Many potentially strong kenshi reach a stage where their kendo development is blocked because their hips are not sufficiently engaged when they make a forward attack. This is one bad habit that seems as common in Japan as it does in the west. You see this trait very often with people who have had successful high school and university shiai careers and who have come to rely on speed and good reflexes to beat their opponents. Unfortunately as we get a bit older we start to slow down, so we need to ensure that our posture and technique are correct, to ensure that we make the most of the opportunities we see and that we do not leave ourselves open to attack through bad kamae. Obviously your hips need to be engaged before during and after each attack and if they are not, our posture will be hollow as we strike. Our feet may well finish in the correct position and our hands may be in the correct place to hit the target but unless our hips are forward and we are able to cut with the power of our back, the strike will not be effective. We are given various advice on how to correct this. Some teachers talk about “tightening your buttocks as you step forward” others recommend “making seme with the intention of pushing your navel towards the opponents left eye”. Other sensei have gotten the required result without even talking about the hips; for instance by ensuring that the left leg is straight, with tension behind the knee as you step forward. If you do this, it is impossible not to engage your hips. “Many paths to the top of the same mountain” as they say. There is however need for caution in how we change our kamae. It is only too easy to over-straighten your hips, pushing your left hip and by default your left shoulder too far forward. This will have the effect of making your posture overly stiff and tense and it then becomes difficult to make relaxed fluid strikes with the shinai. Your posture should be natural and comfortable and although your centre should be focused on the target it does not mean that both hands and the mid-point of your head and body should be in a direct line. Instead your body should form a triangle pointing at the target. I have taken an illustration from Matsumoto Toshio sensei’s lecture notes that illustrates this far more effectively than my explanation. But remember, push your hips forward and relax.
The importance of good kamae
September 23, 2013 by Geoff
Very informative, as usual. Thank you very much! 🙂
This is probably a stupid question, but is O right and X wrong or is it the other way around? 🙂
Arvid – O is correct X is wrong.
Also, I think that in this correct position, the hips and shoulders would be in alignment. I am correct in this?
i.e. as the left shoulder is a little angled back, the left hip would be similarly so.
Reblogged this on The Distant Mountains and commented:
Something I must work on as well!
Good timing on this one. Now that I’m in my 40s I’ve started to see that indeed, speed and such are no longer an option and one of my main areas to focus on was improving the use of engaging my hips.
A couple of weeks ago, I was at keiko with an instructor and he told me to do just what you’ve written here. Get those hips involved! I did, and my god, did it make a difference.
One of those things where I consciously have to remind myself to do right now, as it is nowhere near muscle memory, but I’m glad to see that I’m on the right track.
Thanks for the post.
I’ve been working on this very correction for some months now.Engaging the left hip has since put me on the fast track with everything I’m do in kendo, right down to the kata. It’s like learning everything all over again.
What turned sensei on to the flaw was that my zekken appeared crooked in keiko, and my cuts would drift right.
For exercises like zenshin kotai shomen uchi, the most noticeable change after engaging the left hip is a “lock” on the left foot on for the retreating step. The center of gravity is much more pronounced with the left hip engaged. For years, I had a difficult time maintaining balance on a fast, large, retreating swing, a wobble after a quick hikitsuke backwards when transferring the weight to the back foot. I successfully corrected this issue by engaging the left hip.
One unforseen consequence was a nice split in the callus pad on the left foot – canyon. Putting the left hip into the mix also changed where my left foot was gripping the floor. The contact point shifted, and after practice after practice of correction, the sucker split.
This seems to be a seigan no kamae posture, isn’t it?
exactly
Sensei, thank you for these blogs!
A question on kamae if I may. Is the term kamae specific to still postures, such as chudan and jodan, or is the term used for the posture of the body through the complete attacking motion?
The reason I ask is that I mentioned in our class we can exploit weaknesses in our opponent’s kamae, to include opponents leaning forward too much at the point of striking men, or not catching up quick enough with their left foot.
Am I right to use the term ‘kamae’ or would you be able to share a better explanation?
Best regards
John
Hi John
The ZNKR’S definition of Kamae is ” A stance or posture. The state of having prepared one’s posture or attitude so as to be able to respond to changes in an opponent’s situation”. So you are technically correct. A better term for an attacking opportunity is “suki” which means a lapse in your opponent’s concentration or posture.
[…] [KendoInfo_Kamae] Geoff Salmon, “The importance of good kamae”, Kendoinfo.net, Sept 2013. […]
Rest in Peace, Salmon Sensei. Been stuck at Shodan for a few attempts now (believe you’ve even been on a panel that has failed me at Nidan!), and looking for clues as to what’s going wrong. So glad these little nuggets of wisdom are still out in the wild for the benefit of us all!