WadoWorld: technical>kumite>on kihon kumite

When initially moving forward in Kihon Kumite the posture is tate seishan. It is common to kiai at this point but one must be careful that the kiai does not lead to a tightening of the body. Once the body is tight all further movement is frozen. If you are frozen then you are immobile. Being immobile means being unable to defend or attack; it means to create an opening (suki) for the opponent. It is important never to ‘lock’ the body. The body should always be immediately relaxed after any application of kime to prevent the creation of suki. Most people assume that as you land you apply kime to the technique by instantaneously tightening and locking the muscles. This only leads to suki and itsuki.
Being locked into the stance after stepping forward creates a condition called 'itsuki'. Itsuki means to be in a position where the kinetic energy (energy inherent to movement) is frozen and no further movement is possible. It is being 'flat footed'. Refrain from being rigid. Try to feel instead as if ‘flowing’ into the stance.

Another point to be mindful of when stepping forward is to remain cognizant of the seichusen (line of attack/center line/ line of defense). When stepping forward one should be guarding the seichusen. The hands are brought forward so that one hand guards the jodan area and the the other guards the chudan area. This happens during the transition and not after the front foot has been planted. There’s allways the possibility of being attacked during transition. This applies not only to kihon kumite but also to kata. During any transition there must allways be awareness of seichusen. That goes for the attacker as well as the defender.

Once the position is taken, one must find the proper ma (distance) relative to the opponent. The way to adjust the maai (distance between the two partners) in kihon kumite is through 'nijiri ashi'. To press forward the front toe is wiggled and one creeps forwards while twisting the back ankle to maintain the posture.
Nijiri ashi is a movement seen frequently in kenjutsu. The reason for this footwork is to minimize suki. In kenjutsu any opening can lead to swift death. Any time the feet are lifted, a potential opening is created. By moving in nijiri ashi one attempts to minimize any potential opening. Also, traditionally njiri ashi would have been done under cover of the Hakama so even this slight movement of the feet would have been partially hidden.

it is important to allow the kinetic energy to continue so that the first and second attacks from ukemi are always practiced as one complete movement. Many people learn kihon kumite in two parts because of the two attacks from ukemi are often taught with a slight hiatus in delivery and somehow this is then practiced until embedded into their kihon kumite. The point about the 'tightening of the body' is usually the cause of this, and prevents the natural flow into the san mi ittai counter attack.
Essentially 'san mi ittai' involves these three concepts performed in one timing. Ten-i (change of direction), ten-tai (change of body) and ten-gi (change of technique) are these three elements of sabaki and are accomplished in unison.

Posture and stance are not the same thing. Quite often there’s a problem in a person's interpretation of the stance and trying to perform smooth movement when being focussed on the 'end product' of, for instance, tate seishan.
Tightening of the body is often mistakenly understood as power and kime. But basicly it is the movement, not the stance that matters. Stance is merely a manner of standing, usually according to a set of instructions. A stance is often seen as an end in itself and and can thus be responsible for a lot of stilted movements. Stance is standing is static.
Posture, on the other hand, goes further than this in that it includes the 'mind body & spirit' as a whole, placed in a particular manner for a purpose and 'continues' throughout the movement. Wado is not about standing in a stance but about elegant movement and retaining one's posture while moving.

Kihon kumite is essentially the fundamentals of fighting. This includes the posture, technique, mindfulness, and the stratagems of fighting. for instance the first defensive posture in kihon kumite ipponme using jodan harai uke by torimi is a stratagem whereby he is actively offering a second target to Ukemi so that he can 'set up' the counter attack. Torimi holds sente all the time throughout the practice. Torimi's initial posture with one hand guarding jodan and one guarding chudan exemplifies this.

© WadoWorld



	On Kihon Kumite When initially moving forward in Kihon Kumite the posture is tate seishan. It is common to kiai at this point but one must be careful that the kiai does not lead to a tightening of the body. Once the body is tight all further movement is frozen. If you are frozen then you are immobile. Being immobile means being unable to defend or attack; it means to create an opening (suki) for the opponent. It is important never to ‘lock’ the body. The body should always be immediately relaxed after any application of kime to prevent the creation of suki. Most people assume that as you land you apply kime to the technique by instantaneously tightening and locking the muscles. This only leads to suki and itsuki. Being locked into the stance after stepping forward creates a condition called 'itsuki'. Itsuki means to be in a position where the kinetic energy (energy inherent to movement) is frozen and no further movement is possible. It is being 'flat footed'. Refrain from being rigid. Try to feel instead as if ‘flowing’ into the stance. Another point to be mindful of when stepping forward is to remain cognizant of the seichusen (line of attack/center line/ line of defense). When stepping forward one should be guarding the seichusen. The hands are brought forward so that one hand guards the jodan area and the the other guards the chudan area. This happens during the transition and not after the front foot has been planted. There’s allways the possibility of being attacked during transition. This applies not only to kihon kumite but also to kata. During any transition there must allways be awareness of seichusen. That goes for the attacker as well as the defender. Once the position is taken, one must find the proper ma (distance) relative to the opponent. The way to adjust the maai (distance between the two partners) in kihon kumite is through 'nijiri ashi'. To press forward the front toe is wiggled and one creeps forwards while twisting the back ankle to maintain the posture. Nijiri ashi is a movement seen frequently in kenjutsu. The reason for this footwork is to minimize suki. In kenjutsu any opening can lead to swift death. Any time the feet are lifted, a potential opening is created. By moving in nijiri ashi one attempts to minimize any potential opening. Also, traditionally njiri ashi would have been done under cover of the Hakama so even this slight movement of the feet would have been partially hidden. it is important to allow the kinetic energy to continue so that the first and second attacks from ukemi are always practiced as one complete movement. Many people learn kihon kumite in two parts because of the two attacks from ukemi are often taught with a slight hiatus in delivery and somehow this is then practiced until embedded into their kihon kumite. The point about the 'tightening of the body' is usually the cause of this, and prevents the natural flow into the san mi ittai counter attack. Essentially 'san mi ittai' involves these three concepts performed in one timing. Ten-i (change of direction), ten-tai (change of body) and ten-gi (change of technique) are these three elements of sabaki and are accomplished in unison. Posture and stance are not the same thing. Quite often there’s a problem in a person's interpretation of the stance and trying to perform smooth movement when being focussed on the 'end product' of, for instance, tate seishan. Tightening of the body is often mistakenly understood as power and kime. But basicly it is the movement, not the stance that matters. Stance is merely a manner of standing, usually according to a set of instructions. A stance is often seen as an end in itself and and can thus be responsible for a lot of stilted movements. Stance is standing is static. Posture, on the other hand, goes further than this in that it includes the 'mind body & spirit' as a whole, placed in a particular manner for a purpose and 'continues' throughout the movement. Wado is not about standing in a stance but about elegant movement and retaining one's posture while moving. Kihon kumite is essentially the fundamentals of fighting. This includes the posture, technique, mindfulness, and the stratagems of fighting. for instance the first defensive posture in kihon kumite ipponme using jodan harai uke by torimi is a stratagem whereby he is actively offering a second target to Ukemi so that he can 'set up' the counter attack. Torimi holds sente all the time throughout the practice. Torimi's initial posture with one hand guarding jodan and one guarding chudan exemplifies this. © WadoWorld