How to do a good okuri-ashi?

[?] Subscribe To This Site

How to do a good okuri-ashi?

In your kendo guide for beginers (page 54) and video, you said no dragging for the back foot and the left foot can be lift up.

I don't understand because for me all forms of footwork (ayumi-ashi, okuri-ashi, hiraki-ashi, and tsugi-ashi) are performed with suri-ashi: sliding steps in which the feet never leave the floor.

Could you explain more when you write "no dragging in kendo footwork"?

Answer: If your feet are sticking to the floor when you move, you cannot slide/glide. This results in dragging.

If the soles of the feet are touching on the floor completely flat, you cannot even do suri-ashi.

These feet should be slightly lifted when moving. If suri-ashi is done correctly, you can feel dust of the floor rolling between your feet.

To move faster, we need to have as lees friction as possible between our feet and the floor. If you drag your feet, you are increasing friction.

Hope this explanation helps.

Comments for
How to do a good okuri-ashi?

Average Rating

Click here to add your own comments

Apr 01, 2009
Rating

Teleport
by: Anonymous

Do tell if I have it right or wrong:

Imagine you are not moving forward, you are "teleporting" one metre forward. Of course you cannot do that, but to give the illusion that you are, your back foot pushes the whole body into position and snaps into place...if your opponent blinked at that moment then you will look as if you teleported.

Dungeons & Dragons players would compare this to a "Blink" spell. (sorry for the nerdy reference, hehehe)

Actually if you push yourself forward as fast and as far as you can, and then recover your position instantly, the fumikomi sound comes out as an effect.

Do correct me if I am wrong.

Kendo-Guide.Com: Good analogy. Any analogies should be shared, I think.

I try to use my students? language when I explain kendo. I use different languages to high school students, adult students and elementary school students. If I know my students? occupation, I use that to explain kendo.

I am sure that there are people who play Dungeons & Dragons (this is the tile of the game, right?). If this analogy works, that is great!

Thanks for the analogy!

Mar 30, 2009
Rating

Sticky Foot in Okuri-ashi
by: John M.

As Masahiro explains, the back foot needs to be pulled up quite quickly as you advance forward.

The way I explain it to my students is thinking like music notes; the front foot goes forward like a whole note but the rear foot comes forward like an eight-note timing, not a whole note. Instead of one and two, it's one, two; two coming immediately without too much pause between the two. Dragging is very bad, indeed.

If you find your foot sticking, it might be because beginners' bottom of their foot are quite soft (like a baby's bottom) until they get calloused. So putting tactum powder before practice (making sure you clean any left on the dojo floor after applying) will help greatly.

Eventually the sole of your feet will get calloused in no time with continuous practice.

Kendo-Guide.Com:Thank you for the good advice. Applying powder is probably a good idea. Beginners should know how it feels like to "slide not "drag" their feet first. It is a good method to get the hang of suri-ashi. What is tactum? Is it a brand name of powder?

The music analogy is good for those who like music. I cannot read music but I kind of know what you are talking about since I know how okuri-ashi should be done :)

Mar 30, 2009
Rating

thanks
by: Anonymous

Thank you for your detailed explanations !

Kendo-Guide.Com: You?re welcome!

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How?
Simply click here to return to Any Questions about Kendo

footer for kendo page

How to do a good okuri-ashi?

Comments for How to do a good okuri-ashi?

Comments for
How to do a good okuri-ashi?