Sensei Says, “Renshū This…”
That’s right, I have a sensei now.
J–sensei is a 4−dan who had not been able to practice his art for about 11 years. He only began training again when he moved here to Cambodia late last year and found out about us. He is a really good teacher, and mainly because he IS a teacher −− so it’s natural for him. Although my sempais have all been good teachers to me too, I find that I have learned more from J−sensei in such a short time; stuff that have not been explained to me clearly in all the years I’ve been learning kendo. Perhaps it’s because he is able to articulate the techniques very well in a language that I am quite fluent in.
So yeah, I have a sensei now and I train with him every Tuesday nights, which somewhat inspired the kendo illustrations I’ve been posting EVERY Tuesdays. And just like “Sempai Says…,” I shall write down some of the things I’ve learned from him:
“You need more ni−dan−waza. It is good to go for it for an ippon, but you need ni−dan−san−dan−waza. If your opponent goes through, you should go through; if your opponent goes forward, you should go forward.”
“If your opponent does ni−dan−waza, then do san−dan−waza; if he does three, then go for four, and so on… .”
“That was a very good kote, but you missed your shot! You should’ve zanshin when you did! If your kote is incorrect, that’s when you go for men (ni−dan−waza)!”
“That’s right, don’t stop! If you can hit, keep going!”
“Suriage−men, as a counterattack, is difficult.”
“I am a huge fan of big cuts… it has more seme and propels you forward than small cuts.”
“If you say you can’t do tobikomi−men because you’re short, that’s negative thinking. You are able to make that reach… everyone in toma think they’re safe, and so you need to attack from a far distance because they don’t expect it.”
After attempting tobokomi-men unsuccessfully for several times, J-sensei finally broke his silence about how I tend to put too much weight on my right foot upon landing, thereby rooting me down instead of using my tanden to maintain my posture and propel me forward. He tells me:
“Trust your hips!”
…ahhh, ‘coz ‘Hips Don’t Lie,’ right?
Below is a clip of my jigeiko with J−sensei. In this clip, you will notice how my feet is heavily−bandaged. This was from the ruptured blisters caused by sliding on the floor for 2 long hours, especially after several rounds of kakarigeiko!!