Comments for Why am I not allowed to dodge in kendo?

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Aug 19, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		Why am I not allowed to dodge in kendo?
by: Tanno

It's also good you want to dodge, but it shows that you're afraid of his hits. It also works on counterattacks, such as uchi-otoshi men, while you take a step to your left/right (the easiest uchioto-shi men is to take a step to the left, while you knock down his shinai and hit his men, when he's trying to pass through).

The main rule to it is not to be afraid and show some bravery in you; otherwise they'll see that you're afraid and are going to hunt you down.

So if you want to "really" dodge, do only counterattacks, even if they're missed.

Kendo-Guide.Com: Thanks for sharing your opinion!

If you are executing uchi otoshi again a kote or d? strike, it is a good idea to do so by stepping to your left. If you're executing uchi otoshi against a men strike, probably you should go to your and right.

Uchi-otoshi is difficult for beginners, so I suggest working on striking forwards whenever they see their opponent starting to move (practice of sen). And then, when they get the hang of it, they should start practicing counterattack such as suri-age.
Dec 09, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		Why not dodge while striking?
by: Anonymous

If you dodge to the left, you can make it an attack instead. Strike their men on the right or vice versa.

It's called multi-tasking.  ;)

Kendo-Guide.Com: Thank you for your post but is this for a joke or a serious suggestion? Very hard to tell :)

Either you are joking or being serious, if you execute such strikes, your posture will be crooked.

Ideally, you should strike your opponent when he/she is just about to more to execute his/her cut or you should execute a counterattack (oji waza such as suriage).

You can also execute a counterattack called amashi waza as metioned here.
Nov 26, 2008
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starstarstarstarstar 		You can dodge the first men, but what about the kote and do that immediately follows?
by: Matt

If you have time to sway back you have time to step back. Opening the maai is a much more acceptable way of dodging, but for beginners it is a bad habit to constantly retreat.

Also, if you break your shisei (posture) by leaning back you will not be able to counterattack from that position which leaves you vulnerable to nidan (two continuous strikes)/sandan waza (three continuous strikes). Sure you can dodge the first men, but what about the kote and do that immediately follows?

Kendo-Guide.Com: I agree. At the beginning, especially you are ni-dan (second degree black belt) or lower, you should only think about going forwards and striking, rather than how to avoid being hit and defending.

Now having said that, there is a technique called amashi-waza. It is quite similar to nuki-waza. And depending on how you look at this technique some people might say it is the same as nuki-waza.

Anyway, in amashi-waza, you avoid strikes by slightly moving your body backwards and counterattack.

For example, your opponent strikes your men. You avoid this men cut by tilting your head slightly back. As you do this, your body also start moving backwards. Then you strike.

It is hard to explain exactly how this technique should be executed but this is a fairly advanced technique.

Kendo is unlimited. The higher and more advanced you get, the more variation of techniques will be there for you. BUT!!!

Even though there is such technique as amashi-waza, I don't encourage you to use this too often. Why? It is because of the things mentioned above.

Again, if you talk about what is allowed and what is not, it is allowed to sway back but we don't encourage you to do that until you can do other important techniques i.e. techniques to get you strike going forwards.

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