[Caliwany]

I think you have to pass through fumikomi before you can do no fumikomi. It's like many sensei also say, you shouldn't have blisters or callouses on your hands and your shinai should last for years. Were a beginner to take these sayings to heart, they would end up with a kendo that lacked any intensity. I think it's a bit disingenuous of a hachi-dan to tell a sho-dan that they needn't use fumikomi.

b

[leijggigf]

I was about to ask too, seriously:

Why stamp?

To archieve Ki-ken-tai-ichi, do you really have to stamp?
Pick Kendo Kata for example. You just step in, slide in, and no stamping is involved.... Right?

That's also a problem with the weight transfer thing... When you stamp where you suppose to have your center of gravity?

[Kokomoxcv]

I think fumikomi is important. by doing so even the lightest hitter could be change to strong hitter. What i am trying to say is, by doing fumikomi, your hits could sound, feel, and also look more powerful.

It might be a good idea to try it at your dojo next time. Have someone watch, and do some mens without fumikomi and some with. Then you will see the difference. If you have some people say" don't have to do fumikomi" well, I guess it works for them without fumikomi.

For those people who have flat foot (like myself) it sometime helps if you slap the floor with your foot insted of stoping the floor so hard. This works when you hurt your foot during tournaments or practices also.

[KongoSan]

Let's get some terms straight. Fumikomi is the technique where you raise the foot off the ground and land on it again in sync with the cut.

Actually Neil, I have read fumikomi being described as just the stamping part on the floor, whereas the pushing with the left leg is called fumikiri. As far as I know (which is very little) the raising of the right floor from the ground has no specific name, though I would love to be proven wrong just to clarify this. It would be interesting to know if that motion has a proper name so that we can use it for future debates.

[GogaMegaPis]

C'mon, this is four years old...

[viepedorlella]

...
you know I´m a slow reader...


...lol. Sorry. I didn´t realize it. I was searching about fumikomi and this thing appeared around

[spamkillerf]

a hachi dan sensei told me that doing fumikomi in kendo is a waste of time. he said that all you need to do is slide. He is a hachi dan... whats up with that?????? i think you need to stomp, but the guy is a hachi dan... you cannot ignore that right?

So.....what exactly are you doing with this? You know where its going to go, and to some extent, not kosher.

[Borzopayn]

Let's get some terms straight. Fumikomi is the technique where you raise the foot off the ground and land on it again in sync with the cut. We call the footwork fumikomi-ashi and the technique tobikomi-men or fumikomi-men (or -whatever point). I don't know what to call the sound that results from that other than the "stomp". So there's two interpretations to the question. 1. Do I need to use fumikomi-ashi to score a point and 2. If I use fumikomi-ashi do I need to have a stomp sound.

The answer to both questions is no. For 1, the judges are looking for ki-ken-tai-ichi and you can demonstrate this with fumikomi-ashi or suri-ashi or ayumi-ashi. For 2, the sound is a side effect of the technique. So long as your body and your sword are together, you're OK by me.

Caveat for answer #1 - if you're a beginner (< 3 dan) then you should work on getting your fumikomi-ashi right before trying other footwork. Also the reality of judging is that if they hear that stomp and that thwack together, the flag is more likely to go up.

Caveat for answer #2 - if you don't have a sound then your fumikomi-ashi is probably wrong, or you are quite a light person.

Also I disagree that you need to raise your foot high to get good distance. If your foot is more than a few inches off the floor, it's too high, fix it. Goose-stepping kendo is always wrong and jumping kendo is high school stuff. Most of us here need proper adult kendo technique.

I have been told by high rankings sensei, that they want to hear the sound of the fumikomi. Even if my kikentai was good, he still wants to hear a strong fumikomi sound.

