Been defeated in kendo

by Tiyok
(Indonesia)

Have you ever feel defeated by your student even they didn't took IPPON from you?

Answer: Of course. All the time. There are some phases in kendo.

1: Physical ippon (a valid cut) is the most important.
2: The process before strike become as important as the actual strike.
3: The process before strike has to be as good as your actual strike and then make your strike valid as well.
4: The process is the most important and defeat your opponent without actual strikes.

These are main phases that I can think of. There could be more and they could be different if we ask different senseis.

At the moment, I am working on 2. and 3. I am working on the process before strikes and actual strikes.

In the process before executing strikes, shi-kai occurs in my mind. While working on the process, when this shi-kai happens in my mind, I feel defeated.

My students do not have to hit me to cause shi-kai in my mind. Their seme (physical and/or psychological) affects my thoughts and actions. If my mind is moved by their seme i.e. feeling surprised, fear, doubt, confused, then I think I am defeated.

If you are not 4th dan or above, you should not worry about these things too much. You should first learn how to make your cuts valid and then learn more about seme.

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