180 degree turn

by Agchan
(South Korea)

In our dojo I was ordered to perform a 180 degree turn on the left foot (with a wooden katana for the first time) with my right foot above the ground, followed by a double step and a men strike.

Do you have any video for changing directions in the footwork? How can I keep my body in balance? I started training at the beginning of July this year and my footwork is still not good, especially in keeping my heels up all the time.

Answer: It sounds like the way you were taught is different from mine.

There is a video called “Sotai Dosa: Strikes with Fumikomi Passing Through” at the Kendo Video Download page.  

Keeping your body in balance is not easy. You just have to find out through training. If you have your feet too close to each other, you tend to lose balance. Yet you do not want to have them apart too much. Your Shoulder width is about right, I think.

If you tend to lose balance when turning, you just have to practice a lot :)

Hope this helps.