About this blog..

This is a blog that I started in April 2006, just after I first put on my bogu (kendo armour). It collects the advices given by more experienced kendo practitioners as well as those from my own experiences. Both technical and the mental aspects of kendo are written in the blog. I hope someone will find them useful or interesting at least!

Monday, November 09, 2009

2009 Taipei Chung-Cheng Cup



Yesterday, perhaps the biggest yearly kendo competition in Taipei took place in the Taipei Sports Hall. We (Taipei Kendokan) have two men teams, one above 30 years-old and the other under, and two female teams. This was the second time I fought in the competition in Taiwan, which was also the second time I represented the Taipei Kendokan. I feel privileged, of course, because there are full of strong players in my dojo, and still Ho-Sensei and Sempais asked me every time if I want to participate in the competition.

I've been also eager to accumulate competition experiences, since it's always been my problem bringing out anything resembles the level of my kendo in practices. Nervousness had always made my muscles tense.

This time though I proved to myself that I can do it, thanks to my teammates who encouraged me to fight in the final. They could have sent the best five, all at the 3rd/4th Dan level. "Do you want to give it a shot?" Our captain asked me. With a slight hesitation, I nodded. What went across my mind was, "What if I lose? Or worse, what if I can't even put up a good fight and make a fool out of myself and the team?" I don't know. But what I knew was that if I didn't try, I'd never know and never cross that barrier.

I was assigned the senpo position (the first fighter), meaning that my job was to either win or draw. Because it matters to the overall spirit of the team. Up from sonkyo, I immediately applied pressure and striked men. My opponent blocked it, and pushed me to the floor. It was only seconds into the match. I bet my teammates were speechless. They told me from the outside that I should jump a little to loosen up my body, which also refocus my mind. I did as told, which you can see from the video. :) My moment came as my opponent missed a strike and, immediately after turning back, he wanted to strike. I took his kote. What a sensation! Especially from the cheering of my teammates! Though I lost in the end, my teammates were very happy about my performance and gave a lot of encouragement. They went on to recover and finally win the whole match. Wow!

To be honest, I think he wasn't much stronger than I was, but he certainly had more competition experiences than I did. I was pleased with myself that I didn't let my nerve took over, which had been my biggest problem so far. If I can achieve this every time in the future, it will be much easier for me to learn and gain the experiences I need.

(I was the red)



Some thoughts:
  • If the opponent is large and keeps pushing, step sideways so that his momentum doesn't come directly at me.
  • Execute hikki-waza immediately when the strike was invalid and we end up in tsubazeiai.
  • Observe the habits of the opponent and react accordingly. For example, how he blocks strikes.
  • When separating from tsubazeriai, becareful of strikes from mid-distances. For example, the second men point he got in the match.
  • Eat more and put up some weight!







14 comments:

Georg said...

Congratulations Ivan.

I like your choice of improvements!
It looked like you lost the tense when he did the second strike, while it was a little bit too much (imho) after your first ippon.

Best Regards,
Georg

Anonymous said...

學長那時候我想的跟一樣!!!
不過並沒像你一樣
打到漂亮的一支
不過真的很有心得

照堂 said...

sorry
上一篇沒發現有name可以選

Unknown said...

Hi Georg, great to hear from you! That's right. I fact in my mind I could decide if I wanted to keep the score 1-0 or try to make 2-0. So my mind was somewhere between defensice and offensive. I think my strategic thinking needs to be a bit quicker in the future.

When thinking back I think I should have tried to keep the score immediately after my ippon. Because my other teammates were strong, even if I was careless and lost one point drawing the match 1-1, the team would be more confident that we could win the whole match. In which case, my "duty" would have been fullfilled. Good thing was, my ippon lifted the team's spirit anyway somehow, and I got great teammates!

Unknown said...

照堂啊,你說哪時候跟我想的一樣勒?

不過話說回來,你打得真的氣勢都有出來,氣合(喊聲)很好吶!

Unknown said...

By the way Georg, have you finished the Ausbildung? What are you doing now?

照堂 said...

"What if I lose? Or worse, what if I can't even put up a good fight and make a fool out of myself and the team?" I don't know. But what I knew was that if I didn't try, I'd never know and never cross that barrier.
就是這段呀~

Unknown said...

嗯嗯嗯^^

agou said...

Hi Ivan, my name is Alex. I live in Greece, and I am a beginner in Kendo (no bogu yet).
I just wanted to say that your blog is great. It is a true Kendo journal, and I intend to slowly read all the entries. I might even consider starting my own!
Keep posting!

Unknown said...

Hi Alex, I'm glad that you like the blog and find it useful. Practising kendo needs much devotion and perseverance. The importance part is the process and not the goal. Because you might never quite get there. I hope you find the process of learning and perfecting your kendo as rewarding as I do, and hopefully sometime in the future we get to cross our swords!

Patrik-san said...

Hi Ivan,
i saw ur video..u r so fast that i didnt saw the first strike when referee said "hajime"...tell me u didnt get tired in that match?i see that u enjoying playing kendo and this is the most beautiful thing...keep on kendo!!!

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