From the beginning of learning Kendo, we are always told to distribute our weight so that the left leg is holding the most weight. This should allow the easiest movement and explosion capabilities, to put it shortly. While the overall footwork is generally worked on in terms of fumikomi, the overall balance tended to get put on the wayside in lieu of everything else. Now I am paying the price for that...
While I have known about the correct weight distribution ever since I started, it has only been within the past couple of months where it has been specifically noticed from various parties. Now this has become one of those things where I need to correct the mistakes of the last few years.
This is definitely becoming one of those things that is easier said than done. I can stand in one spot and really think about keeping my left leg straight, shifting my weight back and exploding when I want to attack. But it becomes another matter when coupled with intense practices and jigeiko when there are a trillion other things going on in my mind. It's kinda discouraging when I think about it knowing that this is one of the hardest things I probably have had to fix since I started, but then knowing that fixing my balance will help in a wide variety Kendo aspects only makes me want to achieve that goal more.
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2 comments:
Chris
I thought I would repay the compliment. You are correct in that the majority of your weight should be on the left foot, but if your knee is too straight, it will make your footwork static. If you read the translation of Matsumoto Toshio sensei's article on correct chudan and men attack that I posted last year on my blog, it should explain weight distribution much better that I can.
Regards
Geoff Salmon
Thanks for the article! You do make a good point though, a knee that is too straight would cause more harm than good for footwork. I've been spending the last couple of practices playing around with my leg position to see what feels right, and then be able to explode from that position. The latter will take a lot more work, I'm afraid.
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