Kendo Footwork 101

August 2005, Jakob Schmidt, Hizen Dojo.

Like me, you'll most likely end up hearing this phrase: 'You need to improve your footwork' many times during your kendo-career, but unfortunately, the best way of improving your kendo, is to focus on your footwork.

Further, it's one of those all-encompassing terms, so what does it really means when people refer to your footwork and how do you go about improving it?.

This document will contain my thoughts on this subject which really, in earnest started last year when I realized that in order to pass my grading I needed to focus on my footwork and try to figure out what the whole concept actually meant. (And while it is a physical action, I still consider it a concept, as it covers so many areas of kendo, from the pure basic function of moving from A to B, to the more esoteric areas such as pressure, seme, etc.). Hopefully some of these thoughts will make it more clear and help you to develop your footwork and thereby, your kendo.

What is footwork?

Footwork is the driving force in kendo. Not just for moving backwards and forwards, but also for making the actual cut and further on, creating openings, pressure, etc.

This starts from the torso, where the muscles start grabbing the lower part of the back & pelvis, all the way down to the toes. All this is needed to move the body in a controlled manner, where you are always ready to attack!...and that, is the main point. In order to always be ready to attack, you need to maintain posture (hips, back, shoulders) and you need to minimize the time the left foot is not in firm contact with the ground. Your left foot is the driving foot and if that is not in a position from where you can push off, you cannot attack. This is also why kendo footwork has this strange shuffling motion: to minimize the time the left foot isn't touching the ground.

The basic position

The basic kamae position should be known to all of you, but I will describe it anyway. It will vary slightly from person to person, depending on each individual physiology and you will develop your own personal stance over time, but this is what everybody should start with.

1. Start with your feet together,
2. Pivot, from the heel, the left foot out 90 degrees.
3. Then pivot, from the big toe, the left foot another 90 degrees.
4. Your left big toe should now be roughly in line with your right heel, with your feet being approx. underneath your shoulders.
5. 'Load up' the backside of your left leg (all the way up through the buttock) and push the left side of the hip forward so that it's straight. This will also push the left heel just off the floor. The action of 'lifting the heel' should be a consequence of pushing the hip forward, not just lifting the heel!.
6. Right knee should be ever so slightly bend (5 degrees or so), left knee about 5-10 degrees
7. Weight distribution, initially, should be around 60% on the left leg, 40% on the front. You should just about be able to lift the right foot off the ground for a second, without losing balance.
8. Balance should be centered, but with a feeling of slightly leaning forward.

While this, for me as well, is always work in progress, you should be able to take this position without thinking. For that to happen, you need to also practice this outside the dojo. I do it while wait for the bus, waiting for the kettle, etc. Idle moments during the day. Practice 'popping' into position, adjust the balance as needed, try to remember the position and return to normal..repeat until water boils, bus appears, etc

The first step

Now, once you have placed yourself in the basic position, it's time to move. (Sounds simple, eh?).

The principle is, as mentioned before, to move forward, with as good a posture as possible and spending minimal time off the ground, so that you are quickly able to attack. First however, we should just focus on the mechanical side of the step it self. The movement is simple: Push up and forward with the hip to start the movement and engage the left calf muscle to push with the foot as well. Relax the front leg and you should find yourself move forward as in a normal step. Key points are:

1. Keep the big toe on the right foot just above the floor, almost in a skating motion.
2. Keep the hip and back square at all times.

This everybody can do/learn quickly as it only requires slight modification from our normal way of walking. The real trick is in bringing the left foot back quickly in a controlled manner. You want to bring it back to the same position (relative to the rest of your body) as you started and you want to do it as quickly as possible. The moment the left foot approaches it original position, you have to start transferring the weight back onto it, so that you are ready for another step (or an attack).

This is difficult to do accurately, smoothly and fast!.

