Remembering to be scared
So as I watch the Gekken parts of classes, I just noticed that people are getting more brave and fearless! They'll charge into each other and take the valiant swing to get the point to win the match. Very epic to watch but not the best of things to do.
In a recent class, we tried Gekken but with some different variables.
1) For students fighting each other, no helmets.
2) For students fighting me, well...they fought with the gekken swords, I got to use the blunt steel sword.....
How did this change things? Well, for students fighting against each other with the gekken swords without armor, they were much better at trying to parry their heads (the parry might not have succeeded but they reacted faster). They didn't stick their head in as much (posture is shown to be important!) And ai-uchi sucks and can be scary even with the foam swords.
For students fighting against me, well, they just stared at the sword. I held back a lot, pulled back on what would have been cuts, but that just made them pull back instead of moving forward all the time like they normally do. They blink more. And since the sword is much skinnier than the gekken swords, much harder to read and react to! But most importantly, I think the idea that if they get hit, could really hurt a looooot, made them more cautious.
I don't mind students being brave, but they should understand to try to avoid ai-uchi (mutual hit) as much as possible. Sometimes it's hard to deal with cause it can get quite hectic, but for the most part, learn to keep your head (hahaha) and respect the idea that you do seriously get hurt in ai-uchi. You don't move forward for a hit unless it was set up, or you know it's gonna be a hit! And if you do move forward, never ever forget your zanshin.
At the Tai Kai in Japan, the opening rounds are with the gekken swords, but the semi finals and finals are done with the armor and steel swords. You notice right away how much of a threat each other feel because they control themselves much more. (Although most of the time it's the same veteran guys so they fight the same way with foam or steel). But even then, they don't try as many techniques cause the threat is there.
So even if you're training with the foam sword, please feel the need to practice with some feeling of danger.
In a recent class, we tried Gekken but with some different variables.
1) For students fighting each other, no helmets.
2) For students fighting me, well...they fought with the gekken swords, I got to use the blunt steel sword.....
How did this change things? Well, for students fighting against each other with the gekken swords without armor, they were much better at trying to parry their heads (the parry might not have succeeded but they reacted faster). They didn't stick their head in as much (posture is shown to be important!) And ai-uchi sucks and can be scary even with the foam swords.
For students fighting against me, well, they just stared at the sword. I held back a lot, pulled back on what would have been cuts, but that just made them pull back instead of moving forward all the time like they normally do. They blink more. And since the sword is much skinnier than the gekken swords, much harder to read and react to! But most importantly, I think the idea that if they get hit, could really hurt a looooot, made them more cautious.
I don't mind students being brave, but they should understand to try to avoid ai-uchi (mutual hit) as much as possible. Sometimes it's hard to deal with cause it can get quite hectic, but for the most part, learn to keep your head (hahaha) and respect the idea that you do seriously get hurt in ai-uchi. You don't move forward for a hit unless it was set up, or you know it's gonna be a hit! And if you do move forward, never ever forget your zanshin.
At the Tai Kai in Japan, the opening rounds are with the gekken swords, but the semi finals and finals are done with the armor and steel swords. You notice right away how much of a threat each other feel because they control themselves much more. (Although most of the time it's the same veteran guys so they fight the same way with foam or steel). But even then, they don't try as many techniques cause the threat is there.
So even if you're training with the foam sword, please feel the need to practice with some feeling of danger.
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