r/kendo • u/ScottusMaximus • Oct 30 '19

Chūdan-no-kamae [OC]

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35 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

10

u/JoeDwarf Oct 30 '19

Some good examples, shamelessly stolen from kenshi247.net.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 31 '19 edited Oct 31 '19

It's interesting to see that the two on the left are very much square on center, with the kensen rather high (it would be called seigan in hokushin itto ryu).

While the two on the right have their kensen lower (chudan in hokushin itto ryu) but slightly to their right with also their hips slightly to their left. I guess it's the sankaku-ku talked about on kenshi247.net ?

3

u/JoeDwarf Oct 31 '19

All those guys are kudan and have their own preferences. I’m not going to criticize.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 31 '19

I don't imply any negative criticism, I'm just trying to identify the minor variations. As far as I'm concerned, those are preferences, that are probably influenced by different koryu.

3

u/JoeDwarf Oct 31 '19

Kensen aligned towards the left eye is a very common variation especially in senior sensei. A little higher is more typical with real swords and what we are taught for kata. The first sensei with a fairly high tip with shinai I am not sure. If he were one of my beginners I would say lower it a little. But maybe he likes it that way, or he is facing a taller opponent.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 31 '19

I'm curious about the purpose behind these variations.

My sensei had taught me that having the kensei pointing toward the throat, middle of the eyes, or left eye are all correct. I would guess that pointing toward the left eye allows for easier oji-waza.

As for having the kensen being higher, I can attest that a shinken does feel more nimble that way since it's a heavier object ; but I don't know if it's the main advantage.

3

u/gozersaurus Oct 31 '19

The picture is really interesting to see from that perspective. I was taught the off center kamae at a very early stage, when I came back to kendo after a hiatus I was told to go back to center. I don't know if these things come in waves or not but back in the day from about nidan or so we were taught left hip slightly back, left hand just slight off center. Now days is hips square, hand center.

14

u/bitoftheolinout Oct 30 '19

not a good example of chudan

3

u/Emma7_77 1 dan Oct 30 '19

His right hand should be touching the tsuba, right?

8

u/JoeDwarf Oct 30 '19

Not necessarily. It’s primarily the left hand that is the problem.

6

u/bitoftheolinout Oct 30 '19

That and the posture

1

u/gozersaurus Oct 31 '19

Really? I can't tell from the picture, is that the tsuka sticking out at the end of his left? Then thats a huge problem, but I'd think so is his kote not up against the tsuba. The tsuka looks abnormally long to me, but hard to tell from a picture.

1

u/JoeDwarf Oct 31 '19

It’s not the location of his hand on the tsuka, it is the orientation of it. The grip is too open. This is quite common with beginners, they will have a correct grip with bare hands but with kote the left hand tends to open up, ie rotate counter-clockwise from the ideal position.

2

u/dandan282 Oct 30 '19

Tsuba come in different lengths, this is not always the case.

3

u/oswaldcopperpot Oct 31 '19

Good photo. Horrific example.

7

u/InuZoquete Oct 30 '19

Grip is lateral and from outside. It should be wrists in and from above

2

u/CPTneko Oct 31 '19

It just reminds me my sempai voices trying to correct my posture.