[JesikaFclq]

I walk like a duck.

Coming up on 5 years in kendo, I cannot get my left foot to stay straight once I start moving. It is everything I can do the get it to point straight forward once I stop moving again. I finally asked a podiatrist about this as he examined my right foot regarding the kendo-associated plantar fasciitis.

He diagnosed me with bilateral femoral retroversion, w/ abducted foot, aka "out toe" and gave me a note to that effect.

Maybe they will take pity on my left foot when I test for ni-dan if I give them my doctor's note?

Anyone else walk like a duck and have a medical note to justify it at exam time?

[sposteTipsKage]

I have one leg longer than the other and have the same problem keeping my left foot straight. I get harped on constantly about this at practice, but can't really explain to my sensei what the problem is (communication gap + old school sensei who don't want to hear excuses).

I've been told before the shinsa starts, you need to inform the judges of any physical conditions, like if you have to wear a brace or if your ankle is taped, I think passing along your note might help.

Still, in the long run, I don't think you will ever get over people pointing out your left foot problem.

[shumozar]

Considering growing up with Judo where pointing outward feet walking habit were developed and set tight with my life. Suddenly started Kendo and had to reset foot position all over again after thirty five years walking Judo way was a nightmare for long long time

[Yartonbler]

You can certainly put the condition down on the testing form, but I'm not sure it will make much difference.

I tend to think what would hold more weight is something like:
"Candidate has broken foot..."
"Candidate born without toes on feet..."
"Candidate has ruptured/torn achilles tendon..."
"Candidate is legally blind..."
"Candidate is deaf...."
"Candidate is mute...."
"Candidate has extreme psychosis...don't speak loudly around him please."
"Candidate is pregnant...."
"Candidate gave birth yesterday..."

I'm curious to know from those who have sat on grading panels what their experience with this kind of stuff has been...

[!!Aaroncheg]

btw... at my second 3.dan shinsa, one of the guys I was partnered up with had just had triple bypass surgery the week before.














I told him he was crazy.

[Khurlxgq]

"Candidate has extreme psychosis...don't speak loudly around him please."

WILL YOU STOP SCREAMING AT US!!?!! AND TELL THAT PINK DUCK TO PUT OUT HIS CIGAR ON THE STYROFOAM VOLCANO BEFORE IT ERUPTS LIME GREEN ERASERS!!!??

lol

Mental...

[Alice_Medichi34]

hehehehehehe

[wallyfindme]

Maybe they will take pity on my left foot when I test for ni-dan if I give them my doctor's note?

I don't think a crooked left foot will hold you back if your kendo is otherwise sound.

[attackDoold]

I walk like a duck.

Coming up on 5 years in kendo, I cannot get my left foot to stay straight once I start moving. It is everything I can do the get it to point straight forward once I stop moving again. I finally asked a podiatrist about this as he examined my right foot regarding the kendo-associated plantar fasciitis.

He diagnosed me with bilateral femoral retroversion, w/ abducted foot, aka "out toe" and gave me a note to that effect.

Maybe they will take pity on my left foot when I test for ni-dan if I give them my doctor's note?

Anyone else walk like a duck and have a medical note to justify it at exam time?

A sensei explained me that knees are more important than feets.
If your left knee turn to the left, your hips will turn to the left also, preventing you to do a correct attack.
Because of hakama, it's difficult to see student's knees. We speek then about feets and usually it's the same. But for you and for me it's not.

I needed physiotherapy to solve a physical problem, as result my right foot (only) opened to the right. If I try to keep it in line, my knee turn to the left and fumikomi begin to be dangerous for my knee.
I just focus on the good orientation of my knees and it works well.

I never had a medical note and I don't think I will need one.

[EspnaConCam]

A sensei explained me that knees are more important than feets.
If your left knee turn to the left, your hips will turn to the left also, preventing you to do a correct attack.
Because of hakama, it's difficult to see student's knees. We speek then about feets and usually it's the same. But for you and for me it's not.

