What is Hikitate geiko?

by Olga
(Ukraine)

Can you please advise what hikitategeiko in kendo is?

Answer:
Thank you for your post. Hikitate-geiko has two parts. Hikitate and keiko.


The verb form of hikitate is hikitateru. That means "to make someone look (or perform in this case) good".  


In jigeiko, the higher ranks will make openings to the lower ranks so that the lower ranks can learn good opportunities to strike.


These openings created by the high ranks can be very obvious and also very subtle depending on the level of the lower ranks.


The late Tsurumaru sensei (9-dan) used to tell us to do jigeiko as follows.


When you do jigeiko with 1-dan, do jigeiko as you are 1.5-dan.


When you do jigeiko with 2-dan, do jigeiko as you are 2.5-dan..


And so forth.


If you do this, the lower ranks can fight you with everything they have and they feel like they can beat you. It gives them motivation. But they can
never beat you. In this way, they still have respect to you.

Sometimes you have to give the lower ranks a sense of complete defeat because we all go through a phase of "I can beat anyone".

When people are at this phase, they become snobby and arrogant. In that case, they need to be beaten completely.


If you are in a teaching position, you should be doing hikitate-geiko. But as I said, sometimes people need bitter medicine.


Hope this helps.

Privacy Policy | Disclaimer and Terms of Use | COMPENSATION AND AFFILIATION AFFIDAVIT | Contact.