While I agree and say you dont need fumikomi to score a point, since there are many techniques in which fumikomi is not done(ex. gyaku doh, and some nuki attacks, and doh attack, ect). Yet, there are many judges, who have it ingrained in them, that they want to hear that sound or see the fumikomi to give the point. Whether the are wrong or right, its seems that you should do fumikomi in the competetive arena if you want to get the most points, unless you are very high ranked or physically unable to do fumikomi.

Just my words on it.

[NikitahDE]

I know someone who had a really bad knee injury. He couldn't fumikomi or if he did it would be weeks before he could train again. But sensei, knowing the injury, kept telling him he had to fumikomi but he'd been told the by Japanese sensei that you don't need to, it's a slide, the ki ken tai no ichi. But the golden rule always follows - do whatever the sensei at the time says. It did mean there were times he wasn't awarded ippon because there was no fumikomi though. Had his knee op now so I don't know if that means he can fumikomi again, I'll ask him.

[Redys]

I know someone who had a really bad knee injury. He couldn't fumikomi or if he did it would be weeks before he could train again. But sensei, knowing the injury, kept telling him he had to fumikomi

wow! No disrespect to whoever the sensei was but I'd be looking for another dojo fast. Your body has to last your whole life and you want to be able to keep doing the things you enjoy until the very end.

[neniajany]

I've been told by a hachi-dan sensei to try to step on my opponents' balls with fumikomi...what's up with that?! (True story.)

[55Beaphable]

'crush' their spirit perhaps?

[Blotassefesek]

I think you just have to tell yourself that the hachidan sensei can speak another language sometimes , just do what your teacher tells you to do and you'll be fine.

[Penisvergroesserung]

I've been told by a hachi-dan sensei to try to step on my opponents' balls with fumikomi...what's up with that?! (True story.)

This is probably a joke only the other Canucks will get. Remember 'Kids in the Hall'? I'm squishing your head!

[Podborodok]

I think you just have to tell yourself that the hachidan sensei can speak another language sometimes , just do what your teacher tells you to do and you'll be fine.

I know what you mean, but he is my sensei!
I guess it's not enough to imagine steeping on their feet, as I've heard from other teachers.

"This is probably a joke only the other Canucks will get. Remember 'Kids in the Hall'? I'm squishing your head! "

And I guess if you're stepping on his balls and hitting men, you'll be doing both!

[proslaviy]

wow! No disrespect to whoever the sensei was but I'd be looking for another dojo fast. Your body has to last your whole life and you want to be able to keep doing the things you enjoy until the very end. It's weird, actually. He's a very good and well respected Sensei and we're all feeling the loss (he's moved interstate) that is normally very forgiving of people's injuries and limitations. I've never been able to understand it. But it's cool now, friend's had a knee op and back to kendo. It just really did seem strange. It seeemd his lack of fumikomi was holding him back, he really is quite good and hasn't graded for years and years - maybe that's why sensei was so strict on him? Dunno.

[pokerbonuscod]

This is probably a joke only the other Canucks will get. Remember 'Kids in the Hall'? I'm squishing your head!

No, I'm pinching you face, I'm pinching your face!

[IodinkBoilk]

wow, really old thread, i think it's before i ever even signed up for this site.
I was taught by a hachidan sensei not to (purposely) stomp also. When i practiced there, he always said i stomp too loud, haha. His point was to use fumikomi to bring up the left foot as fast as possible, the stomp is a by-product of the bringing up of the left foot, not the emphasis. The cut should be made at this point (when u snap your hip, straight out your right knee) which is basically when the stomp shoulud be.

But... at the same time, a junior sensei of the same dojo, told beginners to try to do big motions in the stomp, because he thinks it's easier to learn the timing that way. And, as you progress, learn the more efficient footwork....
Just different approaches of teaching i guess.

[SappyAppy]

rise from the dead!!!!!!!!!

I still learn from this sensei and understand whats going on now. I doubt i will be doing kendo by the time i have to stop stomping. I just want a nicer J.

now die my old thread!

how about re-edumacating me again?!