Kenjutsu Shiai
This past Saturday introduced a new layer of training into the group- for lack of a better term “Shiai”. The exercise has two partners trading off attack and defender with shinai. The aim is to use your footwork to put you in a position where you are protected form being attacked through avoiding it, while at the same time using your footwork to impose on your training partner messing up their distance and timing. The fact that there is a “sword” in your hand really doesn’t matter, and it is actually a trap. It is just good old taijutsu powering the lesson, not “swordplay”, but you would be surprised how many people pick up a sword and now mentally shift their thinking to “sword fighting”.
There is also a lesson in ego and group dynamics/building. This is a lesson of give and take, when it is your turn to attack, you attack using your best skills, maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t- you grow and learn. If you think of it as a contest where you have to win, you are missing the point, and are hurting yourself by not being able to see what is hidden in the situation.
From the kyu/beginner perspective it is about how well you can use your own footwork and what level of mastery you have over your own body. If you haven’t mastered yourself, how are you going to influence your training partner, let alone a real opponent?
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There is also a lesson in ego and group dynamics/building. This is a lesson of give and take, when it is your turn to attack, you attack using your best skills, maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t- you grow and learn. If you think of it as a contest where you have to win, you are missing the point, and are hurting yourself by not being able to see what is hidden in the situation.
From the kyu/beginner perspective it is about how well you can use your own footwork and what level of mastery you have over your own body. If you haven’t mastered yourself, how are you going to influence your training partner, let alone a real opponent?
