"Strong" Kumitachi

I enjoy teaching Toyama Ryu kumitachi. It's not as elaborate as koryu kumitachi, but you can see the idea and effective technique behind it. I've seen many people perform Toyama Ryu kumitachi, but I believe it is missing some things when shown. The steps were correct but it was not as impressive. Now, this is not beginners displaying kumitachi because they just learned the steps! However after you learned the steps, other things should be added. This is one of things that I stress the most when teaching kumitachi to more advanced students who know the steps very well.

In the beginning, you learn the steps. In Toyama Ryu kumitachi Uchi-dachi is the attacker (usually the senior) and shi-dachi is the defender (usually the junior) who counters and wins. Many people show that uchi-dachi is in a certain stance to attack, and shi-dachi just reacts and counters.

The way I teach it however is that although the uchi-dachi is the senior and leads the "script", it should be expressed that the "enemy" only attacks because the shi-dachi put pressure on the opponent to make them attack. 

If you think about it, you should not just defend because your opponent just attacks. If you react to just what the opponent does, there are many guesses on what they could possibly do and then you react with a counter technique. However, if you pressure and set someone up to attack and is at your "pace" that you enforced on your opponent, that means you will react faster because you made them do, what YOU wanted them to do and instead makes THEM react and HAS to attack. Because they do what you wanted them to do, you can just perform your technique!

In kendo and gekken, and other martial arts that have two people interacting with each other in free play, more skilled practitioners understands how to control their opponent with pressure. The attacker might be faster and more physically gifted sometimes, but the more skilled practitioner can overcomes this with great technique expressed through strong control of their opponent. People who do not understand this just reacts inefficiently and just swings and attacks mindlessly. If you understand how to pressure someone and make them do what you wanted them to do, you have the complete control of the fight and it becomes much easier. Also you sweat less. 

This is something I really learned and observed in kendo and gekken, and applied to my expression of kumitachi. Although it is "scripted", as a shi-dachi, you should express as if you made your opponent do what you wanted them to do, rather than just react. As the senior taking on the uchi-dachi role, you lead the shi-dachi and help them learn how to be that way. If you observe the forms of koryu (the older styles of Japan) where two people are involved,  you can see that expression of setting up an opponent in most if not all of them through their kata or forms. In return, the ideas and strategies displayed in kumitachi (or other two man forms) can be applied when you are practicing free play like gekken.

To me, seeing proper steps in kumitachi is good (especially if it only took one class to learn!!), however the kumitachi or 2 man forms that can express great teamwork, and seems it's showing how to really win the interaction not just a set of movements, those will always have me impressed the most.