It has to be a smooth motion,so that if you continue forward, there is no break in the motion of the body, but at the same time, you have to be able to stop and still stay balanced. You can't snap the foot forward into the floor, as not only will it damage your foot but it will slow you down. You can't wait too long after you have put the foot down to transfer the weight back onto it, as you are very vulnerable at that stage. (On the same note, if you find seniors picking you off whenever you move, they are most likely attacking when you left foot leaves the floor...or, as I see a lot, people take a step forward, stop and have all their weight on the front foot and can't move any further).

You can test this quickly. Go into the basic position. Take a step forward and see how long it takes you to get into the basic position again. For me, it takes a lot longer than I would like it to!. Here's where homework is really becoming useful. More so than suburi, in my opinion, and something I do almost every day (especially when waiting for the water to boil). Practice the basic step:

1 step forward. Check your feet and see where they end up. If feet are not aligned (ie heel pointing inwards, etc), they usually go off early part in the movement. Correct your feet and balance back to basic and take 1 step back and repeat. Now step forward, but try to keep the mistakes from the last step in mind and correct them before they happen. Try to keep in balance all the way through the movement. If you constantly find yourself out of balance, shorten the step and slowly make it bigger. Once all that starts to come into place, try to bring the left foot up faster. You'll find that you have to adjust the balance once again as the timing of the whole thing will change. This is another reason why footwork is so difficult. Often when you change one tiny aspect of it, the relationship between the muscles and the balance will change and you will have to re-adjust everything again.

Fumikomi

Often described as stomp, which I personally think is a slightly unfortunate description as people end up focusing on the sound rather than the action. The sound is a secondary effect of 'bounding' of the right foot just as the cut lands. It can be used to 'sell' a cut, but I'd rather focus on how to get to that point and past it , than making the sound.

The purpose of fumikomi is to get into distance so that you can cut the target as quickly as possible and in order to ensure that you continue through and into a 'safe' distance, you must also keep the momentum up and continue through.

Initially the focus is on the left leg/hip. You need to use it for an explosive motion forward, similar to a sprinter jumping out of the blocks. I aim to push slightly upwards, around 15 degrees or so, to counter gravity and allowing the right foot to move. Again, as in the normal step, keep the right toes as close to the ground as possible and don't allow it to lift up for the stomp which many people are doing. As gravity comes in, spring of on the right leg, again to propel you forward, this time more like a triple jumper landing for his 2nd step. This should ideally be enough to at least move you alongside your opponent, rather than being stranded in front, in fact, the right leg should accelerate you even further, carrying you quickly past the opponent.

I usually visualize it as I'm trying to step next to the opponents right foot. This has helped me trying to push my legs/hips further, rather than trying to reach with the body/arms.

Doing lunges is also helpful, but only focus on the explosion forward as you don't want to end up leaving your left foot behind.

Another useful exercise which I will introduce you to, is starting slightly outside your cutting distance (issoko no itto mae, one step, one cut ). Move your right foot forward about 1 foot distance, load up the left leg and cut men. If you try to reach with the body and not the leg, you will be out of balance as you reach the target and the cut will feel horrible. This does however put a lot of strain on the achilles, so listen to your body while doing this.

If you frequent a gym, then talk to one of the trainers there about how to increase your explosive power. This is one of the areas where gym-work can really help, although you still need to do it correctly!.

Finishing the cut

The final part of the cut doesn't finish after cutting the opponent, as you still have to move through, turn around and be ready for the next attack. After springing of the right leg, get your left foot back underneath you and continue moving for a good 3-5 paces (depending on length of the practice space, stride length, etc) and turn around. It is essential that you relax in order to move freely and smoothly. Common mistake is usually either having the shinai/arms too high and/or squeezing the shinai after cutting. Keep the arms no higher than horizontal, relax the hands.

Also try opening up the chest and throat to let the remainder of the kiah flow easily and use that to carry you forward and once you are in safe distance, turn around quickly.

You are not finished yet and as people turn around, is usually one of the best opportunities to attack them, so be aware!. Turning around is easiest achieved by stepping across with the right foot, pivot and swing the left foot (and the remainder of the body) around. Again, get the left foot in place as quickly as possible and assume the basic position. Now you are ready to go again!.