The Way We Walk and Kendo

The way we walk influences our kendo a lot. Once you let yourself into the kendo world, you will have to suffer from this. 

Please pay attention to the way you walk.

There are many ways that people walk. But do you see those people who walk like these?

I hope not. As mentioned in shizentai, we must learn how to stand up straight in kendo. We also learn how to walk if necessary.

I actually changed the way I walk to improve my kendo. How? This is how.

The Way We Walk for Kendo

Very easy. Make sure that the knees are facing straight forwards. Not outwards. This is the start.

Pay attention to the toes as well. When they land, they also should face straight forwards. Not outwards.

This makes a great change in your kendo. We are told to keep our left foot straight so that the left toe does not face outwards.

However, when you see high grade senseis, their left toes are not straight. Why?

It is simply because kendo should change as we get older. While we are young, we should move a lot. That means we should strike a lot. To strike a lot, we should go forwards. To go forwards, it gives us more force and power when the left toe faces straight forwards.

However, as we get older, gradually we stop striking much. Instead of going straight forwards, we start moving aside. That is why the left toes of a lot of high graded senseis face outwards.

So does it mean you do not have to make your left toe straight if you start kendo in your late adulthood?

The answer is no.

Another reason why we keep the left toe straight is to keep our body straight towards our opponent. If the left toe faces outwards, the left knee also faces outwards.

As a result, the whole body turns to the left. The reason why this is bad is because it makes you tend to leave the lower body behind when you strike. This kind of strike is considered to be a very bad strike because you should strike with the whole body not only with the upper body.

Once you know how you walk, you can start analyzing your kendo too.

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