Two points for daily practise

1. By the time you are in sonkyo you should already have your strategy in place:

‘As soon as you stand up, 1 – seme, 2 – seme, 3 – seme… pressure, pressure, pressure.’

‘If you want to strike me men go ahead, do it! When you attempt to I will strike your dou.’

‘Just as your partner attempts to strike have the feeling of thrusting his left eye, this will cause a disturbance in his heart/will.’

‘Pressure the omote and strike the ura.’

etc etc. Whichever strategy you have decided on stand up silently from sonkyo and with full vigor face your opponent – if you do this and manage to take an ippon within 20 seconds it will be a mark that your kendo is improving.

Its very common for teachers to say ‘do shiai with mushin’ but this advice is for experts who have already forged their technique. If inexperienced people whose technique is far from polished try to do this they will simply be struck.

In order to stand up and take an ippon in under 20 seconds you have to concentrate on taking the ippon at shotachi (the initial strike). Shinken-shobu is often called ‘the fight for shotachi.’

2. While pressuring your opponent, or when their body-shape is in disarray after execution of an attack – when their heart/will is in a state of confusion – you should immediately attack without giving them time to breathe. If you are too late in taking the chance it will not come again.

Your mental state should be the same as an athlete who is waiting at the starting block of a 100m race: ‘ready, set, go!’ If the strike isn’t an ippon you must cultivate the practise of striking multiple times in one breath (until you hit a good strike). If you don’t do this in your daily keiko then your body won’t be able to keep up (during shiai or against other opponents).

This isn’t about striking with your head. Your legs should move of their own volition. Only when you have reached this state can it be said that you have mastered technique.

About the author

SAKUMA SABURO sensei was born in 1912 in Fukushima prefecture. He started kendo at around 10/11 years old in Fukushima Butokuden. After graduating from what is now Fukushima University he started teaching kendo at various high schools. In 1939 he began to work in Mitsubushi’s mining operation and taught kendo throughout the country whilst visiting various mines. After the war, he became a student of Mochida Seiji hanshi and – while running his own kendo club – began working as a director in the Tokyo Kendo Renmei amongst other things. He died at 84 in 1997. He was hanshi hachidan.

Source

平成・剣道 地木水火風空 読本（下）。佐久間三郎。平成9年発行。