I am back from yet another grading examination. As usual the 4th dan pass rate was reasonably slim and as usual the main reason was visible lack of seme and tame. This seems to be a common thread that runs through every grading.
I deliberately added the word visible because I did see a number of people who made numerous successful attacks, but who still failed the examination. They may or may not have broken their opponents guard to reach the target, but the creation of the opportunity to strike was not visible to the panel.
Seme and tame are inseparable. The ZNKR’s Japanese / English kendo dictionary defines semeru, (seme’s verb form) as “To take the initiative to close the distance with the opponent with full spirit”. Likewise tame is described as “the condition of being composed both mentally and physically and maintaining a spiritually replete state despite the tense situation”. The two added together and put into plain language, equate to the act of aggressively penetrating your adversary’s kamae whilst maintaining a level state of mind and then being ready to strike the moment your opponent shows a weakness in his guard.
There are numerous examples of tame in the animal kingdom. The way a heron waits by the waterside ready to spear the fish below as soon as it moves, the way a cat watches a mouse, ready to take the chance to attack when it knows the direction it will take, the way a snake almost hypnotises and then strikes its prey; all make good tame role models.
If this is all starting to sound a little too metaphysical, let me remind you that you also need to make the correct physical actions to back up your kiryoku. As you make seme your left foot should snap into place to allow you to move at will. Your heel should continually be raised so that the sole of your foot forms a 15 degree angle with the floor and the back of your left knee should be tense. You should hold your breath in your abdomen so that you are ready to explode when you see the perfect opportunity to strike.
Throughout all this your upper body should be relaxed, allowing you to deliver a perfect ippon.
Apologies for constantly raising this subject, but lack of seme and tame really seem to be one of the major barriers to reaching the higher dan grades.
Hi.
It seems like the pass rate for nidan is rather low at the moment too.
What would you say is the primary reason for this?
The reasons for lack of success at nidan are more usually about the candidates ability to perform basic shikake waza correctly at the right opportunity.
If it is a continuous fault is it because we lack coaching? There must be something on youtube that could be utilised to visually explain the terms to assist.
Paul
In my view it takes a lot of keiko rather than a quick explanation from youtube.
I went to the “Tengu Cup”, Frankfurt (Germany) this year and passed my nidan. The rate was actually insane! 90% passed, even slightly more than shodan candidates (still 85% aprox.)
But it seems to get a far more difficult thing when it comes to sandan and above. Only half of the sandan candidates passed, and I heard, that mostly young athletic people made it. I haven’t seen the Yondan/Godan gradings, but very very few people succeded.
I got the feeling, that everything up to Nidan is more like a “giveaway”, but it gets pretty serious when you line up for sandan or higher….
People in the UK are free to grade without permission from their Sensei. People regularly grade from the Dojos that I’m involved with who have no realistic chance of passing. This may have a secondary effect in that they make it difficult for their partners to demonstrate good kendo. I sat on the Mumeishi panel as a non-voting member to gain experience and I was surprised at how clear it was in the majority of cases who should pass. Of the 80 or so candidates there were perhaps 5 or 6 who I was really unsure about and a couple who I was completely wrong about. Why people do the kendo that they do is an interesting question and is unlikely to affected by quick fixes. In my own case I was forced to do a practice grading for yondan six months before being eligible. The considered feedback from the high grade panel after watching my first match was “you’re nowhere near yondan”. I felt aggrieved by this at the time as I hadn’t suggested I was, I had just decided to go to a seminar. I was ultimately grateful for the feedback as ultimately made me realise that all of the work I had been doing was effectively about becoming a better third dan and something different was required for fourth dan. This was also very helpful in preparing for godan and is still influencing me today. On a final note all the talk around prospective fourth dans in the couple of years around when I was grading was “you need to show strategy”. I asked Ozawa Sensei about this walking back from the sento on a trip to Japan. He looked at me in the way Senseis do and said: ” you know strategy: seme oji-waza”.
Good article Geoff Sensei, please keep’em Coming! this is great: The ZNKR’s Japanese / English kendo dictionary defines semeru, (seme’s verb form) as “To take the initiative to close the distance with the opponent with full spirit”. Likewise tame is described as “the condition of being composed both mentally and physically and maintaining a spiritually replete state despite the tense situation”