways during kihon-uchi practice and find your best way to attack correctly. 

3. Make correct steps

Third, you should make a correct step every time as well as footwork. You will be able to attack fast and strongly by making the step. This step might be difficult for some people, so you can read the previous article "Fumikomi Is Important!" which is written about how to make a correct step.

The footwork is also important for better kihon-uchi. Especially, the footwork after hitting are necessary because you will get hit if you stop or move slowly after hitting. For kihon-uchi practice, you should go through as fast as possible and turn to your partner to be ready for the next attacks. Many people don't care about the movement after hitting, but that part is actually very important to improve kendo.

Finally, these three things that I showed you today are the essential elements for getting a point. This concept is called "ki-ken-tai-no-icchi" in Japanese, which means the strong vigor, correct attacks, and correct body movement should be done for getting a point. Kihon-uchi is a very simple practice, but you should make all of them perfect points, and your kendo is going to be better step by step.

Thank you for reading this article! If you have any questions, please ask me and I'm happy to answer them. Also, I want to say thank you for all followers of the Kendo Lab so far. I'd like to make more useful and interesting contents, so please give me a comment if you have any requests for the blog posts!

#kendo #剣道 #頑張れ剣道