I think that's maybe because a turned left knee can most often can be traced back to a turned left foot.

(I say 'most often' just to leave open the possibility of something else causing it)..

[hwood]

Of course this all reminds me of Stewies song:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bvLscmRbcgU

[Fgunehjf]

My personal project before going for my Nidan was working on my footwork. That was about 5 year into my kendo.

I found when correcting/ modifying my footwork don't just look at the foot, but also take into account you knee and leg angles/position.

That was for me anyway. It took me about 2 years to correct and I am now at a point where i have to refine my footwork again. It is most probably the single hardest part of your kendo techniques to work on.

[VeniHemealm]

can you try walking like a pigeon? or whatever people say "pigeon foot" syndrom is. like just turing your toes towards each other when you walk, that might help? i don't know. To best honest, i know a lot of people that walk like ducks. Maybe i'll have to ask them if they have some type of medical condition before i throw out some comment about how they should improve their footwork. in any event, i am afraid as most of said, i don't think having a medical condition is going to cut it. i sometimes wear a heel protector to practice, depends on whether the floor we are practicing on is really hard. (a.k.a Cleveland taikai!!! yikes) but i was told by a japanese sempai that i shouldn't wear any sort of protector because some sensei would tend to look down upon this. is this medical condition something you can fix?

[BonjGopu]

. . .
I told him he was crazy.

If not now, when?

[wrardymar]

If not now, when?

how about sometime more than a week after you had your ribcage cracked open? ... just my opiniong...

YMMV!!

[Shemker394]

can you try walking like a pigeon? or whatever people say "pigeon foot" syndrom is. like just turing your toes towards each other when you walk, that might help? i don't know.

i've never asked any of our newbies if they naturally walk like a duck or not...

but after telling them several times about keeping their feet straight, on occasion i've told them to "go pidgeon toe" ... it's really quite amazing... they say, "ok, i'm doing pidgeon toe now" and i look down and they're not pidgeon toed, rather their feet are finally perfectly straight.

in the beginning, it seems to take many people a while to get accustomed to it. i say, "if it feels awkward.. if you feel overly pidgeon-toed, then you're doing it right... if it feels natural AT THIS POINT, then you're letting your feet go back to what they're accustomed to doing -- i.e., duck feet -- that's wrong.."

[Relsenlilky]

i sometimes wear a heel protector to practice, depends on whether the floor we are practicing on is really hard. (a.k.a Cleveland taikai!!! yikes) but i was told by a japanese sempai that i shouldn't wear any sort of protector because some sensei would tend to look down upon this. is this medical condition something you can fix?

Yes, better your fumikomi.

[exchpaypalgold]

I noticed that most of the higher sensei (and not only them) have their left feet turned...but this doesn't seem to affect their kendo...

[Ferrotoral]

The position of the feet in kendo is "natural" for only a tiny proportion of humans I would imagine. And yet a large majority can achieve it most of the time. Surely this is the purpose of practice. There are also a host of other postural/skeletal idiosyncracies that people work on in the pursuit of optimal biomechanics for kendo. I've been working on my posture quite conscientiously for the last 17 years. Recently, four words from my sensei have sent me back to the drawing board.

Your personal struggle to meet perfection halfway is what your kendo is. That's your "michi". A doctor's note may rob you of that.

I learnt from a nanadan sensei in Japan who was "lame" in one leg from polio. He did not wear any visible support and had adapted his kendo to fit his abilities. I also sense his abilities had been adapted (i.e. extended) to fit kendo.

b

[ulnanVti]

"btw... at my second 3.dan shinsa, one of the guys I was partnered up with had just had triple bypass surgery the week before."

Friend of mine climbed mount washington with a metal heart valve lodged sideways in his heart somewhere.

Yeah I'm hating the feet thing, I've a tendancy when I do kata too quickly to bend my back leg completely.