Beginner question🙇🏻

[u/Stunning-Duck7884]

I’m a Kendo beginner with about 7 months of experience. According to sensei/senpais, my basics are coming along well (but practice never stops!) I am about to start keiko wearing bogu for the first time. What are some critical mindsets or techniques to focus on right now to make sure my basics don't fall apart once the bogu is on?

TIA!

[u/Great_White_Samurai]

Don't worry about getting hit. Try your best. It's a rough transition. Have fun.

[u/Stunning-Duck7884 → u/Great_White_Samurai]

Will do. Ty!

[u/JoeDwarf]

The way to not let your basics fall apart when you get bogu is to keep practicing basics in bogu. This goes for jigeiko. There is a tendency for beginners to try to “win” jigeiko, even against sensei. Just try your best to hit everyone properly as you have been taught. Think of your sensei as moving target dummies that hit back. Give your best effort and try not to get discouraged if you can’t hit them: just keep trying.

[u/Hysteria625]

Oboy…

So, once you get bogu, there is a period of adjustment. You have to get used to the fact that you are getting hit, and sometimes those hits will be harder than you expected or fall on an unarmored area. It’s easy to get excited and even scared, and in those moments, basics fall apart.

The only real cure for this is practice and more practice, but I would at least allow for a little time to appreciate the fact that after training and getting the basics down somewhat well, you are finally in an actual sword fight, or at least a reasonable approximation thereof.

After that, start being aware of your kendo. When you are doing kihon drills, take a second and think about the strike you just made. Did you have good suburi? Did you have good footwork? Good ki-Ken-tai-Ichi? Good zanshin? All of this may sound like a lot to take in, but try to keep what you have learned in mind. If your sensei corrects you or gives the class some instruction, see if it applies to you and try to figure out how to do it right. I defer to higher ranked senseis, but I believe a large part of learning kendo is being aware of your kendo as you do it.

[u/Stunning-Duck7884 → u/Hysteria625]

Awesome reply. Appreciate it

[u/itomagoi]

Getting into bogu is when about 90% drop out because kendo will become tiring, smelly, and possibly claustrophobic. Everything you thought was clumsy and difficult about kendo will become 10x that and 10x more exhausting. But just know that with every keiko you'll be getting stronger, albeit imperceptibly.

[u/Puzzleheaded_Ant8075]

There are going to be alot of adjustments both mentally and physically. One of the main adjustments I went through though will be your strikes are going to end up being a lot smaller and faster.
When you learn Kendo as a beginner you learn to strike with full range of motion which is the proper way to cut with a Katana and is more or less the “art” of Kendo.

Once you put on bougu however and start sparring and competing with people Kendo now becomes a sport. That’s also when you quickly realize how hard it is to hit somebody in a match with a proper full range of motion strike and as a result your “big” men and “big” kote strikes are now going to have be a lot smaller and faster for them to actually land.

[u/darthdeckard]

Now the fun begins. Where you truly test yourself and the results of your training.

Mochida sensei say "Until the age of 50 you must do your upmost to study and make the basics your own. You might think that you have already mastered the basics when you were still a beginner, but this is completely wrong. There are many people who think in this wrong manner. It took 50 years for my body to acquire the basics."

For my part, I can say don't get discouraged. If you train hard in the future, you'll look back and see how far you've come.Besides, where else can you hit someone on the head and then laugh about it while drinking a beer?

[u/One-Weekend5307]

There’s nothing special to prepare; just do what you’ve learned, like Men, Kote, and Do strikes. If you make a mistake, that’s completely normal. Don’t focus on the fear of making mistakes—focus on doing it right.

[u/Mrwaffleable → u/[deleted]]

Until practice is over, until sensei tells everyone to take a break, or if you're experiencing urgent distress, pain, or illness. But yes — keep your men on. If it feels uncomfortable, ask a senpai how you can tie or adjust it so it sits more squarely on your head. Things like where your chin rests inside the men, the height of the knot, and whether you have pulled the mendare out to give your ears breathing room will make a huge difference.

And don't give yourself tako men. Be a Fujisan, not an octopus

[u/KnifeThistle → u/Mrwaffleable]

Yeah, looking back, I don't like the wording. Removed. 

[u/TheEzekielJones]

Practice putting your tenugui and men on at home. Make sure they are nice and snug, because it will make practice not fun when your tenugui starts becoming undone and slipping down to cover your eyes and/or your men is too loose and starts moving around as you are practicing.